Vikingsholm Castle in Lake Tahoe
Located at the head of Emerald Bay, Vikingsholm Castle was built for Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight in 1929 as her summer home. Despite what most visitors assume, Mrs. Knight was of English descent, not a Scandinavian, and was born in Illinois. She and her husband, James Moore, a partner in her father’s law firm, developed a fondness for California during their marriage. After Moore died and Lora married Harry French Knight – and then divorced him – she built Vikingsholm. Though Mrs. Knight was best known for her castle, she has also been lauded for contribution to various youth groups throughout California and Nevada and for her contributions to the Christian Science Church.
Before Mrs. Knight built Vikingsholm, she had been a regular vacationer to the Lake Tahoe area, having bought a previous home on the North Shore. When she was ready to build the castle, she hired architect Lennart Palme to design her new home. She and the Palme family went to Scandinavia to garner ideas for Vikingsholm, took many pictures, and combined aspects of many different structures to come up with the plan for this grand Lake Tahoe home.
The foundation was laid in August 1928 and building truly commenced in 1929 when Palme brought 200 skilled workers to Lake Tahoe to erect Vikingsholm. The workers were housed on the property until their individual jobs were complete.
Notable architectural aspects of Vikingsholm include hand-hewn timbers typical of early Scandinavian structures, carvings around the doors and roof ridges, round granite boulders embedded in mortar as in old 11th century churches and castles, and a sod roof seeded with wildflowers. The Scandinavian motif continues on the inside with features like Nordic fireplaces, dragon beams, and more.
Mrs. Knight entertained many guests during her time at Vikingsholm and employed a huge cast of helpers to assist in tending to and entertaining her visitors. Most came with her from her winter home in Santa Barbara but some lived at Vikingsholm year round.
Guest tours of Vikingsholm Castle are available seven days a week between Memorial Day and the end of September. Tours start at 10 am and the last one of the day commences at 4 pm. The tour fee is very reasonable and children under 6 years old can tour for free.
Getting to the castle can be a bit of a chore, however, and is difficult for handicapped individuals. There is paid parking available just off Highway 89, but to get to the castle, guests must walk a steep 1 mile trail. Those able to do the trek can enjoy wonderful scenic views and there are indeed places to rest along the trail. Guests can also park at the Day Use area of Eagle State Park and use the 1.7 mile trail that is longer but no so steep. Vikingsholm can also be reached by private boat. There are no public boat tours that stop at the castle though some do go past the home, allowing a view from the water.
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