Vikingsholm Castle South Lake Tahoe

The short answer: Vikingsholm is a Scandinavian-style summer mansion built in 1928–1929 at the head of Emerald Bay, on Lake Tahoe's West Shore. It sits in Emerald Bay State Park, 12 miles north of South Lake Tahoe, and its map address is Highway 89, Tahoma, CA. You reach it by a steep one-mile trail down from the Vikingsholm parking lot ($10 a day or $3 an hour in 2026). Guided 30-minute tours of the inside ran daily from May 23 to September 30, 2026, at $18 for adults and $15 for students, seniors and military, with children 6 and under free. Outside tour season you can still walk down and see the outside.

People call it "the castle on Lake Tahoe," and it is usually filed under South Lake Tahoe, but it is actually closer to the West Shore towns. Our homes in Tahoma are about 10 miles north, roughly 20 minutes, and our Homewood homes are about 20 to 25 minutes away. We checked the tour details, fees and rules below with the Sierra State Parks Foundation, which runs the tours, and California State Parks on September 30, 2026.

Vikingsholm quick facts

Sources: Sierra State Parks Foundation and Emerald Bay State Park. Tour dates and prices are set each year, so check before you go.

Vikingsholm tours: dates, times and tickets

The only way inside Vikingsholm is on a guided tour run by the Sierra State Parks Foundation, a nonprofit partner of California State Parks. Money from the tours goes to restoring and interpreting the house.

• Season: in 2026, tours ran seven days a week from May 23 to September 30. The season has now ended; tours usually start again on Memorial Day weekend.
• Times: tours leave every half hour from 10:30 am to 4 pm. There is no 12:30 pm tour, when staff take lunch.
• No reservations: all tours are first come, first served. On a busy summer day, buy your ticket as soon as you reach the bottom, then spend the wait at the beach.
• Tickets: sold only at the visitor center just past the house. Children 6 and under are free.
• Tours by water: in season, the foundation partners with Action Water Sports and Cruise Tahoe on boat trips that include a Vikingsholm tour, so you skip the hike and the parking lot.
• Accessibility: the foundation offers ADA assistance from June through September if you arrange it in advance. Contact them through the Vikingsholm page before you visit.

The hike to Vikingsholm

There is no road down to the house for visitors. From the Vikingsholm parking lot on Highway 89, a steep trail drops about a mile to the lake. State Parks describes the return as a climb of roughly 400 to 500 feet at an elevation near 6,800 feet, and warns in capital letters that there are no rides out. If someone in your group has a heart or breathing condition, recent surgery or trouble walking, State Parks advises them not to attempt it. Sugar Pine Point State Park and the Baldwin Beach area have much easier walking access to the lake.

• Time: most people take 20 to 30 minutes down and longer to come back up.
• The easier route: a less steep 1.5-mile trail runs from the Eagle Point Campground campfire center. Eagle Point Campground was closed for the 2026 season, though hikers could still walk in.
• Snow: you can hike down any time of year, but snow and ice make the trail hazardous in winter, and there is no drinking water from October to May. Restrooms at the bottom are open year-round.
• Bring: water, a snack, sturdy shoes and a layer. Cell service is unreliable.

Parking for Vikingsholm

Use the State Parks Vikingsholm lot (also called the Harvey West lot or the Emerald Bay overlook) on Highway 89. As of the 2026 season it is $10 per vehicle for the day or $3 for one hour. The machine takes a card or exact cash, and your receipt is good at any California state park the same day. One hour is not enough for the hike and a tour, so pay for the day.

• The lot takes vehicles up to 18 feet and no trailers.
• It fills early in summer. State Parks suggests arriving before 9 am or after 3 pm and avoiding weekends. In peak season it may be gated when full.
• Don't park on the highway. Illegally parked cars are towed.
• Overnight parking is not allowed.

In summer, the Tahoe Transportation District's Emerald Bay shuttle runs to the Eagle Falls trailhead across the road from Sugar Pine Point State Park (near Tahoma) and from South Lake Tahoe. It finished for 2026 and is expected back in summer 2027. Our Emerald Bay State Park guide covers the other lots and the shuttle in more detail.

Getting to Vikingsholm

Highway 89 is the only road to Emerald Bay. The Vikingsholm parking lot sits on the lake side of the highway above the bay; search for "Vikingsholm parking" or "Emerald Bay overlook" in your map app, and load directions before you go, since cell service is spotty.

• From Tahoma: about 10 miles south, roughly 20 minutes, past Meeks Bay and D.L. Bliss State Park.
• From Homewood: about 11 to 12 miles, 20 to 25 minutes.
• From Tahoe City: 22 miles south along the West Shore, according to State Parks.
• From South Lake Tahoe: 12 miles north on Highway 89, past Camp Richardson and the Tallac Historic Site.
• From Incline Village or Kings Beach: around the north end of the lake and down the West Shore, about an hour or more in summer traffic.

The road above Emerald Bay is narrow and winding, with steep drop-offs on both sides, and Caltrans closes it during and after some winter storms. If you are coming from South Lake Tahoe in winter, check Caltrans QuickMap first. For the drive up from the Bay Area, see driving to Lake Tahoe from the Bay Area.

Vikingsholm with kids

Children 6 and under tour for free, and most kids enjoy the dragon carvings and sod roofs. The hard part is the climb back to the car. A few tips from families who have done it:

• Leave the stroller in the car if your child can walk; the trail is steep.
• Plan the beach time before the tour, when kids still have energy, and save snacks for the walk up.
• Use a carrier for toddlers, and take breaks on the way up.
• The lake is cold even in August, so bring a towel and a dry layer.

