Although I lived only 1 1/2 hours away from Echo, I have never been hiking up here. Wow, now I know what I've been missing! We left Sacramento just after 9:30 am on a Saturday and with one quick bathroom stop halfway there, we arrived to almost a full parking lot. Luckily, we managed to find a good place to... More

Echo Lakes are easily accessed by car a short distance south of Lake Tahoe. At the lakeside resort (somewhat overstated, it's pretty basic) you can take a shuttle boat through lower and upper Echo Lakes, with pretty views, and then walk the Tahoe Rim Trail to the gorgeous Lake Aloha, about 3.5 miles one way of fairly easy hiking. Nice... More

We took the water taxi and planned to follow the trail to Aloha Lake. AFter following the markers toward Aloha we came upon one that did not show Aloha, so we took the trail to the left that appeared to be less traveled than the others. After following this trail for only a few hundred yards we came upon a... More

What a lovely spot! Awe inspiring views and lovely cool lake swimming. Take the boat over and hike back, you won't regret it. And then on to Tahos!

2.9 miles easy hike along Echo Lake and you can even return by water taxi for $10 pp. If you're really adventuresome you can return on the 'other' side of the lake along unmaintained trails to return to the dock area. Renters have to boat in to lodgings. It's hard to get a rental, they are passed along generations. It's... More

Echo Lakes is only a few miles from my house and, despite the super abundance of hiking trails in the part of the Sierra, it is on of my favorite places in the world. The trail is a moderately rolling, somewhat rocky trip along the Tahoe Rim Trail towards the Desolation Wilderness. There's an excellent trail guide at the trailhead.... More