Glen Alpine Trailhead-Lily — Attraction in South Lake Tahoe

We had a pleasant hike here today. There is a parking area at the trailhead, so check there before you settle for a spot on the side of the road. There are composting toilets for public use at the parking area. You need to sign up for a day pass, but it's free and easy. It's pack-in, pack-out, so be prepared to carry everything back with you. It took us less than 20 minutes to hike up the trail to where there is a beautiful view of the falls. We kept walking for about 45 minutes (total) to get to Glen Alpine Springs, an abandoned historic resort that is under preservation. The best place to walk down to the river is right before the first camp building you come to. Someone has set up some games, like corn hole and plastic axe-throwing, near the soda spring. In selecting our hike, my 7-year-old son wanted to walk up the mountain, but in actually hiking, he was tired of walking up pretty quickly. We made it out and back, though. It was a...

We only went about 2 miles up on this trail and were underwhelmed by the experience, especially after spending a full weekend on the west side of the Desolation Wilderness and hearing folks go on and on about Fallen Leaf. It was not what we were hoping for! Our sentiment probably had to do with the awful drive to get there (narrow, windy one-way road with pot holes surrounded by cabins and careless drivers who don't like that they have to yield sometimes), lack of parking on a Sunday, nowhere to picnic, terrible bathrooms, and an awful trail of uneven gravel/creek rock that is rough on the ankles and puppy paws. We saw the first waterfall, and it was lovely for late summer. We went for the beautiful scenery but just got burned by the people aspect of it, so we'll skip this "tourist trap" trail in the future and stick to the western side of the wilderness where it's less busy and just...

Coming from a well traveled backpacker, this place is WONDERFUL. Beautiful scenery, multiple trails for personal time spent in nature, whether it's alone or with friends or family. You can take the more traveled trails if you are a worried about safety hiking alone, as you normally will encounter a handful of other hikers on the main trail. More people around in an emergency situation means it's much safer for everyone, and it still allows for a silent and meditative walk through nature when you want. Waterfall is beautiful, cliffs are gorgeous, river is just as awesome! Will...