Intrepid hikers can set off cross-country in the general direction of Cathedral Peak, about half a mile (800 m) away. It runs up to a junction which splits off to Gilmore Lake and Mount Tallac. The Middle Trail to Tallac is a trail that begins near Lily Lake and which runs along the northern side of Glen Alpine Valley. Cathedral Peak does not have a trail that leads directly to it, but can be reached by three different approaches. Cathedral Peak (8,200 feet (2,500 m)) appears to be a solitary peak from the vantage point on the lake, but is really the beginning of a ridge that leads in the direction of Gilmore Lake and Mount Tallac (9,735 ft/2,967 m). Cathedral Peak to the west, and the ridge upon which the Angora Lookout is located on the east (now forested). A terminal moraine is visible at the north end of the lake on the northeast edge. If the glacier had continued instead of stopping, Fallen Leaf Lake would be a bay of Lake Tahoe, similar to nearby Emerald Bay. The lake was created by at least two glaciers that traveled northward down the Glen Alpine Valley.

It is approximately aligned north-to-south and oval in shape, measuring approximately 2.9 miles (4.6 km) on the long axis and 0.9 miles (1.4 km) on the short axis. Fallen Leaf Lake is a mountain lake located in El Dorado County, California, near the California-Nevada state border, about one mile south of the much larger Lake Tahoe.

Fallen leaf lake south lake tahoe