Vikingsholm
Manor · South Lake Tahoe, California
A 38-room Scandinavian mansion at the head of Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe, built in 1929 for Lora Josephine Knight and considered one of the finest examples of Nordic architecture in the western hemisphere. Parts of it were built without nails, sod grows on the roof, and reaching it means walking a steep mile down from the highway — which is why most people photograph it from above and never go in.
138 Emerald Bay Road, South Lake Tahoe, California, 96150, United States
Seasonal, roughly late May to late September. House interior by guided tour only; trail and beach free.