Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe

Since we're early risers and no one else in our family is ... Mike and I took Shelby and Coop out for a drive to do some exploring today. We had breakfast at Rosies, a little local favorite, and then headed to Emerald Bay. If you've never been to Lake Tahoe nearly every view is breathtaking. The drive to Emerald Bay was amazing, so much to see and so gorgeous. It's really a phenomenal place to be and visit.

We stopped and explored the area at the look out point over Emerald Bay. You can hike down to the bay, or you can climb all the rocks overlooking the bay and check out the view. Mike and Shelby climbed the rocks, while Cooper and I just enjoyed the view.

According to the California State Parks' Web site, "In 1969, Emerald Bay was designated a National Natural Landmark for its brilliant panorama of mountain-building processes and glacier carved granite. 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."

Pretty interesting, eh? Interesting and beautiful.