Hike to Granite Lake and Maggie’s Peak in Desolation Wilderness

Catching up on things I’ve missed blogging from the summer. This is a hike we did in August. The Trailhead to reach Maggie’s Peak and other destinations in Desolation Wildnerness begins at a parking lot across from Emerald Bay near South Lake Tahoe. The parking lot is at the end of Bayview Trailhead Campground. There is a Traihead board where you fill out information for a day hiking permit. This hike is about 4 miles round-trip. Granite Lake is on the way after the viewpoint of Emerald Bay. This hike was surprisingly strenuous on the way up; it’s quite a steep elevation gain. It was hot, so lucky for Dan and I we came prepared with our swimsuits and took a dip in the alpine lake. We had fun diving and jumping off a fallen tree trunk in the lake.

Getting to Maggie’s Peak is a bit confusing. There are actually two Maggies’ Peaks, neither of which have a formal trailhead, at least that I’ve read or saw while there. We stopped our hike at the saddle because we had to head back for an appointment in South Lake, but the views from there were plenty breathtaking. After going to South we circumnavigated the lake by driving up the East Shore (Nevada side) and stopping at Nevada Beach, one of my favorite Tahoe beaches. We also had some Tahoe Blue lemonade cocktails at the end of the day to cap it all off.