There are hikes for all levels of hikers around Lake Tahoe, from short day hikes to back country backpacking along the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) or along the Tahoe Rim Trail. For beginners or those just getting acclimated to the mountain altitude, the Eagle Falls Trail offers a nice short hike that you can easily do in a morning.
The Eagle Falls trailhead is accessed on Route 89 on the western side of Lake Tahoe. That part of Route 89 is a winding mountain road overlooking Emerald Bay.
Across the road from the Eagle Falls trailhead is a trail that leads down to Vikingsholm, a historic home on the shore of Emerald Bay. If you have time and motivation to walk the trail down to the Lake, Vikingsholm is also worth seeing while you are on that side of the Lake.
The Eagle Falls Trail is less than a mile to the Falls, but it is worth going the additional way to see Eagle Lake, one of the Desolation Wilderness’ many beautiful alpine lakes.
If you decide to go to Eagle Lake you are supposed to get a $5.00 backcountry pass.
The trail starts with a section of stone steps (shown in first photo) making your way up to the Falls. The Falls weren’t running too strong when we were there, but the views along the way were very nice.
If you continue past the bridge to Eagle Lake, you should conttiue up the trail a short way past the lake in order to get to a higher vantage point for a picture of the lake. The lake is to the right of the trail in the picture below.
And below is the view you’ll get a short way up the trail, well worth the additional uphill climb.
When we were there there were people swimming in and relaxing around lake before their walk back down the trail to the parking area.
