Getting There

Grouse Lake is located just inside the Desolation Wilderness boundary 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. Remember to go here to get your Desolation Wilderness permit if you plan on staying at Grouse Lake.

Trail dog cooling off in the outlet

The Hike

The hike to Grouse Lake is a moderate to strenuous hike that is mostly uphill. In late May and early June, the hillside has rivers of water cascading down the granite and makes for some great photographs. The trail in some areas, looks more like a creek than a trail. The last ascent to Grouse Lake is notably the most difficult. From the Twin Lakes/Grouse Lake junction, the hike up to Grouse Lake is an ascent that may require a few breaks to rest and breathe. Once you cross the outlet creek of Grouse Lake you will not have much further to hike. Upon reaching the lake you will see a sign denoting the four legal sites to camp at while you're at Grouse Lake. We made a half-hearted attempt to locate the sites at the back end of the lake before eventually settling on the north site close to the trail.

Grouse Lake

The Fishing

Grouse Lake is a self-sustaining fishery of Brook Trout that live in Desolation Wilderness. The high Sierra fishing at Grouse Lake was great with many fish landed and released. We fished the north end of the lake near the trail first and caught a number of Brook Trout on Kastmasters right away. I used a solid gold Kastmaster and my wife had great luck using a gold and red model that was a bit smaller than mine. The fish are visible in the water at Grouse Lake so prepare to do some sight casting.

Brook Trout from Grouse Lake

After we set up camp, we headed over to the east shore area of Grouse Lake to try our luck with the rising fish in and around the inlet. From there we landed many Brookies using the Kastmasters again. We took another break from our Grouse Lake fishing to eat and returned to the north side again to see what flies in my fly box the Brook Trout may be interested in.

Grouse Lake

I started flyfishing Grouse Lake using a grasshopper but received no attention from the fish. I moved to nymphs but they had little interest in the darker colored Hare's Ears that I had with me. I tried ants, Humpys, Zug Bugs, and still nothing. Eventually I opted for a green Copper John and I landed a few more Brook Trout. I wish I had more time to try and fish the entire west side as it looked promising.

Brook Trout from Grouse Lake

Meadow on the east side of Grouse Lake

A nicely colored Brook Trout

Sunset at Grouse Lake