South Lake Tahoe celebrates big fish during Kokanee Salmon Festival at Taylor Creek

Celebrate the annual fall migration of the Kokanee salmon of Lake Tahoe at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center. The Visitor Center is located three miles north of South Lake Tahoe on Highway 89. Join the fun and participate in this free family event which has become one of the most fascinating educational and wildlife viewing events in Northern California.
The festival encourages participation by children and their parents in a wide variety of educational and entertaining activities including:

— Treasure Hunt (free educational material) - sponsored by California Inland Fisheries Foundation, INC. (CIFFI)

— Fish Painting - sponsored by California Conservation Corps (CCC)
— Mascots - Sandy and Rocky
— A visit from Smokey Bear!
— Giant inflatable Lahontan Cutthtroat Trout - sponsored by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
— Salmon Feed and other food - Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care
— Bumble Bee Ice Cream Truck
— Festival T-shirt sales - sponsored by ProLeisure and Tahoe Heritage Foundation
— "Wild Things" - Saturday, October 6 at 2 p.m. at the Lake of the Sky Amphitheater
— "Drama of the Kokanee - an Interactive Play" - Sunday, October 7, at 2 p.m.
— Kokanee Trail Runs - sponsored by Tahoe Mountain Milers and Sagebrush Stompers running clubs

What you can see
From 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday, visitors can learn about the natural wonders of Taylor Creek from Forest Service biologists, as they stroll along the accessible, half-mile loop Rainbow Trail. This peaceful walk meanders through forests, meadows and marsh lands to the creek where the Kokanee Salmon spawn within a few feet of your own feet. A close-up view of this natural event is available in the underground Stream Profile Chamber located along the Rainbow Trail path.

Festival Activities
Throughout the weekend, attendees will be greeted by the two official salmon mascots for the Kokanee Salmon Festival, “Sandy and Rocky Salmon.” You might even run into Smokey Bear! Ice cream treat sales from the local Bumble Bee Ice Cream truck will entice the young and old alike. California Conservation Corp will assist children in making fish paintings. Come and enjoy the numerous educational booths from multiple agencies including California Inland Fisheries Foundation, Inc., California Conservation Corps, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care and many others. Enjoy the self-guided nature trails and take a look at this year’s Kokanee Salmon T-Shirt design.

On Saturday, at 2 pm in the Lake of the Sky Amphitheater, "Wild Things" will educate the public about native Sierra Nevada animals and feature live animals onstage. Please leave your pets at home for this show.
On Sunday, at 2 p.m. in the Lake of the Sky Amphitheater, “The Drama of the Kokanee Salmon – An Interactive Play” will include audience participation to help act out the Kokanee Salmon Story at Taylor Creek. From egg to death, watch young audience members portray the different stages in the Kokanee salmon’s life cycle and its interaction with predators and scavengers.

Kokanee Trail Runs
On Sunday, the Tahoe Mountain Milers and Sagebrush Stompers running clubs will present the Kokanee Trail Runs. The half marathon will start at 9 a.m. The children’s ½ mile “Tadpole Trot” will start at 9:15 a.m. 5k and 10k trail runs start at 10 a.m. All runs will start at the Taylor Creek Snowpark parking lot. Race day registration will begin at 8 a.m. Registration and early packet pickup will be available at the Camp Richardson Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 6 from 12 to 4 p.m. For more information email kokaneetrailruns@sbcglobal.net.

The festival begins where the road ends
The Kokanee Salmon Festival is held at the U.S. Forest Service Visitor Center at Taylor Creek. The Visitor Center is is located 3 miles north of the "Y" in South Lake Tahoe. Take Highway 89 north past the Tallac Historic Site. Additional information about viewing the Kokanee Salmon can also be obtained from the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit. Please contact us for more information.
With the popularity of the Kokanee Salmon Festival at the Lake Tahoe Visitor Center at Taylor Creek and the Octoberfest at Historic Camp Richardson Resort the parking lot at the Visitor Center fills quickly. Some free parking is available at Camp Richardson where visitors can walk back and forth between the Kokanee Salmon Festival and Octoberfest. Visitors are encouraged to ride a bike along the bike path between Camp Richardson and the Visitor Center or take public transportation from South Lake Tahoe. Contact BlueGo/Nifty Fifty bus service at (530) 541-7149.

Some history
The Festival celebrates the dramatic and colorful spawning behaviors of the Kokanee Salmon, where a close-up look at this natural display is available in Taylor Creek and the Stream Profile Chamber.
The Kokanee, landlocked cousins of the sea-going Sockeye Salmon, were introduced to Lake Tahoe in 1944 by biologists working on the lake's north shore. These predecessors of today's inhabitants quickly adapted to the alpine environment, joining brown trout, rainbow trout and Mackinaw among the most prominent game fish in Lake Tahoe. However, no other species in Lake Tahoe offers such a spectacular show during their mating season.
Each autumn, nature calls mature Kokanee to return to the streams from which they were hatched, select a mate, spawn and die. As that time approaches, adult males develop a humped back and a heavy, hooked jaw, equipping them for the inevitable battles over both mates and territory, and both sexes turn from their usual silver/blue color to a brilliant red. Then, en masse, the fish make one mad dash to their mating grounds, fighting their way up the shallow stream, displaying their colors to attract a mate, then battling to protect the small patch of gravel streambed where they make their "redds" or nests.
Along the stream banks, the autumn aspens, willows and grasses will be as brilliant as the display in the creek below. Almost as dramatic as the story of life and death being played out in the water are the colorful combinations of orange, gold and red as the vegetation prepares to shed their foliage in anticipation of winter. Throughout the Festival, Interpretive-Naturalists will be on hand to explain the forces of nature that cause these annual displays.
Whereas most Forest Service wildlife programs focus on land animals or birds, the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit has created a unique educational program to view the Kokanee Salmon in their natural habitat. For those that cannot make it to the Festival the Kokanee Salmon can be seen in Taylor Creek throughout the month of October.
For more information on the Kokanee Salmon Festival, contact the Lake Tahoe Visitor Center at Taylor Creek at (530) 543-2674.