One of Lake Tahoe's great secrets will be unlocked in two weeks: the sites of more than a dozen sunken vessels in Emerald Bay.
California State Parks will open an underwater trail to four sites in Emerald Bay that will lead visitors to a boat graveyard from the 1920s and '30s — and provide those in boats with a chance to peer down into the lake for a glimpse.
State park divers have found two large barges and 12 recreational boats, including a vintage 27-foot launch, said Denise Jaffe, associate state archaeologist with the California State Parks and a scuba diver who helped develop the project.
This collection is the largest, most diverse group of sunken small watercraft of their type, in their original location, known to exist in the nation, Jaffe said.
On Sept. 28, state park dive team members will broadcast an underwater tour with live video and audio on the Facebook page for Emerald Bay State Park and the website for the Sierra State Parks Foundation. The new underwater trail at Emerald Bay State Park officially opens to the public Oct. 1.
Sunrise colors the sky over Emerald Bay in South Lake Tahoe, where state park divers have found wreckages of two large barges and 12 recreational boats that sank as long ago as the 1920s.
Three dive shops, located in Reno and Carson City, offer certification for high-altitude, cold-water dives, and in turn, trips at Lake Tahoe where a divemaster will lead divers to the best sites. The costs range from $50 per dive to $175 for two dives including tanks and weights.
Most of the wrecks are in water 10 to 60 feet deep. That will allow people in a surface craft to look down and see a piece of a sunken boat.
The sunken crafts aren't always easily seen from the surface, Jaffe said, but one of the barges is usually visible.
The timing is perfect. Tahoe's water clarity peaks in early fall when runoff, wind and boat activity all diminish and the lake settles. The five-year average for clarity at Lake Tahoe is about 70 feet, according to the Tahoe Environmental Research Center out of UC Davis. In Emerald Bay, however, clarity is often much less due to a higher level of suspended sediments, Jaffe said.
Even then, you have to know where to look. The sites are accessible only by boat.
Waterproof interpretive cards created for divers, with GPS locations, will be available at the park's visitors center, local dive shops and online at the state park website, said Adeline Yee, a State Parks information officer. Underwater interpretive panels have been placed at four dive sites in Emerald Bay, two on each side.
The GPS coordinates are also available to non-divers, who can peer into the depths.
"The locations for three of the dive sites have never been released until now," Yee said. She called the underwater relics "a reminder of the golden age of recreation at Tahoe." She said that Sierra State Parks Foundation, a nonprofit, has partnered with State Parks to create the project.
Lake Tahoe's size, depth and temperature preserves its treasures, and in a quirk, does not give up its dead.
With an average temperature of 44 degrees, anything that goes under — boats or bodies alike — is preserved. In 2011, the well-preserved body of a diver missing for 17 years was found on an underwater ledge 265 feet below the surface, according to the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office at the time.
Most know Emerald Bay for its spectacular view from Highway 89 at Inspiration Point, a short distance across the road from the Bayview Campground and Trailhead. It's less than a mile up the road to Emerald Bay State Park and the access point down to the shore of Emerald Bay.
A route with a 400-foot drop, accessible only on foot, leads to the foot of Emerald Bay and the Vikingsholm Castle. Many of the scuttled boats are believed to be from the construction era of Vikingsholm, Yee said.
From there, you can paddle a kayak out to Fannette Island and climb up to the Tea House that is perched atop the island (in summer, kayak rentals are available there). The 360-degree view, surrounded by water and a towering mountain rim, isn't replicated anywhere else.
From Vikingsholm, a trail along the north side of Emerald Bay leads to the boat campsites and beyond on the Rubicon Trail into D.L. Bliss State Park for some of the best waterfront views at Tahoe.
Location: Emerald Bay is located along Highway 89 near South Lake Tahoe.
Dogs: No dogs on trails or roads into Emerald Bay. Leashed dogs under supervision at all times permitted in campgrounds. Dogs are allowed in the adjacent national forest.
Weather: Afternoon highs in the mid 70s, early morning lows in the mid-30s.
Dive shops: Tahoe Dive Center, 775-884-3483, http://tahoedivecenter.com; Adventure Scuba Center, 775-826-5333, http://renoscuba.com; Sierra Diving Center, 775-825-2147, www.sierradive.com.
Camping: The Emerald Bay boat-in camp is open through Sept. 23; the beach camp at D.L. Bliss is open through Oct. 7, 15-foot maximum trailer length, 18-foot maximum RV length. $35 per night, first-come, first-served. Bayview Campground and trailhead, U.S. Forest Service, is first-come, first-served. At Emerald Point, campgrounds have closed for the season.
Contacts: Emerald Bay State Park, Eagle Point Kiosk, 530-541-3030, D.L. Bliss State Park, 530-525-7277, www.parks.ca.gov; Tahoe State Parks, general information line, 530-525-7232; Taylor Creek Visitor Center, 530-543-2674, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, https://www.fs.usda.gov/ltbmu.
To Emerald Bay State Park: From Sacramento, take Highway 50 east to the junction with Highway 89 (the "Y"). Continue straight onto Highway 89/Emerald Bay Road for 8.7 miles. The parking lot for Vikingsholm/Emerald Bay is limited. Other parking is available along the road and slightly less than a mile south at Bayview campground and trailhead.
The boat-in campsites will remain open through Sept. 21. Campsites will be available at D.L. Bliss through Oct. 7.