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There was plenty of space in the large dirt area next to the entrance to the Bayview
campground when we got there around 11am. The campground itself was closed, so we had
to park there or across the street at the crowded Inspiration Point parking lot. It
was almost November, but the skies were clear, there was no snow, and the temperature
was in the 60's (maybe closer to 70 later in the day).
We walked around the gate at the campground entrance, then followed the campground road
slightly uphill toward the trailhead. My GPS got confused for some reason so I had to reset
it. So the route listed in the map above actually
starts about halfway into the campground. There are bathrooms in the campground, as well as
some across the street at Inspiration Point.
At the trailhead, I filled out the card for the permit to hike in the Desolation Wilderness.
There's no fee and no reservation required for day hikes. There was also a note here that
the front gate to the campground, while closed, was actually unlocked. I didn't check, but
that implied that we could have driven all the way to the trailhead, where the 2-3 parking
spots were not taken. But it's a short walk, anyway.
I'd taken the left fork twice before on hikes to Cascade Lake. Instead, we took the right
fork into the Desolation Wilderness and toward Granite Lake. The trail immediately starts
climbing through the forest. In fact it gets quite steep -- one of the steepest trails I've
been on, gaining about 500 feet in four-tenths of a mile.
Thinned forest above Lake Tahoe
The first point of interest was a grouping of large rocks with views through the trees
down to Emerald Bay below and Lake Tahoe beyond. This is a great place for kids to boulder
or just play around on the rocks. It's like nature's playground for them.
Emerald Bay through the trees
Rocks above Emerald Bay
More rocks above Emerald Bay
We continued on the trail and shortly came to an even better viewpoint with unobstructed views of
Emerald Bay below. We could even spot small bits of lingering fall color in the forest below.
We enjoyed the views here before turning left and continuing straight into the Desolation
Wilderness, at a slightly gentler incline. The forest is not as thick here, and the trail
not as steep.
Highway 89 above aspens and Emerald Bay
Nathan and Jared checking out the view
Fannette Island in Emerald Bay
One downside of this hike is that, possibly because of its proximity to Inspiration Point
(or at least its proximity to South Lake Tahoe), it's quite popular. We saw lots of people
on the trail. The boys were getting tired, and we asked an oncoming pair of hikers how
far the lake was. Only 10 minutes, they said! Soon enough, we reached Granite Lake on our
left, about 1 mile from the start of our hike.
Judy at Jared at rocky shore of Granite Lake
Opposite shore of Granite Lake
Granite Lake reflection
The lake is ringed by forest pretty much all the way around. The land tilts steeply up from the
shores on the trail side of the lake. We found a relatively flat spot next to the water and
settled down for lunch. While it at first appeared that we had the lake mostly to ourselves,
we later found that there were several groups of hikers around the lake. In fact, after lunch
I discovered that there was a pair of hikers sitting not 50 feet to our right; we didn't hear
them because they were around a corner.
Granite Lake shore
Granite Lake shore
There are lots of rocks to throw into the water, and large rocks to climb on. The kids did
both, and were occupied for quite some time. They could also see fish jumping occasionally
out of the water.
Granite Lake
Granite Lake
Granite Lake between the trees
After a long break we packed up and returned the same way we'd come. The return trip was of
course much easier, although we did have to take care not to slip on the steep downhill section.
We made it back to the parking lot, where we found that it was now completely full.
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