Emerald Bay State Park

The “California Camping” book by famed outdoors writer Tom Stienstra rates Emerald Bay State Park a 10, and there’s no arguing his assessment. Perched atop a hillside at 7,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada, there’s a view of Emerald Bay to the left and Lake Tahoe to the right from our campsite. Although crowded and oft-times difficult to get a reservation, the scenery is so splendid and the recreation opportunities bountiful that this park is a must-see.

We brought along our kayaks for this trip and got in two great paddles. The first day, we explored deep-blue Emerald Bay, which was calm and soothing in the morning and rough in the afternoon due to a storm.

Emerald Bay features Fannette Island, the only island in Lake Tahoe; it is only accessible by boat. Atop the island are the ruins of a tea house built by Lora J. Knight in the 1930s. Knight also built Vikingsholm, which is now a museum at the western edge of Emerald Bay State Park. After we climbed to the top of Fannette Island, where we felt like we were on the top of the world, we continued our paddling over to Vikingsholm, which made for a great lunch spot on the developed shoreline. Guided tours of Vikingsholm are available June through September. Eagle Falls is less than a half mile from Vikingsholm, so we were also able to get in a little hiking on this day trip before paddling back to our campground.

Because our campsite was at the north end of the park, we left our kayaks on the beach, less than 500 yards uphill from our site. The convenience of not having to unload or load the boats on back-to-back days made this trip even more special. The second day, we paddled to D.L. Bliss State Park, passing towering walls of granite that encompass Lake Tahoe. The 10-mile round-trip was challenging, but there so much to see that we hardly felt taxed.

Emerald Bay State Park has more than 100 campsites. Across Emerald Bay from the main campground there are 20 boat-in sites Besides kayaking and canoeing, there is great hiking at Emerald Bay State Park, including the Rubicon Trail that stretches above Emerald Bay and Lake Tahoe to D.L. Bliss State Park and beyond.

And if you get caught in a rare summer storm, you can always make the 20-minute drive to South Lake Tahoe for a meal or the slots.       

Location: From Highway 50 in South Lake Tahoe, take Highway 89 east 8 miles
Activities: Camping, hiking, paddling, swimming in Emerald Bay, visitors center at

Vikingsholm
Information: 530-541-3030
Camping: 1-800-444-park
Website: www.cal-parks.ca.gov