Cascade Falls Trail | South Lake Tahoe, CA | Amazing Views

Cascade Falls Trail is a 1.69 mile trail with 262 feet of elevation gain and is part of Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit located in Lake Tahoe, California. This is an easier hike with some amazing views at the end. The hardest part of this trail can be finding parking.

Parking & Getting There

Trailhead: Google Maps
Parking: Google Maps

You need to walk to get to the trial head because the start is nestled in the back of the campgrounds. If you are staying at the campgrounds, it will make the start of the hike extremely convenient for you.

The Trail

As mentioned above, the start of the trail is nestled in the very back of the campgrounds. You will notice at the trailhead that permits are mentioned. You do not need one for this hike, but you do if you plan on going any further, or if you plan on camping overnight in the wilderness. From here, you will start the hike going through some nice and open forest space. This part of the trail is very easy to follow.

After you make it through the initial portion of the trail, you will start to hike along the side of the mountain. The trail is very clear at this point, but important to watch your footing to make sure you don’t trip and fall. You aren’t directly on the edge, but if you fall it might be a decent little tumble.

After making it through this portion, probably the last quarter mile is where I got confused. I am not sure if I got off trail, or it’s just the way the trail looks. Pretty much you are walking on some flat-ish rock until you reach the falls. Even though I didn’t see a clear path, at this point I just needed to go straight until reaching the falls.

Once I made it to the falls, I was a bit disappointed, because common to me… I always visit the water falls when they are not flowing. It was more of a trickle. At least at this point the view of the lake is absolutely breathtaking. Keep in mind that if heading this way in the snow or potentially freezing conditions it will be very slippery with all the rock.

Due to the weather, I didn’t looks out for shade on the trail. There was some, but not really needed. Because this trail was fairly short, you will be out and back in no time. If you bring kids make sure to keep them close and help them as they go through the middle portion of the trail. Check out the video above for more what that looks like.

Lookback

Overall Cascade Falls Trail is a great hike. I would like to come back here when the falls are flowing and spend some time listing to the water flow while looking out at the lake. Maybe next time I am in Tahoe, I will be able to get some updated video and pictures. What is your favorite part about this trail?

Photo Gallery

Wrap Up

Is there a specific hike that you would like to see next? Leave a comment down below or reach out via the Contact Form and hopefully I will be able to get a recap and virtual hike posted soon! Thanks for stopping by, enjoy your adventure.