Eagle Falls and Lake (El Dorado County, CA)

The Lake Tahoe area must be one of the most scenic areas in all the world. I am so lucky to live so close and be able to take it all in so often. The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy, but I've managed to get a few trail miles in here and there, but nothing blog-worthy. Today, that changes. I drove down to South Lake Tahoe to take advantage of that magnificent scenery, with Eagle Lake as my destination.

Parking around Emerald Bay is always difficult, as it is, perhaps, the single most scenic place in all of the extremely scenic Lake Tahoe area. Add that to the fact that the parking lots that exist are tiny and the winding road along the mountainsides don't leave much of an area to pull off. These are the times that I'm glad I have a jeep. No parking? No problem. Drop her in 4-low and just climb up that mountain a bit. I had to park a few hundred yards from the trail head, but it got the job done.

The trail is fairly steep at the start with a number of chiseled granite steps leading up to the Eagle Falls Overlook. A sturdy bridge gives hikers an easy path across the fast-flowing thirty-ish foot waterfall. Many tourists simply stop here, but I wanted to go on and see the lake above. Another mile or so through the woods and scrambling over granite and I arrive at a serene, though much-visited, sub-alpine lake. Minuscule by comparison to the mighty Tahoe below, but still beautiful in its own right.

I spot an extension of the trail leading around the south side of the lake and decide to explore. The trail gets more rugged, but eventually leads to a clearing on the south side of the lake. I ask some fellow trekkers whether the trail loops around the lake, but they confirm that it does not. I turn around and head back to the jeep. Just a short journey today; only about 4 miles, still a fantastic time.