Getting There

To reach Burnside Lake, make your way to Pickett's Junction. Pickett's Junction is the intersection of highway 88 and highway 89, south of Lake Tahoe. At the 4-way stop, take Burnside Road and follow it until you reach Burnside Lake, about 6 miles up the hill. The road can be rough and steep, but I have made it there in a 1986 Nissan Sentra, so any vehicle can make it.

The Hike

There is no hike to Burnside Lake, just a few miles of dirt road and some decent ascents. I decided to create an elevation profile for Burnside Road even though it probably doesn't help too much.

The Fishing

The fishing is excellent here for good sized rainbows and they're really not that hard to catch. This is a drive-to lake so bringing a canoe is a really good idea. We brought a rubber raft and did well trolling brown Woolly Buggers, olive Matukas, and olive leeches. This lake contains scuds so you can try scud patterns near the weeds which cover most of the north and west shore. There were some bait anglers who were doing well using rainbow Powerbait from shore.

You can camp here if you want, but this is more of a day-use kind of lake. Burnside Lake is a pretty popular recreation area so expect to see a few people while you are there. Do not forget to fish the outlet creek while your there, it is full of 11-12" inch fish despite it's tiny size. We had to use stealth as we crept through the meadow, sight casting to hungry and brilliantly colored Rainbows in the outlet creek, also known as Hot Springs Creek. Eventually, Hot Spring Creek runs into Markleeville Creek which also offers excellent fishing.