Getting There

Hemlock Lake is located inside Desolation Wilderness in El Dorado County. It can be reached by taking Wrights Lake Road off of Highway 50. Follow Wrights Lake Road until you reach Wrights Lake. If the recreation area is open, at the junction by the stop sign, turn right and follow it to the end where you will find a trailhead parking lot. If the Wrights Lake recreation area is closed, you will have to park at the overflow parking lot about a quarter mile from the gate. Add a mile to your hike if this is the case. Remember to go here to get your Desolation Wilderness permit if you plan on staying at Grouse or Hemlock Lake.

The Hike

The hike to Hemlock Lake is moderate to strenuous. You begin on flat ground and ascend to a junction for Twin Lakes / Grouse Lake. Follow the trail to the right and up the hill and you may soon find yourself to be challenged by the ascent. We took many breaks in the shade before eventually crossing the outlet from Grouse Lake and ascending one last stretch to Grouse lake itself. It is a rigorous hike to Grouse Lake and it makes a good place to rest. The remaining hike demands only one more major ascent before you reach beautiful Hemlock Lake. There are only a couple of legal campsites here but it looks like it would be a nice place to camp.

The Fishing

Hemlock Lake is a self-sustaining Brook Trout fishery in Desolation Wilderness. The fishing at Hemlock Lake really mirrored that of Grouse Lake. We had luck on the north side using lures and flies for small Brook Trout in the 9-11 inch range. I used the Green Copper John that I used the evening before at Grouse Lake and landed 3 Brook Trout in 5 minutes or so. Hemlock Lake is a fast action fishery with a lot of sight casting. We spent about 15 minutes fishing and landed 6 fish which were released. After that, we packed up our gear and headed to Smith Lake to check on the Brook Trout there.