Fanny Bridge: The Best Backsides on the Lake
Near Tahoe City, California
Just below you, where Lake Tahoe empties into the Truckee River, sits one of the most photographed and most affectionately named bridges in California. Its official name is the Truckee River Bridge, but nobody calls it that. For generations it has been known as Fanny Bridge.
The reason is delightfully simple. The water below is clear and full of enormous trout, and visitors line the railing to lean over and watch the fish. Motorists driving past are treated to a long row of upturned backsides, or fannies, and the nickname stuck.
Crossings here go back a long way. It sits at a crucial crossroads in Tahoe City, right at the lake's only outlet, beside the dam that controls how much water leaves the lake. In recent years the crossing here has been reworked, and fish watchers still line the rail.
So pull over if you can, walk out onto Fanny Bridge, lean over the rail, and join a tradition that has been embarrassing drivers for the better part of a century.
