Fannette Island
Hike Review
I hiked the Vikingsholm trail from the Emerald Bay State Park parking lot.
The trail was a gravelly fire road that snakes down to Emerald Bay. Once flattened, it turns into a paved double track trail with single track trails that branch off to the water.
The sloped section did not have much shade.
There were some people on the trail at 8 AM, but on the way back at 9:30 AM, there were tons of people.
The parking lot was half empty at 8 AM, but totally full at 9:30 AM.
There were 4 porta-potties available in the parking lot, one that I chose at random was clean and well stocked.
Raft Review
Once I got down to the water, I inflated my packraft and paddled to Fannette Island.
The water was calm and absolutely clear. There were a few boats, but all were following the 15 MPH speed limit, which helped to keep the waves calm.
On the way to the island, I did not see many others on the water (just a few other boats), but on the way back, there were paddle boarders, a dude that was on an electric hydrofoil surfboard, and many many more boats.
What I Learned
On the way to the island, I was lazy and did not inflate the packraft seat—I just sat on the floor. I realized my mistake as soon as I got in as my weight pulled all the water directly to my butt. I mean, who doesn’t like a wet butt the first thing in the morning? On the way back, I made sure to inflate a seat for myself.
Because I got there pretty early, I was able to enjoy the tea house on Fannette Island all to myself. I was able to enjoy the tea that I had brought, write some postcards to my friends, and meditate.
After the island, I walked over to Vikingsholm visitor center to see if I could find a Fannette Island patch, but the store was closed. It opens at 10:30 AM.
There were kayaks and paddle boards for rent at the public dock—they open at 10 AM, apparently. I don’t remember the price, but I think it was expensive.
The public dock is nicely sized and usable by all, but was covered in sand, which meant that when I folded up my packraft, it got covered in sand.
Media Consumed
Tress
What Happened?
3.1 miles, 2 hrs 6 mins, 538ft of ascent, 0 mph wind
I had wanted to boat to Fannette Island for years and years. I had come close to committing to paddling to the island last year, but I did not know about the public dock at Emerald Bay, so had thought I would need to paddle from Pope Beach, which is 2 miles away. Still do-able, but would definitely take longer. Earlier this year, I found this blog post, which showed me the light!
I arrived at the parking lot around 7:30 AM, at which point I boiled some water for my tea, brushed my teeth, and packed my backpack. Once I was ready, I hiked down to the water, inflated my boat, and got over to the island.
Halfway to the island, I overheard a feminine voice saying “take a look at this guy” from a near by anchored boat. I looked over and waved to a boat which seemed to have half a dozen ladies enjoying the lake. They then offered me champaign, which I refused and paddled on to the island. This was the first time in my life where strangers invited me over and totally did not know how to handle the attention (except to run away).
Once on the island, I enjoyed the tea house exactly how I dreamt it. The whole experience was just so calming. I had the entire island to myself for about half an hour and got to just relax. I started heading back as I saw the mass of boats entering the mouth of Emerald Bay and didn’t want to deal with all that traffic.
As I approached my raft that I had dragged on shore, I ran into the ladies from the boat, and one of them said “it’s that guy!” To which I responded, “I think I’m still running away.” Which drew a few laughs.
Once on shore, I packed up my raft, walked over to the visitor center to no avail, and headed back to the car. I then headed off to my next objective in Tahoe—hiking Shirley Canyon.