Waterfall Hikes in The Sierra this Spring need to be done early
South Lake Tahoe Ca – Spring in the Sierra is a great time to get out on the trails and hike to your favorite waterfalls, streams or lakes. The trails conditions can sometimes be a little sloppy from the melting snow, but the fresh smells in the forest and the sounds of rushing water from a variety of waterfall activity, give the forest a great sound.
In the last week, unfortunately, Sierra REC has had several readers send us photos of their hikes to different falls, and this last weekend we traveled over HWY 50 towards Placerville Ca and have been astonished at how low the water is already flowing. Waterfalls will not last long this year in the Sierra Mountains, so the time to visit is now.
Our friend Rob Sweikar from the Carson Valley, took his family up behind Fallen Leaf Lake this weekend to a set of their favorite Sierra Falls and sent us these shots to enjoy.
Just out of South Lake Tahoe, behind Fallen Leaf Lake. There is a trailhead parking lot for desolation wilderness and this particular waterfall is right off of the road that goes up to that trailhead parking lot. If you want to see the falls like this you need to come pretty quick, we didn’t get a lot of snowpack this year so the water is going to go away fast – Rob Sweikar
Along HWY 50, It does look like Horsetail Falls is running pretty strong right now. This is because of the better Snowpack on the West side of the slopes, but again don’t expect this rushing water to stay as long as normal. Plan you visit now if you want to see Horse Tail falls in its full glory.
Horsetail is magnificent in early spring, but continues to impress well into summer. Visible from Hwy 50, the falls rumble 500 ft down and are aptly named. With a distance of only one mile, it’s a very strenuous climb, taking about an hour and requiring some scrambling.
Getting there: Driving west from South Lake Tahoe on Hwy 50, the trailhead begins two miles east of Strawberry, at the Twin Bridges parking lot. After parking, follow the signs to the wilderness boundary. There, you’ll need to fill out a permit to continue up to the waterfall, since Horsetail once again heads into the Desolation Wilderness.
I can tell you that this waterfall might not be as strong as normal however, as you travel down the South Fork of the American River towards Placerville and the water level is extremely low for this time of year. So if you like Waterfall hikes or getting out on the American River, you want to go out in the next month probably to get the best looks.
Sierra REC Magazine is dedicated to sharing the events, news and adventure opportunities that exist in The Sierra Mountains. From Lassen Volcanic National Park to the North down through the Central Sierra and the Lake Tahoe Basin through the rugged eastern slopes of the Mono county and Yosemite National park to the southern tips near Sequoia National Park and the PCT trail. We invite you to share stories, trips and photos from your adventures in the  Sierra. Please join us on Facebook, Twitter Google +  and You-Tube or email us your events and photos at sierrarecinfo@gmail.com  #goexplore
