Emerald Bay State Park occupies the southwest shore of Lake Tahoe around one of the lake’s most famous inlets. Established in 1953, the 1,533-acre park includes Eagle Falls, Fannette Island—the lake’s only island—and Vikingsholm, a 38-room mansion designed by Leonard Palme for Lora Josephine Knight and regarded as a notable example of Scandinavian architecture in the United States. Recognized as a National Natural Landmark in 1969, the bay is celebrated for a distinctive landscape shaped by water, waterfall, and island. In 1994, protection was extended to the bay’s waters as one of California’s first underwater parks, preserving wrecks and other submerged remains alongside its scenery.