Eldorado National Forest Service Offices
Eldorado National Forest includes the area from well north of Highway 50 to south of Highway 88, from about Pollock Pines in the west to the edge of the Tahoe Basin - in all, nearly 600,000 forested acres. The Eldorado Forest is divided into four Ranger Districts. Along the Highway 50 corridor are the Placerville Ranger District (headquarters in Camino) and the Pacific Ranger District (headquarters in Pollock Pines).
East of Echo Summit, National Forest land around Lake Tahoe are governed by the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit headquartered in South Lake Tahoe. It includes the Echo Lakes.
Placerville Ranger District Office
4260 Eight Mile Road, Camino, CA 95709
(530) 644-2324
Office Hours: 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday - Friday, closed holidays
Eldorado National Forest
Campfire Permits and Wilderness Permits are available at the Placerville Ranger Distric Office.
The Pacific Ranger District office has available various forest maps, books, pamphlets, and flyers. Forest Day Use Passes are needed in the summer and fall for use of the following parking areas: Pyramid Creek, Lovers Leap Campground, and Eagle Falls at Emerald Bay The passes cost $5 - $8 a day. Annual day-use passes may be purchased.
Sno-Park pass is needed at the Echo Lake SnoPark. These may be purchases at from Sno-Park permit vendors in the area: Sno-Pasrk Permit Vendors. For more information about Echo Lake Sno-Park, see
Echo Summit Snow Play.
ElDorado National Forest Visitor Information
(530) 644-6048
Eldorado National Forest Interpretive Association
The Eldorado National Forest Interpretive Association ia a nonprofit organization that helps the Eldorado National Forest serve the public. They assist in educational, historical, scientific and interpretive activities of the Forest Service.
Learn more about their activities: Eldorado National Forest Intepretive Association
Pacific Ranger District Office
7887 Highway 50, Pollock Pines, CA 95726
(530) 644-2349
Office Hours: 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM
Open Monday - Friday, year-round
Eldorado National Forest
The Pacific Ranger District Office now serves as a business office for the Forest Service. Most permits and other services are available at the Placerville office in Camino.
Crystal Basin Information Center
The Crystal Basin Information Center is open during the summer. It is located along Ice House Road midway between Ice House Reservoir and Union Valley Reservoir.
Eldorado National Forest Interpretive Association (ENFIA)
ENFIA is a nonprofit organization that helps the El Dorado National Forest serve the public. They assist in informing visitors about natural history, history, and special features of the forest. They make available books and other forest-oriented merchandise.
ENFIA
Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit
35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150
(530) 543-2600
Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit includes about 190,000 acres around Lake Tahoe, both in Nevada and California. They are responsible for the conservation, preservation and restoration of the Lake Tahoe watershed ecosystem within Forest Service lands. These lands include the Echo Lakes area, the eastern slope of Echo Summit, and all of the Meiss Country (Upper Truckee River, Dardanelles Lake, and Round Lake).