Emerald Bay State Park in Lake Tahoe, Sierra Nevada, United States | National Park

In 1969, Emerald Bay was designated a National Natural Landmark for its brilliant panorama of mountain-building processes and glacier carved granite.The Emerald Bay State Park features Vikingsholm, one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in the western hemisphere and Fannette Island (the only island to be found in all of Lake Tahoe). A sparsely timbered, brush covered upthrust of granite that rises 150 feet above the water, Fannette Island was not always known by that name. During the past 100 years it has been known as Coquette, Fannette, Baranoff, Dead Man's, Hermit's, and Emerald Isle. Fannette was the name that finally stuck. Emerald Bay was designated an underwater state park in 1994. It is the resting place for many boats, launches and barges used in the lake before the turn of the century, during the heyday of Emerald Bay Resort and used in the construction of Vikingsholm. Emerald Bay State Park is located 22 miles south of Tahoe City. Vikingsholm can be reached by parking in the Harvey West parking lot by Highway 89 at Emerald Bay. Take the trail, which is one mile in length and drops 500 feet in elevation to the house. Fannette Island is located in the bay on the west shore of Lake Tahoe. The natural beauty, geology and history of this unique island make it one of the highlights of any visit to the Lake Tahoe area. The Boat Camp is on the north side of Emerald Bay State Park, about 1/2 mile east of Fannette Island at the site of the old Emerald Bay Resort.