Vikingsholm Castle in Emerald Bay State Park

Emerald Bay State Park is one of the nicest parks in the state of California. If you’ve never visited the park before…you’re in for a real treat! The park lies along the banks of southern Lake Tahoe.

The 1,533 acre park offers overnight camping, fishing, hiking, walking, bike riding, scuba diving, boating, etc. The park is open year-round with camping ONLY offered during the late spring through early fall seasons of the year.

Located within the state park is Vikingsholm Castle, a 38-room mansion originally owned by Lora and Harry Knight. The castle was constructed in the late 19th century and early 20th century Scandinavian style. In 1996 the castle was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Originally built and used as the summer home of Mr. and Mrs. Knight…it has since been turned into a house museum. Visitors can pay an admission price to tour the mansion and to learn about its original owners. Let me tell you…that castle aka mansion is ONE BEAUTIFUL PLACE!!! Oh my gosh…what an amazing piece of architecture!

The grounds surrounding the castle are really beautiful too! The only bad thing is that the mansion isn’t easily accessible. You’ll have to park in the designated parking lot and walk/hike almost a mile to get there. I recommend dressing appropriately for the weather, wear comfortable walking shoes and bring along a bottle of water.

With that said…it is DEFINITELY worth the hike/walk to see it. Friends of our’s had visited the mansion 2 years ago and told us about it. I’m so glad that we took the time to see it while on our road trip through the great state of California.