A collection of travel and adventure stories

Echo Lakes Kayaking

Description and Directions >>

Description:
Echo Lakes are two glacier carved lakes located in the El Dorado National Forest of California's Northern Sierra Mountains. The combined surface area of the lakes is 300 acres. In addition to kayaking and fishing, the Pacific Crest Trail is located near Lower Echo Lake and is a popular trailhead into the Desolation Wilderness. The lake has a full service marina, boat launching facilities, boat rentals, and groceries. The paddle length of both the Lower and Upper Echo Lakes is about 4.5 miles roundtrip.

Activities:
kayaking, boating, fishing, hiking, picnicking, swimming, sightseeing

Directions:
From Sacramento, take Highway 50 East for approximately 50 miles. Before Echo Summit (which drops down into South Lake Tahoe), take the Echo Lake turnoff heading north, drive about a mile and park at the parking lot at Echo Lake.

Story Date 7/29/2003
Publish Date 4/15/2004

Story Perspectives >>

According to Mikala: I always love kayaking in the Sierras - there are so many rock formations to see. This was our first time kayaking at Echo Lakes. Although the scenery was very beautiful, I prefer a location that is a little more isolated. The lake has many cabins along the shore, and this takes away from the beauty.

There are two lakes (Upper and Lower) that are joined by a little channel. The Upper Lake is where we put in. This is the larger of the two lakes and is where most of the homes along the shore are located. Once we entered into the Lower Lake, the scenery was much prettier and there were less houses to detract from the beauty.

As we kayaked to the end of the lake, the clouds started to get darker. A storm was definitely building, as it often does in the Sierras in the afternoons. Soon it started to sprinkle and we began to notice lightning in the distance. The lightning began to get closer, the thunder louder, and the rain began to pour. I was worried about being in the water with the lightning so close. We landed on the a small beach with picnic tables, where the ferry drops people off to hike up to the Desolation Wilderness trail. We ended up crouching under our upside-down kayaks until the storm had passed - a very exciting time!