The Desolation Wilderness is a federally protected wilderness area in the Eldorado National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, in El Dorado County, California. The crest of the Sierra Nevada runs through it, just west of Lake Tahoe. History Before European settlement in the mid-19th century, there is evidence this area was used by the Washoe. After, it was known at times as "Devil's Valley," and most often used for cattle grazing. By the end of that century, the first formal step to limiting its development when it was made a Forest Reserve, managed first by the General Land Office, and later, by the US Forest Service. It was set aside as the Desolation Valley Primitive Area in 1931 with an area of . In 1969, it became the Desolation Wilderness after the passage of the Wilderness Act of 1964. Access Desolation is a popular backpacking destination, with much barren rocky terrain at the edge of the tree line. It has extensive areas of bare granite rock formations. The Tahoe Rim Trail and Pacific Crest Trail pass through the wilderness. A list of other trailheads that provide access to the wilderness follows. Loon Lake trailhead Buck Island trailhead Van Vleck trailhead Rockbound trailhead Twin Lakes trailhead Lyons trailhead Twin Bridges trailhead Ralston trailhead Echo trailhead Echo Lakes trailhead Glen Alpine trailhead Mount Tallac trailhead Bayview trailhead Eagle Falls trailhead Meeks Bay trailhead Horsetail Falls trailhead Permits are required for both day use and overnight camping. In the summer, a quota system is used for overnight trips to limit the number of visitors on any given day in the wilderness. Desolation Wilderness is one of the most heavily used protected areas in the United States. This Wilderness area is split up into 45 different zones, with each having a specific permitting quota. Permits are available only online via recreation.gov; paper permits are not being issued in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ecology The Desolation Wilderness provides a home for many species of plants, fish and wildlife. Desolation Wilderness supports predominantly red fir and lodgepole pine forests with associated species such as Jeffrey pine, mountain hemlock, ponderosa pine, western juniper, and western white pine. Most forested areas occur between of elevation, becoming patchy to rare at higher elevations. These hardy trees take root in excessively rocky and often nutrient-poor soils. As much of the ground surface in Desolation is bedrock