Fallen Leaf Lake

Group picture of our Camp W friends at Fallen Leaf Lake.

What a great hike today with Sandy. We got a bit of a late start hiking because of the traffic on Hwy 50 because of the construction. Things don't move well with one lane. Well, we finally arrived so we all parked and got out our dogs, leashed up and started the hike.

Once we were away from the road we were able to take our dogs off leash. Because of the lateness the pace of the hike was a little quicker. Jan was having a little pressure with his heart so we were hiking a bit slower than the others, but when there was a choice in directions during the hike the group waited for us. Sometimes Sandy marks direction by making an arrow on the ground and tying an empty poop bag to it so we know which way. Then it is removed on the way back.

Fallen Leaf Lake

Jan hiking at Fallen Leaf Lake.

This is one of our favorite hikes, mostly wooded, some hills, the lake is so beautiful. Over the years we have hiked different sides of the lake. Today we were going to the house in the woods that burned down a long time ago. You can still see the foundation of the cabin but only the fireplace remains standing.

Lining up a few of the dogs.

L-R: Greg, Sally and our hike leader Sandy.

Jan, Tinkerbell and Chip hiking.

Clouds over Fallen Leaf Lake.

Driving Directions: From Camp W take Hwy 50 to the “Y”, turn right on Hwy 89. Turn left at the “Snow Park” sign just past the bridge onto Cathedral Road. Proceed down the road to Green Forest Service Gate. To hike with the dogs off leash we try to be well away from the campground.

Hike Summary: Fallen Leaf Lake is a picturesque hike.

Special Features: Fallen Leaf Lake is about one mile south of the much larger Lake Tahoe. It is approximately aligned north to south in an oval shape about 3 miles long. It is the second largest alpine lake in the Tahoe Basin. The lake was created by at least two glaciers which traveled northward down the Glen Alpine Valley. If the glacier had continued instead of stopping, Fallen Leaf Lake would be a bay similar to nearby Emerald Bay

From the discovery of Fallen Leaf Lake by Col. John Calhoun Johnson and his Delaware Indian guide, Captain Falleaf sometime between 1850 and 1858, to the discovery of Glen Alpine Springs by Nathan Gilmore the history is nicely detailed and carefully researched.

There was a often-heated rivalry between Lucky Baldwin and Gilmore, a feud lasting until Gilmore’s death. One can only imagine Gilmore’s vast influence on the area as well as those of the colorful, if not always honorable, Baldwin and his legacy of wild exploits.

Lucky’s daughter Anita, and her impact on Fallen Leaf, including the rise and fall of her estate on the lake’s west shore. Under the provisions of the property’s transfer to the U.S. Forest Service, Anita’s home and most of the outbuildings compromising the estate were burned and demolished in 1953.

Anita Baldwin house at Fallen Leaf Lake.

The Anita Baldwin house, which she named Nid Ji Eh Wa Ri (a Hopi Indian word meaning “House on the Lake”), would have made a memorable museum. On the west side of the lake, not far from the dam at Taylor Creek, is the foundation of Anita’s home and one or two of the outbuildings. If you sit for awhile on the old foundation, you may find yourself imagining what life was like for a woman of privilege at Fallen Leaf Lake.