Emerald Bay State Park - Lake Tahoe, California

Address:Tahoma, California
Tel: (530) 541-3030

Donner Memorial State Park was established in memory of the Donner party, a group of California-bound American settlers who became snowbound in the Sierra Nevada during the "westering fever" of the 1840s. The settlers, who suffered starvation in the heavy snow of the mountains resorted to cannibalism and today many books have been written about their fateful story. Aside from a museum with great exhibits on the pioneers' wagon trains and a monument to the Donners themselves, this park has 2.5 miles of hiking trails and three miles of Lakefront adjacent to Donner Lake. Summer in the park is filled with recreational opportunities, including boating, fishing, waterskiing, and hiking as well as camping in the park's 154 campsites. In the winter, visitors can enjoy cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing on the Park's trails.

In 1969, Emerald Bay was designated a National Natural Landmark for its brilliant panorama of mountain-building processes and glacier-carved granite. 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 park features Vikingsholm, one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in the western hemisphere. The "Tea House" on Fannette Island, the only island to be found in all of Lake Tahoe. 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.