Horsetail Falls-El Dorado County

Location

Horsetail Falls: 38.8296 N, 120.1235 W

Upper Horsetail Falls: 38.8317 N, 120.1237 W

USGS Topo: Echo Lake

Directions

From the US-50/CA-89 intersection south of Lake Tahoe follow US-50 to the southwest for ~10.8 miles and turn right into the trailhead parking lot. In 2011, there was a $5 day-use fee to park here. To avoid this fee you can park off of either side of the highway (where permitted) near the parking lot. The so-called trail begins off the northeastern side of the parking lot. I say this because despite receiving $5 per car in a popular day-use area, the trailmarkers are virtually non-existant after only a few tenths of a mile. As many reviewers of this hike repeat, as long as you keep the creek on your right and Horsetail Falls in front of you, you'll be "fine". This is true, however, there are many places where you can end up in a dead-end of manzanita brush. My best advice to give is to stay close to the creek as possible. As you continue you will come upon the Desolation Wilderness Boundary, where you will need to fill out a permit (free). As you near the base of Horsetail Falls you'll need to scramble up some boulders. At the base are the best views of the falls (~1.5 miles into the hike). The very upper section of the waterfall is also accessible but is much more difficult and requires climbing the cliff to the west of the waterfall (do NOT bring your dog). After admiring the views from the base continue up to the top of Horsetail Falls by scrambling up the rock face and boulder fields on the west side of the creek. "Scrambling" is not an appropriate term for at least the first section of this climb. More appropriate would be low-rated rock climbing. However, as long as you have good hiking boots and not a lot of fear of heights you'll make it to the top of Horsetail Falls after ~0.4 miles from the base. For more information visit the World Waterfall Database.