Lake Tahoe · United States · Freshwater · Artificial reef
Emerald Bay Maritime Heritage Trail
A trail of resort-era barges and boats sunk in California's first underwater park
Area photo: Jeff Hopper jeffhopper · CC0
Emerald Bay holds California's first underwater state park, created in 1994 to protect small boats and barges scuttled here through the resort era. A trail of interpretive panels connects two Ponderosa pine cordwood barges, the 1915 passenger launch Florence M, a wooden fishing boat and a hard-chine skiff, lying between 3 and 18 m in cold, dark water reached mostly by boat.
Also known as Emerald Bay Underwater Trail, Historic Barge Dive Site.
Where it is and how deep
38.9535° N, 120.0906° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The Historic Barge Dive Site is the original part of the trail, opened by California State Parks in 1998: two Ponderosa pine barges once used to haul cordwood and ferry cars across the lake, the more complete of the pair over 30 m long, lying in roughly 3 to 15 m of water. Bright white interpretive panels mark the site, and a waterproof dive card sold locally maps out the layout before you get in.
Further round the bay lie the three sites the state added when it opened the full Maritime Heritage Trail in October 2018: the passenger launch Florence M, built in 1915 at the Stephens Brothers yard in Stockton and brought to the lake in 1926 for resort guests; a wooden fishing boat with its bait well still visible between the seats; and a hard-chine skiff. All three sit deeper, in roughly 9 to 18 m of water.
Visibility here runs worse than elsewhere around the lake, and the deeper boats sit in colder, darker water even by Tahoe standards, so a light is useful for reading the panels and picking out detail on the hulls. None of the boats has been raised or altered since it went down; touching or moving anything is against state law, and the point of the dive is simply to look.
Background
California State Parks brought the water of Emerald Bay into the park in 1994, one of the state's first underwater parks, to protect small recreational boats and barges scuttled here when they were no longer wanted. A Historic Barge Dive Site opened to divers in 1998. In October 2018 the department added three further sites it had not previously disclosed and launched the Emerald Bay Maritime Heritage Trail, describing the collection as among the largest and most varied groups of small sunken watercraft still lying in their original location anywhere in the country; most date to the Emerald Bay Resort era of the 1920s and 1930s, around the time Vikingsholm was built on the shore above.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Off-season | Off-season |
Season follows Lake Tahoe: Prime months run July to September; shore access such as D.L. Bliss State Park closes to vehicles once snow sets in, and deep water stays near 4°C even at the height of summer.
Know before you go
- Boat traffic across the bay is heavy on summer weekends; carry a surface marker buoy and listen before surfacing.
- The deeper sites sit in colder, darker water than the rest of the lake, and visibility here is generally worse; bring a dive light.
- The bay is remote from any dive centre and the lake sits at 1,897 m, so altitude-diving procedures apply for every dive on the trail.
Questions divers ask
How many boats can you see at Emerald Bay?+
Four dive sites hold five vessels: two barges, the 1915 passenger launch Florence M, a wooden fishing boat and a hard-chine skiff, all part of the Emerald Bay Maritime Heritage Trail that opened in 2018.
How deep is the diving?+
California State Parks lists the four sites between 10 and 60 feet, or 3 to 18 m: the barges are the shallowest, Florence M and the skiff the deepest.
Can you dive it from shore?+
California State Parks recommends a boat because of the remote location; shore access means a long carry, and some divers paddle across from Kiva Beach instead.
Sources
- Emerald Bay Maritime Heritage Trail — California State Parks
- California's First Maritime Heritage Trail Opens at Emerald Bay Underwater Park in Lake Tahoe — California State Parks
- Underwater Area — California State Parks
- Dive Emerald Bay — Dive Lake Tahoe
- Emerald Bay State Park — Wikipedia
In The Logbook
- Diving at altitude: why the rules changeBody & health · 7 min read
- Freshwater diving: lakes, springs and quarriesFreshwater · 15 min read
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