A short history of Vikingsholm

According to California State Parks, Lora Josephine Knight bought the land at the head of Emerald Bay, along with Fannette Island, in 1928 for $250,000. Before building, she and her architect travelled to Scandinavia for ideas. The Sierra State Parks Foundation says she chose the style because Emerald Bay reminded her of the fjords she had seen there. The architect was Lennart Palme.

Work started late in 1928, stopped at the first snowfall, and resumed in the spring of 1929, when 200 workers were brought to the bay. They hand-hewed the timbers, carved the decoration, hand-planed the interior walls and forged the hinges and latches. Most of the materials came from the Tahoe Basin: trees were chosen for their size and lack of knots, and the granite for the foundation and walls was quarried behind the house. The designs draw on Scandinavian buildings as old as the 11th century, and some sections contain no nails, pegs or spikes.

After Mrs. Knight, the property passed to lumberman Harvey West, who sold it to the State of California in 1953, and it became part of Emerald Bay State Park. Vikingsholm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

In 2025, State Parks announced a major restoration: stabilizing the turret and brick chimney, and repairing the Morning Room's painted vaulted ceiling and walls, which were damaged in a May 2021 earthquake. The house stayed open for tours during the work.

What you see on the tour

The tour takes you through the main rooms of the house. What to look for, according to State Parks:

• Sod roofs on the north and south wings, a traditional Scandinavian touch.
• Two carved dragon beams and painted ceilings and walls, including the Morning Room, whose motifs were inspired by Mrs. Knight's 1928 trip to Scandinavia.
• Six Scandinavian-style fireplaces with unusual fireplace screens.
• The furnishings. Most were chosen by Mrs. Knight. Some are original antiques; others were reproduced in exact detail, down to aged wood and copied scratches. The second-floor pieces were reproduced from the architect's drawings of 18th- and 19th-century museum pieces.

Outside, the house faces a sandy beach, and Lower Eagle Falls is a quarter mile behind the visitor center. Restrooms are at lake level, 50 yards in from the pier.

Fannette Island and the Tea House

From the beach you look straight at Fannette Island, the only island in Lake Tahoe, which Mrs. Knight also owned. She built a small stone tea house on the summit. The Sierra State Parks Foundation notes that, contrary to many stories, she rarely used it. You can reach the island only by boat, kayak or paddleboard, and State Parks closes it in April and May for wildlife breeding. Swimming to the island is not allowed because of boat traffic. In summer, Kayak Tahoe rents kayaks at the Vikingsholm beach, first come, first served.

Rules to know

• No dogs at Vikingsholm, on the trail down, on the beach or on Fannette Island. Dogs are allowed at the parking-lot overlook and on boats. Don't leave a dog in the car.
• No drones anywhere in the park.
• No fires or smoking.
• No bikes on the trails.
• Bears are active in Emerald Bay. Keep food with you or locked away.

When to visit

• Late May to September: the only time you can go inside. July and August are busiest; weekday mornings are easiest.
• September: tours still run every day until September 30, the water is calm, and the crowds thin after Labor Day.
• October to May: no tours, no services and no water, but the walk down to the outside of the house is quiet and beautiful when the trail is clear. Highway 89 through Emerald Bay can close in winter storms; check Caltrans QuickMap. See our winter guide.

How long to plan

Allow two to three hours: about 30 minutes down, a 30-minute tour, some time on the beach, and a slower walk back up. Add an hour or two for a paddle or a walk on the Rubicon Trail, which passes the house on its way along the shore between D.L. Bliss State Park and Eagle Point.

A sample Vikingsholm morning from the West Shore

1. 8 am: leave Tahoma or Homewood with breakfast from a local café (see our Tahoma restaurants guide).
2. 8:30 am: park at the Vikingsholm lot, pay for the day, and take the photo from the overlook.
3. 9 am: walk down; walk a stretch of the Rubicon Trail or sit on the beach.
4. 10:30 am: take the first tour of the day (in season).
5. 11:30 am: climb back up, then cross the highway for Eagle Falls (separate Forest Service lot) or head north for a swim at Meeks Bay.

Other historic estates nearby

• Hellman-Ehrman Mansion at Sugar Pine Point State Park, a few minutes from Tahoma, is another grand early-1900s summer home on the West Shore.
• Tallac Historic Site on the South Shore, run by the Forest Service, has several historic estates with free entry to the grounds; buildings are generally open Memorial Day weekend through September.

Where to stay for a Vikingsholm trip

Vikingsholm is usually listed under South Lake Tahoe, but the West Shore towns just north of Emerald Bay are the closest places to stay on that side. We manage two Tahoma vacation rentals, about 10 miles and 20 minutes from the Vikingsholm lot, and three Homewood vacation rentals, about 20 to 25 minutes away. That's close enough to be in the lot before it fills. None of them is lakefront, and our homes do not accept pets. Some have hot tubs (see which), which feel good after the climb out.

Book direct on our site rather than on Airbnb or Vrbo. Our nightly prices on Airbnb are set 28% higher than on our own site (17% higher on Vrbo), and every home page shows the dollar saving for your dates. See booking direct vs. Airbnb at Lake Tahoe, browse all our homes, or search your dates. You can also call us at (530) 317-0291.

Take away

Vikingsholm is a 1929 Scandinavian-style mansion at the head of Emerald Bay, a steep mile below the Vikingsholm parking lot. Tours ran daily from May 23 to September 30 in 2026 ($18 adults, $15 reduced, free for 6 and under) and usually return on Memorial Day weekend. Park early, bring water for the climb back, leave the dog at home, and plan two to three hours. For the rest of the bay, see our Emerald Bay State Park guide and things to do in Lake Tahoe.