The conifer-coated slopes of Emerald Bay State Park rise steeply above a secluded inlet, carved into a (suppos­edly) jewel-like shape by an Ice Age glacier. Hwy-89 passes through the park and beside a boulder-strewn road­side lookout point which provides an immensely photogenic view of Lake Tahoe and its only island – the rocky hump of Fanette Island, topped by a rustic stone structure known as the ‘tea house.’

Thread your way down a mile-long trail from the lookout point and you’ll reach Vikingsholm, a 1920s version of a 9thC Nordic fortress. The summer residence of a rich heiress (who also owned Fanette Island’s tea house), Vikingsholm’s Swedish architect was instructed not to uproot a single tree in its construction and used traditional Scandinavian-style granite walls and part-earthen roofing to blend the building into the landscape. A castle half-buried in the forest, Vikingsholm and its 38 rooms are intriguing to visit.