Lake Tahoe Underwater Diving Trail

Don’t bother bringing your hiking boots to Lake Tahoe’s latest, shiniest adventure trail.

You’ll be far better off with flippers.

California State Parks recently dropped news that Emerald Bay, the blue-and-green inlet on Lake Tahoe’s soutwestern toenail, is open for business with four diving sites comprising scuttled boats and barges. All told, the dives form California’s new Emerald Bay Maritime Heritage Trail.

tahoe (4 images)

Lake Tahoe, for those who need a refresher, was bumping long before Michael Corleone settled on the Nevada shoreline in the early ’70s. Tourists flocked to the Emerald Bay Resort as early as the ’20s, and the area remained a recreational boat haven for decades. Eventually, as vessels grew old and the number of visitors slowed down, many of those boats and barges were scuttled.

Today, though, thanks to the sheer volume of boats sunk, and trusty yearly freezes, many mid-century artifacts remain, allowing you to dive and explore timber-framed barges stretching 85 and 106 feet, 100-year-old skiffs and a once-canopied passenger launch.

For more information on how to get there and regulations at Emerald Bay, head here.

All images from California Parks and Rec

Meet your guide

Tanner Garrity

Tanner Garrity is a senior editor at InsideHook, where he’s covered wellness, travel, sports and pop culture since 2017. He also authors The Charge, InsideHook’s weekly wellness newsletter. Beyond the newsroom, he can usually be found running, skating, reading, writing fiction or playing tennis. He lives in Brooklyn.