Emerald Bay State Park Day Use: Lake Tahoe California

ONE AMAZING LAKE TAHOE VIEW

Taking your breath away and it’s not just the altitude. The photo above was taken from Highway 89 where you will see many cars lining the road to take pictures. Emerald Bay is a short drive from South Lake Tahoe and is a very popular tourist destination. The parking lot fills up fast so I would suggest you plan to get there early. Emerald Bay State Park is open from sunrise to sunset.

After you park, take a walk down the Vikingsholm trail to the Vikingsholm Visitor Center. It is a moderatly challenging 1.7 mile out and back trail. At the bottom they have books, maps, gifts, snacks, water, and ice cream. There you can purchase tickets for the Vikingsholm Tour. These are on a first come first serve basis.

If you don’t want to hike down to the lake, there are many beautiful vista points around the parking lot area.

Open Season

Open seasonally from sunrise to sunset.

Amenities

- Restrooms

- Water

- Snacks

- Gift store

- No dogs

Parking

- $10 per vehicle for the day.

- $3 per hour.

- Maximum vehicle length is 18ft.

- Pay via self-pay machines.

- The lot is not very large so go early for your best shot at getting a spot.

Camping Nearby

- Fallen Leaf Campground – one of our favorite places to stay.

- Eagle Point Campground.

Local Things To See And Do

- Hike the Mount Tallac Trail.

- Tahoe helicopter tours.

- Tahoe boat rides.

- Lower Eagle Falls.

- Tallac historic site.

- Take the Heavenly Ski Resort gondola.
- If you find yourself heading towards Nevada City, another great day use area with far less people is the Emerald Pools.

Cell Signal

- T-Mobile – 0-2 bars.

Location

The park is located 22 miles south of Tahoe City and 12 miles north of South Lake Tahoe.
Park in the Harvey West parking lot by Highway 89 at Emerald Bay.

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