Here we have a fifteen mile mountain bike route with 1,500 feet of vertical gain near South Lake Tahoe, California.

The route begins with a cruise through a meadow bordering Fallen Leaf Lake, then ascends to the top of Tahoe Mountain. The descent off of Tahoe Mountain affords the outdoor adventurer with views of Lake Tahoe.

The ride concludes with a climb up through a “rock garden” (see if you can ride the entirety of the Rock Garden Trail without putting a foot down – I could not) and then a descent through the meadow where the ride began. During my two hour sojourn I only encountered a few other groups of hikers and cyclists.

For a few bonus miles, head down to the shore of Lake Tahoe and cruise around the paved bike paths and take in some sights.

I stumbled onto Pope Beach, which is an iconic Lake Tahoe beach. It was beautiful. Bikes get in for free.

Other cool sites (and sights) in the area include the Taylor Creek Visitor Center, Tallac Historic Site, Truckee Marsh and the Grove Beach Bar and Grill.

Our base camp for this adventure was Fallen Leaf Campground near Fallen Leaf Lake where Karen, Poppy and I spent three nights. It was nice. We’ll be back.

Fallen Leaf Lake is not only gorgeous, but it is perfect for swimming. There is a clean beach of coarse gravel and sand (“glacial till” actually). The rocks are varied and interesting. The temperature is perfect. And the slope gently drops off so that the swimmer can pick the depth they are comfortable with.

Karen enjoys collecting rocks. She brings them home. We have rocks at home – everywhere. Everywhere there are rocks. There are rocks inside. There are rocks outside. These are good rocks. Only the good rocks make it home. In the case of Fallen Leaf Lake, an ancient glacier collected rocks from far and wide, ground them up, polished them down and deposited them on the beach. Here, Karen could wade through the very clear water and collect rocks in water about a foot deep. The water not only magnified the rocks, but made them appear as if they had been painted with lacquer. It was heartwarming to see her so happy.

Fallen Leaf Lake is also mysterious. The lake was explored using a submersible which discovered ancient trees at depths of 125 to 255 feet estimated to be 3,500 years old. The trees are well-preserved due to the lake’s cold, low-oxygen environment. Initially, it was theorized that the trees grew during a megadrought and were submerged when the lake level rose. However, the submersible found that the trees were not rooted and were surrounded by rocks, supporting a landslide theory. 

The Fallen Leaf area had a super vibrant and positive summer vibe. Coppertone was in the air. Since every day is a vacation day for us, it was nostalgic to experience the giddy rush of people eager to make the most of every summer vacation day.

From our campsite (#98) we could watch birds (we identified a White-breasted Nuthatch and a Western Wood Pewee), watch chipmunks or watch people.

The only way to Fallen Leaf Lake is on the dead end road that passes the campground. There is no parking at the lake. The procession of visiting families making their way to the lake follows the early morning locals’ hour wherein locals gather with their dogs and coffees and walk up to the lake and back. Families use a variety of conveyances to transport their children and flotation devices up to the lake. Bikes are king. The road is a smooth half mile climb. In the late afternoon the visitor is rewarded with a long, coasting glide through the woods back to the car. It’s the perfect end to a perfect day on the water.

Walk up to the lake after dinner for the golden hour and you will find peace and quiet.

I was hoping to hike to the summit of Mount Tallac, but on the day I had set aside there was thunderstorm activity. So I did some more mountain biking along the lower elevations around the lake.

The three of us also did a lovely little waterfall hike on the south side of the lake.

In the evenings we would enjoy the glow of firelight off the Jeffry and Lodgepole Pines.

I’d like to conclude with a few brief comments on our chosen route into the mountains. We chose California State Route 88, which took us through the towns of Clements and Jackson. There is even an abandoned ski resort hidden just west of Kirkwood Meadows. (Who can compete with Kirkwood Meadows?)

What a beautiful highway! It starts in not so beautiful Stockton and heads east up and over the crest of the Sierra all the way into Nevada. It reaches its highest point at Carson Pass, hence is also known as the “Carson Pass Highway”. It’s an old pioneer route. It is also one of the few trans-Sierra routes that Caltrans attempts to keep open during the winter. During the winter there is not another road open across the Sierra (to the south) until Walker Pass is reached. That’s over 200 miles, helping to keep our beloved Sierra wild.

On the way up we stopped in Clements at the Clements Ridge Produce and Bakery. It was an all American fruit stand manned almost entirely by Sikh men. Inside there was a small kitchen with five cooks churning out dishes like lamb curry pot pie. Someone handed me a free sample. I tasted it. It was an amazing butter chicken. “I’ll take one of those!”

On the way back we stopped in Jackson, an old mining town. We didn’t do the Gold Mine Tour (next time!) – but we did take a look at this really big wheel. It’s a “tailings wheel”. It took me a while to figure out what it was, why it was there and how it worked. I’ll spare you the explanation. Suffice it to say it is a very big wheel.

I hope your summer is progressing nicely and that you are finding a trail here and there to explore.

Thanks for reading. That’s all for now!