Emerald Bay sparkles as a diamond within the jeweled landscape known as Lake Tahoe. Designated a California State Park in 1953 and a National Natural Landmark in 1968, Emerald Bay is one of the most photographed landscapes in the Sierra, featuring California's first underwater park, dramatic Eagle Falls, and Lake Tahoe's only boat-in camp. Vikingsholm, nestled within the southwestern edge of the bay, is a 38-room mansion that is a dramatic example of historic Scandinavian architecture. A small stone teahouse steeped in fanciful lore is perched atop Emerald Bay's Fannette Island. The Desolation Wilderness, established in 1969, is one of the most popular wilderness-designated areas in the United States. The geographic area of the wilderness is just less than 100 square miles, includes 130 lakes scattered throughout the alpine topography, and contains countless waterfalls and streams intersecting the hiking trails and granite landscapes.
This authoritative guide will show you how to navigate the crystal-clear waters of Lake Tahoe and the exciting nightlife of “The Biggest Little City in the World.”
"[A] fascinating and indispensable book."—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times Best Books of 2018—The Guardian Gold Medal for Contribution to Publishing, 2019 California Book Awards Carleton Watkins (1829–1916) is widely considered the greatest American photographer of the nineteenth century and arguably the most influential artist of his era. He is best known for his pictures of Yosemite Valley and the nearby Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias. Watkins made his first trip to Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove in 1861 just as the Civil War was beginning. His photographs of Yosemite were exhibited in New York for the first time in 1862, as news of the Union’s disastrous defeat at Fredericksburg was landing in newspapers and while the Matthew Brady Studio’s horrific photographs of Antietam were on view. Watkins’s work tied the West to Northern cultural traditions and played a key role in pledging the once-wavering West to Union. Motivated by Watkins’s pictures, Congress would pass legislation, signed by Abraham Lincoln, that preserved Yosemite as the prototypical “national park,” the first such act of landscape preservation in the world. Carleton Watkins: Making the West American includes the first history of the birth of the national park concept since pioneering environmental historian Hans Huth’s landmark 1948 “Yosemite: The Story of an Idea.” Watkins’s photographs helped shape America’s idea of the West, and helped make the West a full participant in the nation. His pictures of California, Oregon, and Nevada, as well as modern-day Washington, Utah, and Arizona, not only introduced entire landscapes to America but were important to the development of American business, finance, agriculture, government policy, and science. Watkins’s clients, customers, and friends were a veritable “who’s who” of America’s Gilded Age, and his connections with notable figures such as Collis P. Huntington, John and Jessie Benton Frémont, Eadweard Muybridge, Frederick Billings, John Muir, Albert Bierstadt, and Asa Gray reveal how the Gilded Age helped make today’s America. Drawing on recent scholarship and fresh archival discoveries, Tyler Green reveals how an artist didn’t just reflect his time, but acted as an agent of influence. This telling of Watkins’s story will fascinate anyone interested in American history; the West; and how art and artists impacted the development of American ideas, industry, landscape, conservation, and politics.
Lake Tahoe's legendary scenic beauty is witnessed annually by millions of visitors. While the lake's first sighting (in 1843) by a nonnative was made from a mountain peak, the lake's maritime history began a scant seven years later. Although most of the early steamers were designed for industrial use, the sight of a boat venturing out into the vast, deep blue expanse of Lake Tahoe attracted the attention of residents and visitors alike. After the inevitable decline of extractive industries, tourism became the main economic engine in Lake Tahoe. The steamer era and the evolution of wooden-boat racing are celebrated today by the romantic races of the two paddle wheelers and the annual Concours d'Elegance boat show.
Written by local authors with many years of experience in writing about their community, the Insiders' Guide RM series provide newcomers, visitors, and business travelers with a native's perspective of the area. Each guide details hotels, restaurants, annual events, attractions, nightlife, parks and recreation, real estate, and much more. Covering more than 60 cities and areas nationwide, the Insiders' Guide RM series offer the best local insights on travel and relocation.Features include: -- Light, easier-to-use 6 x 9 size -- Easy-to-read typeface -- Large photos and maps -- Updated interior graphics -- Thumb tabs for quick reference to specific chapters -- More at-a-glance information in every title -- Expanded, comprehensive indexes -- Easy-to-use geographic organization in regional booksExplore Reno and Lake Tahoe with this guide, which includes firsthand information on the history, culture, climate, and attractions of the region.
The history of Lake Tahoe, nestled in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, stretches far beyond its shores. Travel back in time on more than two dozen hikes, from short lakeside trails used by the Washoe People to all-day trips exploring the abandoned shelters left behind by early mapmakers. Visit the remains of one of California's most violent towns and the ruins of a lighthouse built in the early twentieth century when travel by boat was preferred over driving treacherous roads. Discover the legend of "Hermit Isle" and walk in the footsteps of the earliest pioneers. Join author and hiker Suzie Dundas as she dives deep into the history of Tahoe's scenic trails.
Explore Reno and Lake Tahoe with this in-depth guide, written by a local author. Learn firsthand information about the history, culture, climate, and attractions of the region, including casinos, skiing, boating, and the 72-mile "most beautiful drive in America."
Provides a directory and guide to recreation areas in the seventeen states located west of the Mississippi River. Includes national parks, national forests, national recreation areas, regional and local parks, BLM-administered federal public lands, state parks, state recreation areas, national monuments, Corps of Engineers lakes, conservation projects, and wildlife areas.
