Emerald Bay is probably the coolest part of Lake Tahoe. The water is crystal clear and there's an old Viking Castle built in 1928 (Vikingsholm) right on the beach. Beautiful waterfalls, swimming and hiking opportunities are all over the place.

I was in Lake Tahoe in April, and it seemed I was too late for skiing and too early for hiking. There are lots of trails to run in Tahoe, so I figured I would be happy doing that, but there was just too much snow on the trails. I managed to stomp a couple miles through the snow and got to Eagle Lake. It was actually perfect because no one else was hiking through the snow at all, so I had the place to myself. My original plan was to hike up to Maggie's Peak, but I just didn't plan well enough for how much snow there was (snow shoes or Yaktracks would have been good). Instead, I turned back from Eagle Lake and hiked down to Emerald Bay and checked out Vikingholm. In 1928 this rich lady bought the land and hired a Swedish architect to build a castle on the lake in true Scandanavian style. Basically, it's a Viking castle, and it's awesome! Unfortunately, I was too early in the season to get to go inside (it was all closed up from the winter).

I started my hiking day early and beat most of the people to the trail (and the parking lot). By the time I got back to my car the place was packed. I was there in the off-season, so I can't imagine how crazy it is in the summer. Also, all of the parks were officially closed. Which for me meant that you couldn't drive into them and park. You had to park on the Highway, which was fine as long as you got there early.

Had I planned this trip better, I could have hiked farther into the Desolation Wilderness. Dick's point seems like an awesome destination, and could easily be done in a day. You can also access part of the Pacific Crest Trail easily from the Eagle Falls