RV rental Desolation Wilderness, CA: Motorhome rentals, camper van rentals and more

Long before the European settlers arrived, the region was used by Washoe Native Americans, who are known to have lived and hunted in the Great Basin (the area near Tahoe Lake) for at least 6,000 years. Due to the harsh terrain and arid conditions, the settlers nicknamed it Devil’s Valley. It was used primarily for cattle grazing for much of the 19th century. Around the turn of the century, alarmed by development creeping in, the US Forest Service began purchasing land and started the process of turning it into a federally-managed park. It was initially established as Desolation Valley Primitive Area in 1939 and later recategorized as Desolation Wilderness in 1964.