Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Emerald Bay and the Eagle Falls trail
waters. Emerald Bay is also a
protected Underwater Park,
where scuba divers can
explore an ancient under-water
forest, and wrecked dorries
and barges.
Stateline
Situated on the border of
California and the more liberal
state of Nevada, Stateline is the
main gambling town of the Lake
Tahoe region. In the 1860s,
Comstock Silver prospectors
journeyed to Virginia City
through Lakeside and
Edgewood, and Pony Express
riders made this their last stop in
Nevada. In 1873, a formal state
border was established along the
southern end of Lake Tahoe.
There are rooms in the hotel-
casinos here where your feet
can straddle both states. Views
of either state are fine, but the
west has prized California views
of the lake, shore, forests,
and mountains.
Ehrman Mansion
Sugar Point Pine St Pk. Te l (530) 525-
7982 (Tour information: (530) 525-
7232). Open Jul-Labor Day.
8 Memorial Day-late Sep:
10am-3pm daily. & $5 (adults).
Vikingsholm Castle
Emerald Bay St Pk. Te l (530) 525-9530.
Open mid-Jun-Labor Day.
vikingsholm.org
Banker Isaias W. Hellman joined
other wealthy landowners
building summer homes
around Lake Tahoe in 1903.
Hellman engaged architect
William Danforth Bliss to design
a Queen Anne-style residence
in the most sophisticated rustic
style. The Ehrman Mansion is
three stories high, consisting of
redwood-paneled walls and
bright, large windows. A palatial
verandah with rustic chairs for
rocking and lounging looks
down over Lake Tahoe. A
wood-burning steam
generator produced electric
lighting, the latest in modern
technology, until the arrival of
commercial energy in 1927,
and there was also a modern
plumbing system.
Mrs Lora Josephine Knight's
summer house, completed in
1929, is a fine example of 11th-
century Scandinavian architec-
ture, complete with turrets, sod
roofs, and carved dragons. Mrs
Knight visited Scandinavia with
her architect in 1928 to gather
ideas for the castle's design.
Using local wood and granite,
200 artisans handmade, planed,
carved, stained, and painted
Vikingsholm's outer walls and
interiors. The gaily-painted
furniture and textiles are also
replicated, down to hand-forged
hinges and latches.
Emerald Bay
22 miles (35 km) south of Tahoe City.
Te l (530) 541-3030/ (530) 525-7232.
The most famous postcard view
of Lake Tahoe depicts the deep
blue green waters of Emerald
Bay, with tiny Fannette Island in
the middle. The granite rock of
Fannette Island is thought to
have been resistant to the
glacial ice and the surviving
stone ruins here were once a
private teahouse.
Emerald Bay, 3-miles (4.8-km)
long, is the best-known feature
of the state park that adopts its
name. The three-tiered Eagle Falls
cascades through the park 500 ft
(152 m) down to Vikingsholm,
and visitors can walk the trail.
The glacier-sculpted bay
became a National Natural
Landmark in 1969 and draws
kayakers to explore its calm
Lake Tahoe Facts
More than two million years ago, rain and snow formed a lake at the
south end of this valley, between two parallel sections of Earth crust.
Ice Age glaciers shaped the lake into a round bowl that averages a
depth of 990 ft (300 m) but plunges to 1,685 ft (515 m) below the
surface at one point. North
America's third-deepest lake, Lake
Tahoe is 22 miles (35 km) long by
12 miles (19 km) wide. It lies 6,300
ft (1,920 m) above sea level and
extends over 193 sq miles (99 sq
km). The deep, fresh, and clear
emerald green and dark sapphire
blue water of this seemingly
endless lake is estimated to be
99.7 percent pure - the quality
of distilled water.
A view from the surrounding peaks
 
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