Each year during the first weekend of October, the folks of South Lake Tahoe, California and surrounding areas get together at the U.S. Forest Service’s Taylor Creek Visitor Center to celebrate the annual fall migration of the Kokanee salmon. The Fall Fish Festival, formerly known as the Kokanee Salmon Festival, is great for families with children. The event highlights the fish species that live in Lake Tahoe and nearby waterways including the Lahontan cutthroat trout and the salmon that is so important to Tahoe’s bear population.

Attendees can look forward to amusements such as treasure hunts, fish art, streamside educational programs and visits from nature celebrities such as Smokey the Bear. Not to be missed is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s giant inflatable fish. The fish’s tail serves as the gateway to fun activity stations for kids.

Visitors also can take a walk down Rainbow Trail to actually see where the Kokanee salmon spawn in Taylor Creek, and guests are welcome to see the spawning up close in the underground Steam Profile Chamber.