General Store, Sightseeing and the Stanford Sierra Alumni Camp If you’re staying at the Fallen Leaf Lake campground, it’s only necessary to go backpacking in Desolation Wilderness-the astounding sights are only steps away from the campsite. As a kid, I remember these hikes being my first introduction to the world of wildflowers. There are over 30 hikes in all and each will be an adventure for everyone in the family to bury deep in their memory banks. Because Desolation Wilderness is so compact, you can make most trips in a day. The trails out of Fallen Leaf Lake wander past Glen Alpine Falls, Lily Lake, Grass Lake then from there you can make various deviations to either Lake Aloha, Mt. It’s a 100 square miles of road-less area standing above the southwest shore of Lake Tahoe with splendid views of the lake. Desolation Wilderness is one of the most popular hiking areas in Northern California. One of the easiest accesses to Desolation Wilderness is from Fallen Leaf Lake. Fallen Leaf Lake is a portal to the Desolation Wilderness Exhibits on the Baldwin family-the former proprietors of the Tallac Hotel, and on the Washoe Indian Tribe can be seen at the Tallac (Baldwin) Museum located also within the site. Nowadays, the site is home to Valhalla community events center and its annual Valhalla Festival of Arts and Music. In its days of glory, the resort included two large hotels, a casino, and numerous annexes and out-buildings. This is the former site of the 100-year-old Tallac Resort.

The Tallac Historic Site is located at Hwy 89 and Fallen Leaf Lake Road. Many old quirky cabins still exist and are frequented during the summer months and some have been rebuilt into modern mansions. Although times have changed, families carry on their traditions and most of the environment remains the same with deep respect for the history. A new General Store/Post Office was built recently and a great gathering place for our character rich personalities young and old. The old General Store still stands where a few movies have been filmed. Bill is Harriet’s son who later took over the developed Fallen Leaf Lodge just to the south of the Stanford Sierra Camp where there was a diner, small cabins and tent camping. William and Barbara Craven still live at Fallen Leaf Lake year-round however aging. This is where my father worked for one of his two daughters Harriet Price Craven and Francis Price Street who ran the camp. William Price acquired the land where the original Fallen Leaf Lodge stood and now where the Stanford Sierra Camp resides. More families secured government leased land on the west side and above Glen Alpine creek which is known as Stanford Hill. The Alden’s and their Stanford and Berkeley faculty investors were original purchasers of lots along the east side back in the 1920’s. Still has that old Tahoe feelįallen Leaf Lake has roots dating back to the early 1900’s. Please check out our Local Area Guide for more details.

It can become contagious.Īt Fallen Leaf Lake, you are only twenty minutes from South Lake Tahoe where there is entertainment, world-class restaurants, and all aspects of recreation you can imagine from hot air balloons to back-country training camps. Each summer, many of us families retreat to Fallen Leaf Lake for year after year comradery with a growing group of friends. The small road hugging the lake and granite rocks along its west side is often just one lane where you find yourself pulling off to let your fellow visitor pass by. Its 75 feet of clarity is sensational and lack of crowds is comforting to swimmers and boaters alike. Small pristine remote lake yet close to everythingįallen Leaf Lake is a small one-by-three mile lake and nearly 600 feet deep. Many visitors to Fallen Leaf Lake eventually become locals who want to stay at this wonderful little lake in the Sierra mountains near South Lake Tahoe.

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