Getting There

To reach Island Lake in Nevada County, drive to the Carr Lake trailhead by taking Highway 20 from Highway 80 at Yuba Pass. Take Highway 20 west until you can turn right on Bowman Lake Road. From Bowman Lake Road, follow the signs to the turnoff for Carr Lake Road. Carr Lake Road is an unimproved dirt road that is very rough but still manageable in a 2-wheel drive vehicle with modest clearance. The parking can be sparse due to the trailhead being very popular.

The Hike

The hike to Island Lake is an easy and short hike. For this reason you are likely to cross paths with many other day hikers and backpackers. Many people bring their children into this area for the mild ascents and abundant lakes. We chose to camp at Island Lake and day hike to Long Lake. Our campground at Island Lake was great as it provided easy water access, a good spot for our tent and a great fire pit.

The Fishing

REPORT - June 5, 2018

We hit Island Lake, wisely, on a Tuesday rather than a weekend and found what usually is a zoo of backpackers and day hikers a lake almost entirely to ourselves with only one other group camped directly across from the Big Island. The goal this time was to set up base at Island Lake (or Big Island Lake as there is a shallow lake adjacent to it called Little Island Lake) and day hike to Crooked Lake.

My four year old son and I set out from the Carr Lake trailhead at about 8:30 am and we were relieved to see the parking lost wasn't packed with cars. This is a very busy trailhead due to the abundance of fantastic Sierra Lakes and some of the easiest hiking to be found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It makes a great place for a kid to cut their teeth on packing in to get the full backpacking experience. After arriving at my favorite spot on the west side, we threw out a line and set up camp. It wasn't long before our pole was doubled over and a feisty Brook Trout was on the other end.

We kept that fish for dinner and geared up to make the quick hike over to Crooked Lake which had been rumored to hold a healthy population of Lahontan Cutthroat. After fishing at Crooked Lake, we trekked back to Big Island Lake and spent the evening hunting down firewood and relaxing by the lake. The next day we tried to fish Island Lake one more time from the spot near our campsite but nothing turned up. So we moved Northward up the west side of the lake to the next big rock where we got one more bite before we gave up.

I had read from an old stocking report that Lake Trout had been introduced into Island Lake and I had brought a large, heavy Kastmaster to try and chuck it out into the deep water but never got around to trying it. Oh well, next time I guess.

Three fun facts about Island Lake:
• There may be some Lake Trout in the deep water of this lake. Try hauling in a floatation device (raft, float tube) to jig the deep water with your favorite lure.
• Finglerings (Rainbow) were scheduled to be air dropped in August, 2017 so expect better fishing in 2 years.
• Little Island Lake is full of tiny catfish but ocassionally gets Rainbow trout fingerling plants. Keep an eye on that lake for some easy trout fishing for the kids.


REPORT - June 20, 2015

Island Lake in Tahoe National Forest is a put-and-take fishery that receives regular trout plants from DFW. Fishing Island Lake produced nice Rainbows and Brook Trout for us. We only fished one spot which was at our campsite. We had steady action using orange Powerbait and inflated crawlers and landed many fish. We kept one fish from Island Lake for dinner as my daughter loves to eat trout.

Island Lake is large enough to offer a great number of suitable camping sites if your willing to take a walk around the perimeter. It makes a good base camp to day hike to Long, Round, and Penner Lakes.