Fanny Bridge

The short bridge over the Truckee River at the lake outlet is a ritual stop for anyone arriving in Tahoe City. From the railing you look straight down at the river bed and the trout — sometimes large enough to make people audibly gasp — holding station in the clear water. The 1913 Lake Tahoe Dam beside it is the only outlet from the lake and controls the level of the entire Truckee River system downstream.

The bridge is also the official start of the Truckee River Recreational Trail, a paved 6-mile path that runs along the river through pine forest toward Squaw Valley.

things to do sight
A story
The bridge gets its name from the row of fannies pointing skyward as visitors lean over the railing to gawk at the enormous trout drifting in the current below. The big rainbows and browns gather here because the Lake Tahoe Dam, immediately upstream, holds the lake's only natural outlet — when the gates open, the river floods and the fish know it.