Velma Lakes

Photos Maps Summary: This is a great semi-loop hike in the Desolation Wilderness southwest of Lake Tahoe. In the early part of the hike you walk past Upper Eagle F alls and Eagle Lake (requires side-trail). While climbing away from Eagle Lake there are great views looking down. Later in the hike, the trail passes by Upper and Middle Velma Lakes (Lower Velma Lake requires a side-trail), Fontanillis Lake, and finally Dicks Lake. This is a great way to get away from all the people at Emerald Bay and Eagle Lake and is a popular area for backpackers.Distance: 9.9 miles round-tripElevation Gain/Loss: 2,525' totalSeason: July through OctoberFees & Permits: Wilderness Permits required for dayhikers (available at trailhead) and overnighters (available at Lake Tahoe Visitor Center in South Lake Tahoe).Finding the Trailhead: 38.9520 N, 120.1135 W (Eagle Lake Trailhead). From the US-50/CA-89 intersection in South Lake Tahoe, follow CA-89 west for ~8.6 miles and turn left into the parking lot. If the lot is full (which it will be during the summer unless you arrive early) there are a few more parking spaces along CA-89. If these are taken, then you try the Vikingsholm parking lot a little ways to the northeast. If this is also full you may want to wait a few minutes for someone to leave or try to park near the alternative trailhead (Bayview Campground).

The Hike: Follow the trail west away from the parking lot and immediately stay left to take the shortest route to the footbridge over Eagle Creek (if you go right you'll climb up a little ways before descending back down to join the trail). The footbridge is reached ~0.2 miles from the trailhead. Continue up the trail on the southern side of the creek and climb up to a open area where there are nice views of Emerald Bay to the east (and also another waterfall). Continue on the trail and intersect with the Eagle Lake side-trail ~0.8 miles from the trailhead. Turn right here and reach the lake shore in a further ~0.1 miles. Eagle Lake is a very pretty lake and deserves at least a little attention. However, if you are here in the summer you may be overwhelmed by all the people and families here. Therefore, return to the trail and continue to the south. As the trail climbs above Eagle Lake there are great views looking down. This climb is one of two somewhat challenging climbs of this hike. Next to springs are some very lush sections of the trail with lots of wildflowers blooming in the summer. The trail next turns to the northwest and then skirts the western flank of Maggies Peak and heads to the southwest. Here, there are more great views to the northwest. About 2.5 miles from the trailhead, the trail intersects with the trail coming from the Bayview Campground (alternate trailhead, ~2.7 miles from Bayview). Turn right (west). About 0.6 miles from this intersection is another intersection, which is the beginning of the loop portion of this hike. To the left, the trail leads to Dicks Lake. To the right, the trail leads to the Velma Lakes which is the way we went (we finished the loop coming down from Dicks Lake). After the intersection the trail descends down towards the lakes and skirts around an unnamed lake below Upper Velma Lake before crossing Eagle Creek (~0.8 miles from the beginning of the loop). If you wanted to visit Lower Velma Lake, you could follow the creek downstream to it. About 100' after crossing the creek is a side-trail to the left leading to Upper Velma Lake (~0.55 miles there and back). Continue up the trail to the west and reach the junction with the PCT ~0.2 miles from the creek. To see Middle Velma Lake continue a little ways west of this intersection to where you can get a view of the lake.

It's interesting that this lake is associated with the other two Velma Lakes since it is hydrologically separated from them. Middle Velma Lake's outlet flows to the west, not the east, and joins the Rubicon River in Rockbound Valley (however, some subsurface water may travel east). The unnamed lake below Upper Velma Lake seems like it should be named "Middle Velma Lake" since it is between the Upper and Lower Lakes along Eagle Creek. Perhaps at one point this lake was the "Middle" one, but someone made a mistake on a map and that mistake persisted. Anyways, back to the hike. At the PCT junction, follow the PCT to the southwest and begin the second of the two somewhat difficult climbs along this hike (which is almost entirely in the trees). The trail crosses the outlet for Fontanillis Lake (Eagle Creek) ~0.9 miles from the junction with the PCT. You can follow the creek downstream a little ways to get a view of Fontanillis Lake Falls. All along the northern shore of this lake is a great view of Dicks Peak to the south. In my opinion, this was the prettiest of the lakes seen along this hike and this is where we stopped, had lunch, and spent a little bit of time enjoying the views. Continuing on the hike, the trail climbs up away from Fontanillis Lake towards Dicks Lake to the southeast. The shore of Dicks Lake is reached ~1.0 mile from the outlet for Fontanillis Lake (very short side-trail required to get to the shore). Once again, there is a very nice view of Dicks Peak to the southwest from the northern shore of the lake. Back on the trail, head northeast. About 0.25 miles from Dicks Lake, the PCT & TRT split off to the right, continue to the left. The trail then begins to descend back down to the beginning of the loop. During the descent are more great views of the Desolation Wilderness to the north and northeast, with distant views of Lake Tahoe in places. The trail then flattens out and passes by several ponds before climbing slightly back up to the beginning of the loop (~1.1 miles from Dicks Lake). From here, head back the way you came up and reach the trailhead in another ~2.95 miles.