Horsetail Falls
California · 791-foot drop · Desolation Wilderness · Last verified 2026-05-15
Today at Horsetail Falls: clear, 55°F.
Right now
Overnight
55°F
Clear
Friday
72°F
Sunny
Today's daylight
Sunrise 5:43 AM · Sunset 8:27 PM · 14h 44m
Snapshot built 9m ago. Sources: NWS STO.
Horsetail Falls is a waterfall in El Dorado County, California. It drops roughly 791 feet. Access details and conditions have not yet been verified in person by Fallspots — the data on this page comes from OpenStreetMap and USGS GNIS.
Horsetail Falls sits in El Dorado County, California. The falls are inside Desolation Wilderness. The base sits at roughly 7,321 feet of elevation. Drive time is about 8 minutes from Meyers. OpenStreetMap shows a trail within 140 meters of the marked location, though the name isn't recorded. No public parking is recorded within 2 km, so a longer approach is likely. This is one of the more frequently visited falls in the state by our popularity model. Source records come from OpenStreetMap and USGS GNIS.
Entry is free. Dogs on leash are welcome on the access trail.
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.
Compare to nearby falls
If this one isn't the right fit, here's how it stacks up against the closest documented falls. Every column is filterable on the site — not buried in 13,000 reviews.
| Waterfall | Distance | Height | Trail | Dogs | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horsetail Falls (this page) | — | 791 ft | — | Y | Free |
| Modjeska Falls | 4 mi | — | — | — | — |
| Cascade Falls | 7 mi | — | — | — | — |
| Upper Eagle Falls | 8 mi | — | — | Y | Free |
| Lower Eagle Falls | 8 mi | — | — | — | — |
| Eagle Falls | 8 mi | — | — | — | — |
Side-by-side comparisons
Horsetail Falls compared head-to-head with other documented falls — height, access, fees, dogs, swimmability in one row each.
Related waterfalls
Similar height (~791 ft)
- Amicalola Falls728 ft
- Chilnualna Fall696 ft
- Depot Creek Falls886 ft
- Berdeen Falls899 ft
- Middle Cascades675 ft
Questions visitors ask about Horsetail Falls
Answers built from our structured data. If a question isn't here, the fact is unverified — we'd rather omit than guess.
How tall is Horsetail Falls?
Horsetail Falls is 791 feet (241 m) tall. Height is sourced from Wikidata.
Is Horsetail Falls in a national or state park?
Yes — Horsetail Falls is inside Desolation Wilderness. We inferred this from OpenStreetMap protected-area polygons; if you find we got the boundary wrong, please report it. See the park page for fees, hours, and current conditions.
Can I bring my dog to Horsetail Falls?
Yes — dogs are allowed (Desolation Wilderness permits leashed dogs in most areas). Inferred from park type; check the official site for trail-specific restrictions. Always leash and pack out waste.
Is there a fee to visit Horsetail Falls?
No entrance fee. Desolation Wilderness is free to access. Some trailheads may charge a parking fee separately.
How far is Horsetail Falls from a major city?
Horsetail Falls is 6 miles from Meyers (about 8 minutes' drive).
More waterfalls in California
Where it is
38.8299, -120.1234
Sources and live status
Where we got the data, and where to check current conditions before you drive.
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsetail_Falls_(California)
Wikidata (Q2967728)
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2967728
GeoNames (5358218)
https://www.geonames.org/5358218/
Last verified by Fallspots: 2026-05-15
Been there?
Marina and Theo verify pages one road trip at a time. If you've been to Horsetail Falls recently, your local knowledge improves the page for everyone. Pick the kind of contribution that fits — every email lands in our inbox and gets read (and credited when we publish).
Add a tip
Something we should know — best time, parking trick, that hidden viewpoint.
Share a photo
Have a CC-licensed image on Wikimedia or Flickr? Send the link.
Report a fix
Wrong height, closed trail, broken link — tell us what we got wrong.
We don't collect your email. Replies go directly to hello@fallspots.com.