Lake Tahoe
Sierra Nevada / Nevada Line · near South Lake Tahoe · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Wildlife Watching
At a glance
- Best season
- Winter for bald eagles; fall for kokanee salmon run & birds; summer ospreys
- Open year round
- Yes
What is here
- Wildlife
- birds · land-mammals
- Species
- Bald eagles, ospreys, black bears, waterfowl, Steller's jays, spawning kokanee
- Amenities
- Wintering bald eagles · Ospreys over the lake · Taylor Creek marsh & salmon · Forest black bears
- Best for
- Alpine-lake birds & bears
- Features
- Bald eagles in winter · Fall kokanee salmon run · Black bears in the forest · Marsh & lakeshore birding
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Bears are active — store food properly · Cold, snowy winter access · Keep distance from all wildlife · Mountain weather & altitude
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Wildlife Watching detail
- Viewing
- shore
- Effort
- easy
- Habitat
- mountain
- Sighting
- 3
- Viewing notes
- A alpine-lake basin with wintering bald eagles and ospreys over the water, black bears in the forests, and marshes like Taylor Creek alive with birds and spawning salmon
- Intl tip
- A sapphire alpine lake on the California–Nevada line with rewarding seasonal wildlife. Winter brings bald eagles hunting over the water (an annual eagle count tallies them); ospreys nest and fish in warmer months; black bears roam the forests. A highlight is Taylor Creek on the south shore, where autumn's brilliant red kokanee salmon spawn draws bears, eagles, and birds, viewable from an interpretive trail with an underwater viewing chamber. Easy, family-friendly shoreline viewing — but store food (bears), dress for winter cold, keep distance.
The guide
The Lake Tahoe basin, a sapphire alpine lake ringed by Sierra peaks on the California-Nevada line, offers a rewarding mix of mo…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Lake Tahoe — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 39, -120