| We love our house and to keep it well cleaned and maintained we often travel to Tahoe on occasion.
This Veteran's Day my son did not have school for two days - Monday and Tuesday - so we headed to the Lake. I cleaned
the roof and the gutters, deep cleaned the house and prepared it for the winter season. We were lucky that it did not
rain, so we could enjoy the Lake as well and to hike for 3-4 hours every day. Our hike to Vikingsholm at Emerald bay
was perfect.
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| Emerald Bay Vista Point and Trailhead |
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The Emerald Bay vista point and trailhead is located about 30-min drive south from our house. This is the parking.
November is a slow month in Tahoe, and there were few people, which made it very nice. This place gets very
crowded in summer. |
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The Emerald Bay as seen from the vista point. In the middle of it is Fannette island - the only island
in all of Lake Tahoe. The remains of a miniature castle in top is what's left of the "Tea House",
built at the same time as Vikingsholm. The owner and her guests occasionally visited the island by motorboat
and had tea there. |
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Eagle Falls as seen from the vista point. Both Upper and Lower Falls are seen here.
The waterfalls are awesome, particularly in the spring, dropping in two large cascades. |
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| Trail to Vikingsholm |
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The trail to the Emerald Bay is 1.0 mi long. At the highest point the elevation is 6630 feet,
and at the lowest - 6230 feet. Difficulty - moderate. We enjoyed beautiful fall colors along the way. |
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Another beautiful view. |
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The Fannette island as seen from the trail. |
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| Vikingsholm |
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Vikingsholm is a 20th century reproduction of a Scandinavian castle, one of the finest examples
of Scandinavian architecture in the US, and one of the first summer homes in Tahoe.
Mrs. Knight, who purchased the land in 1928, wanted to build a summer residence. The land and the bay reminded
her of Norwegian fjords, so she and the architect she commissioned traveled to Scandinavia for ideas prior to
starting the project. The name "Vikingsholm" means "Vikings Bay".
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Vikingsholm was completed in 1929 by two hundred workers. Most of the materials came from the Tahoe Basin.
The house was occupied by Mrs. Knight, her staff and guests in 1930. Mrs. Knight enjoyed 15 summers at Vikingsholm.
Tours of Vikingsholm are available from mid-June until the end of September. We couldn't see the castle inside this
time.
Vikingsholm Tour Information
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Many traditional Scandinavian carvings adorn the castle. |
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| More Views |
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Beautiful fall colors.
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The Emerald Bay as seen from Vikingsholm.
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