Jump Aboard the Emerald Bay Maritime Heritage Trail

Now you can get a closer look at the shipwrecks of Tahoe’s Emerald Bay.

California State Parks announced the introduction of an underwater trail to four sites in Lake Tahoe’s beautiful Emerald Bay starting October 1. This path will direct visitors to a boat graveyard from the 1920s and ’30s and offer a glimpse to the wreckage that lies below.

According to SF Gate, state park divers have found two large barges and 12 recreational boats, including a vintage 27-foot launch. Denise Jaffe, associate state archaeologist with the California State Parks, says the collection is the largest, most diverse group of sunken small watercraft of their type, in their original location, known to exist in the nation.

“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.”

“It would be an amazing opportunity to see a shipwreck in Lake Tahoe,” said Shannon Costly of the Tahoe Dive Center. She said she started diving 10 years ago and called venturing into Lake Tahoe’s underwater world “life changing.”

“It’s the clearest lake I’ve ever been in,” she said. “You can often see almost 100 feet in front of you.”