USFS Proposes Day Use Parking Fees for Echo Lake -- Comments Needed by September 29!
- 9 hours ago
- 2 min read
The Forest Service is proposing a $10 daily charge to park at various sites in the Tahoe Basin, including the upper paved lot at Echo; see the full Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) press release here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/r05/laketahoebasin/newsroom/releases/proposed-changes-recreation-fees-lake-tahoe-basin-management
LTBMU plans to install an automated payment kiosk, at which lot users can pay for one or more days. They are not proposing additional parking, nor a charge for parking in the gravel lot, along the road, or at the snow park –a clear incentive to park illegally and dangerously. The USFS states that 80% of fees collected at recreation sites will be used “to operate, maintain, and improve these sites”, though it does not provide any concrete examples of what they might do at Echo.
Desolation Hikers: The Forest Service is also proposing a fee increase from $5 (eventually $15) per night for specialized recreation permits for overnight use of the Desolation Wilderness Area, as well as discontinuation of the Annual Overnight Permit Pass.
Comments: LTBMU has asked for comments from Echo Lakers, specifically stating “We have not established a process for Recreation Residence Permittees who use the various parking areas at Echo Trailhead. This is absolutely a consideration in the proposal review” and “...the feedback that is received will play into the proposal implementation."
For information regarding other impacted areas facing similar changes see the website Pacific Southwest Recreation Fee Proposals and scroll down to Eldorado National Forest.
Whatever you think about these proposed changes, input from all of us can have a big impact! Submit your comments:
Online:
Via email:
By mail:
Attention: Recreation Program Manager
35 College Drive
South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
Remember, the comment period ends September 29, 2026.
