Skunk Harbor Hike...

History, beauty, warmth... this was an ideal Tahoe day and our first visit to Skunk Harbor.

This easy, 1.5-mile trail has a little bit of everything: history, water, flora and views. An elevation gain of just 600 feet makes it suitable for families.

This was Jenny's suggestion and the day could not have been more spectacular.

"A picture is worth a thousand words."

Okay, so I promised history. Located in this isolated harbor is an amazing stone house, built for the George Newhall family, in 1922 (photo above c. 1925). Its sole purpose was to provide them with a hospitable boating destination from their Rubicon Point home (just across the lake). They tied up their boats at the pier and spent long summer days living the life of the idle rich during the Roaring Twenties (picture the Great Gatsby).

The family’s fortunes changed, following the stock market crash in 1929, and they sold the property to George Whittell, Jr., in the early 1930s. Whittell spent several summers in the house until his mansion was completed north of Skunk Harbor in 1939. Much of the Whittell estate was acquired by the U.S. Forest Service following his death in 1969 and is now public property.