After our brief stint jumping over an in-land border, we crossed another line, from Nevada into California so that we could pivot North at Lake Tahoe.
Known for tourism in all seasons, this massive lake feeds draws countless visitors in the summer and every town around the lake shows it. We drove through the town on the Southern edge, but it’s purely tourism based, so we decided that it didn’t have anything we were into at the time. We wanted nature, which meant driving up the Western side and finding some hiking trails.
Thankfully, Lake Tahoe has plenty and the drive to find them is gorgeous.
Eagles Falls
The falls are divided into Upper and Lower, with the lower falls right off the parking lot. It can take a little time to find a place to park, but the lower falls are literally right there and the hike to the upper falls is short and enjoyable. The hike continues on to a much larger trail system, but you don’t have to go far to enjoy yourself. It’s a little steep going up, but nothing major.
Once you reach the upper falls, there are plenty of places to see the falls and swim in the pools above. It’s not the most impressive falls, so it’s really made for the family-friendly style of hiker. If you’re into more robust stuff, there’s probably hikes that will interest you more, but if you’re looking to stretch your legs a little or picnic with the family, this is a great one.
Finding a campsite can be a bit tricky, but many of the side roads and snow pull-offs are open for car camping in the summer. It took a bit of driving, but we thought it would be harder.
The way the town and everything is set doesn’t’ lend itself to car camping, but the nature is beautiful here and you can just drive straight through the towns if you want.
