Lake Margaret in the Sierra Nevada Eldorado National Forest: September Hike of the Month

Summer’s winding down: time to get into the high country while you still can.

The September Hike of the Month takes you into the granite heights of the Sierra Nevada to Lake Margaret. This is a fairly easy walk you can do as a day-hike or as an overnight backpacking trip. For a more strenuous hike or backpack, see last October’s Hike of the Month to Emigrant Lake in the Mokelumne Wilderness.

Check the weather forecast before you go. The first snows can come to this area in September and you need to be prepared for all conditions.

Click to download the Lake Margaret hike. It’s a PDF of Hike 4 from 100 Classic Hikes in Northern California, third edition, written by John Soares (me) and my brother Marc Soares. It’s also pasted right here.

Lake Margaret

Length: 5 miles round-trip

Hiking time: 3 hours or overnight

High point: 7,750 feet

Total elevation gain: 550 feet

Difficulty: easy

Season: early July through late October

Water: available from streams and Lake Margaret (purify first)

Maps: USGS 7.5′ Caples Lake, USFS Mokelumne Wilderness

Information: Amador Ranger District, Eldorado National Forest

This hike’s gentle trail takes you near the lush green banks of Caples Creek and past huge slabs of granite to Lake Margaret, where you can picnic, swim, and enjoy the mountain scenery. It’s a good outing for those wanting a lot of nature for only a little effort. Feel free to contact the Amador Ranger Station (209-295-4251; www.fs.fed.us/r5/eldorado) for more information about campfire permits and fire restrictions (stove use recommended). During summer, you can also call the Carson Pass Information Station (209-258-8606).

Take the turnoff on the north side of Highway 88 about 0.2 mile west of the Caples Lake Dam (the trailhead for Hike 3: Emigrant Lake) and 0.5 mile east of the turnoff for the Kirkwood Ski Area. Follow the short road 150 yards to its end.

The signed trail begins at the west end of the parking area, just north of the road. Descend through a lodgepole pine and red fir forest at a moderate pitch, and then cross a seasonal creek at 0.2 mile. The trail heads east briefly; look straight ahead for glimpses of the high mountain ridge just north of Caples Lake.

The path briefly parallels and then crosses another seasonal creek. A good picnic spot lies just to the left of the trail as you near the banks of Caples Creek at 0.6 mile, where there’s green grass and the creek’s clear waters are deep enough for wading.

The trail quickly reaches the creek itself and crosses it on a fallen tree. You soon begin a gentle climb through a gully bordered by huge granite hillocks. After the path levels, it skirts a small, lodgepole pine- and willow-ringed pond on the left at 1.2 miles and then crosses some granite.

A much larger pond, surrounded by lodgepole pine and red fir, awaits on the right at 1.6 miles. You soon cross a stream, pass through a large thicket of mountain alder, and then note that western white pine has joined the forest cover.

Quaking aspen, with their tremulous green leaves and bright white bark, begin to border the trail at 2.2 miles; they accompany you for 300 yards to a stream, which you cross on a log. You now begin the final ascent to your destination, following rock ducks (cairns) up the gently sloping granite.

After the brief climb, you reach the deep waters of Lake Margaret. Numerous granite slabs stretch from high above to far below the lake’s surface. You’ll find many places to swim, either near the shore or out to some of the small granite islands that dot the lake’s surface. Campers will find two sites along the east shore and two more near the west shore.

Lake Margaret in the Sierra Nevada’s Mokelumne Wilderness. (Photo by Marc Soares)

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