Horsetail Falls
Horsetail Falls is a waterfall in California, at a modelled elevation of 2,190 m. Freel Peak stands 3,305 m to the east, 12 miles off. The nearest named place is Ralston Peak, a peak 1.2 miles away. Lake Tahoe - Eastshore Drive passes 13 miles off.
The story
Horsetail Falls is a waterfall in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, to the west of Lake Tahoe in the Desolation Wilderness of El Dorado County, California, United States. It falls in stages for 791 feet (241 m). It can be reached by hiking north out of the Twin Bridges trailhead on U.S. Route 50. There is a forest service parking area designated to the area. It is located at 38°49′40.28″N 120°7′23.87″W.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q2967728, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
How to reach it
- 13.2 mi off the Lake Tahoe - Eastshore Drive, National
- 20.6 mi off the Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway, National
Overlooks nearby
- Cave Rock · 18 mi
- Logan Shoals Vista Point · 18 mi
- Memorial Point Scenic Overlook · 28 mi
- Hell's Kitchen Vista Point · 28 mi
Named places within 25 miles
- Ralston Peak: 1.2 mi
- Pyramid Peak: 2.1 mi
- Keiths Dome: 2.2 mi
- Cracked Crag: 2.7 mi
- Talking Mountain: 2.9 mi
- Fallen Leaf Recreation Center: 4.5 mi
- Tahoe Paradise Park: 5.5 mi
- Lake Valley State Recreation Area: 6.4 mi
- Bonanza Community Park: 8.4 mi
- Old Emigrant Trail Historical Marker: 9.9 mi
- Glen Alpine Spring: 3.4 mi
- Granite Spring: 12.2 mi
- Tragedy Spring: 13.2 mi
- Jim Quinn Spring: 13.6 mi
- Folsom Spring: 14.2 mi
- Glen Alpine Resort: 3.5 mi
- Fannette Island Tea House: 8.7 mi
- Kit Carson Historical Monument: 11.8 mi
- Snowshoe Thompson Historical Monument: 11.8 mi
- Elkus: 12.9 mi
- Lovers Leap: 2.2 mi
- Cathedral Peak: 4.5 mi
- Detox Wall: 6.7 mi
- Distillery Wall: 6.7 mi
- Tallac Point: 8.5 mi
- Kiva Beach: 8.6 mi
- Pope Beach: 9.0 mi
- El Dorado Beach: 11.7 mi
- Lester Beach: 11.8 mi
- Lakeside Beach: 12.9 mi
- Andrews Meadows: 4.8 mi
- Linder Grove: 5.2 mi
- Washoe Meadows State Park: 6.1 mi
- Johnson Meadow: 9.2 mi
- Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point State Park: 14.7 mi
- Modjeska Falls: 3.8 mi
- Cascade Falls: 7.4 mi
- Upper Eagle Falls: 8.3 mi
- Lower Eagle Falls: 8.4 mi
- Eagle Falls: 8.5 mi
- Baldwin Home: 8.6 mi
- Lake Tahoe Historic Society Museum: 11.0 mi
- Genoa Courthouse Museum: 19.2 mi
- Alpine County Museum: 20.6 mi
- Carson Valley Museum and Cultural Center: 21.5 mi
- Tallac Historic Site: 8.6 mi
- Balancing Rock: 11.1 mi
- Rubicon Point Light: 11.6 mi
- Round Hill Pines Beach Resort: 14.4 mi
- M. S. Dixie II Terminal: 15.4 mi
- Eagle Falls Picnic Area: 8.5 mi
- Sandy Cove Picnic Area: 11.4 mi
- Meeks Bay Beach: 14.2 mi
- Shot Rock Vista Picnic Area: 14.7 mi
- Cleveland Corral: 16.6 mi
- St Theresa: 10.9 mi
- The Big Tree: 23.6 mi
- Dolly's Vegetable Garden: 8.6 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 12.9 miles of Horsetail Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freel Peak | E 81° | 3,305 m | 12.2 mi |
| Red Lake Peak | SE 138° | 3,067 m | 11.0 mi |
| Stevens Peak | SE 131° | 3,061 m | 10.1 mi |
| Pyramid Peak | WNW 299° | 3,042.818 m | 2.1 mi |
| Dicks Peak | NNW 343° | 3,042 m | 5.1 mi |
| Mount Price | NW 310° | 3,040 m | 3.6 mi |
| Agassiz | NW 307° | 3,038 m | 3.2 mi |
| Trimmer Peak | ENE 75° | 3,016 m | 11.2 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:05 | 18:38 | 19:13 |
| June solstice | 05:36 | 19:50 | 20:30 |
| September equinox | 06:49 | 18:24 | 18:59 |
| December solstice | 07:16 | 16:01 | 16:43 |
Local time (America/Los_Angeles).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jun–Sep.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 31 | 31 | 36 | 40 | 48 | 55 | 62 | 60 | 54 | 46 | 37 | 30 |
| Precip in | 2.8 | 3.7 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 3.5 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — S Lake Tahoe AP, 8 mi away.
Months at or above the year’s average flow: Apr–Aug — fullest in Jun, leanest in Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean cfs | 19.9 | 20.9 | 25.0 | 45.3 | 99.7 | 105 | 63.6 | 40.3 | 17.0 | 11.5 | 17.0 | 18.5 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge Pyramid C A Twin Bridges CA, 1 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/4242043950
Day trips start here
- Bliss State Park · 11 mi
- Homewood · 18 mi
- Lake Tahoe · 19 mi
- Tahoe City · 24 mi
- Olympic Valley · 26 mi
- Tahoe Vista · 29 mi
Take the scenic way to Horsetail Falls.
Byway plans around your taste, verified places, real weather and opening hours — then opens every leg in Google Maps with one tap.