Many visits to the dam include a stop on the “Fanny Bridge” to watch the large trout that circle just below the dam’s 17 gates; a stroll through the adjacent park with its picnic tables, huge trees, and the Historical Society’s Gatekeeper’s Cabin museum; and a trip across the dam itself—where Lake Tahoe becomes the beautiful Truckee River.


The dam been an important factor in the various “water wars” that have been fought over who gets to use how much of Lake Tahoe’s pristine water. The dam was built originally of timber in the late 1800s. Later (early 1900s) the concrete dam was constructed. Today the federal water master in Reno controls the level of the Lake, and, therefore, the flow of water in the river. This control is via how many of the 17 gates in the dam are open, and how wide they are open. The gates move up and down in the dam. For more information on Lake Tahoe’s water wars, see Timeless Tahoe here on the www.tahoetopia.com website--the portal to Lake Tahoe.