Sunrise at Emerald Bay

Emerald Bay on the south side of Lake Tahoe offers breathtaking views that I never can grow tired of. I ventured out long before the sun came on a quite chilly October morning to setup for an expected brilliant sunrise over the tree lined mountains. It was a crisp, cloudless morning at the Vikingsholm trailhead that is just past the Eagle Falls campground off of highway 89.

There were only two of us braving the cold weather. I chatted with my fellow photographer, John from San Diego, who was vacationing in Lake Tahoe for a few days. He had just made it there the day before after visiting the Bodie, CA ghost town (on my photography bucket list) and was happy to share stories of his Navy days and his recently reaquired photography hobby. It was nice to have someone else there interested in capturing Emerald Bay.

After taking a number of exposures from this vantage point (and thawing out my frozen hands in front of the heater vents in my truck) I hiked down the Vikingsholm trail with the intent of visiting lower Eagle Falls and the Scandinavian style "castle" constructed under the direction of Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight. The summer home was completed in the fall of 1929 and stands today a tribute to the incredible architecture with one of the greatest views.