Taylor Creek's Red Kokanee Salmon Run (Oct), Tallac Historic Site & Secret Fallen Leaf Lake

Just 5 kilometres (3 miles / 8 minutes) west of South Lake Tahoe along Highway 89, right before the highway climbs up the ridge to Emerald Bay, lies a flat, pine-shaded 2-mile corridor where three of Lake Tahoe's best free/low-cost lesser-known spots sit side-by-side: the Taylor Creek Visitor Center, the Tallac Historic Site, and hidden Fallen Leaf Lake.

1. The Free 'Taylor Creek Visitor Center' & October's Bright-Red 'Kokanee Salmon Run'.

Turn into the U.S. Forest Service Taylor Creek Visitor Center (open late May through October; 100% free admission and free parking) and walk the flat, paved 0.8-kilometre (0.5-mile) Rainbow Trail through aspen groves and marsh meadows:

• The Underground 'Stream Profile Chamber' (Open June to Early November): halfway around the loop, you descend into a subterranean viewing gallery where curved floor-to-ceiling aquarium-style glass windows look straight into a real, diverted section of wild Taylor Creek, so you see rainbow trout, speckled dace, crayfish and diving American dipper birds swimming at eye level in their natural mountain stream.
• The Sweeping October 'Kokanee Salmon Spawning Run' (Late September through October): landlocked Kokanee Salmon spend three years in the deep waters of Lake Tahoe before returning by the thousands every October up shallow Taylor Creek to spawn, transforming from silver into blazing neon crimson-red bodies with bright olive-green heads and hooked jaws.

2. Next Door: The Free 'Tallac Historic Site' (3 Lakeside 1920s Estates) & Secret 'Fallen Leaf Lake'

1. The Tallac Historic Site: walk along the shore of Kiva Beach through 74 acres of towering pines preserving three historic 1920s summer compounds of San Francisco's elite: the 1894 Pope Estate, the 1921 Baldwin Estate (housing the Tallac Museum), and the 1924 Heller Estate.
2. Drive 1 Mile Inland to Secret 'Fallen Leaf Lake' & Glen Alpine Falls: directly across Highway 89 from Taylor Creek, turn south onto narrow 1-lane Fallen Leaf Road to discover 5-kilometre-long alpine Fallen Leaf Lake, stop at the picturesque Fallen Leaf Marina General Store deck for an ice cream or burger over crystal-clear water, and drive 2 miles to the end of the road to see 20-metre (65-foot) Glen Alpine Falls cascading over stair-step granite slabs right beside the road.