Some bodies of water are filled with many islands. One famous lake that’s not known for its islands is Lake Tahoe. The famous body of water spans over 122 million acre-feet and has a larger volume of water than almost every other lake in the country. It’s also among the deepest lakes in the United States. You may be surprised to learn that in all that square footage, there’s not a single island…except for one. Fannette Island is the only island in Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe is one of the most beautiful places in Northern California. The massive lake is famous for the gorgeous mountains that surround it and the clear blue colors of its water.
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Fannette Island has had a number of different names, including Emerald Isle and Coquette Island. It sits on the California side of Lake Tahoe, inside of the stunning Emerald Bay State Park.
Jonathan Yu/Flickr
The island has a population of zero and only contains the ruins of a single building. The building was a small, castle-shaped tea house commissioned by Lora Knight.
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Knight is most famous as the owner of Vikingsholm, the Lake Tahoe mansion constructed in a Scandanavian style. The tea house was built around 1928-1929 and was constructed of locally-quarried granite boulders that were carried to Fannette Island via barges. The simple structure was used mostly for serving tea to Mrs. Knight's guests. Little remains of the tea house today.
Though Fannette Island is not too far from shore, the water is too cold to reach it by swimming, so you'll have to travel there by boat if you'd like to explore.
Logan Sakai/Flickr
Camping is prohibited on Fannette Island and dogs are also not allowed.
Emerald Bay was formed when glaciers moved thousands of years ago. It is suspected that Fannette Island was an outcropping of granite that got left behind while the rest of the area was eroded.
Eli Duke/Flickr
This is such a unique spot in one of the most beautiful parks in Northern California!
Michael Marfell/Moment/Getty Images

Lake Tahoe is almost too beautiful to even be real. It’s truly amazing to think that in all that water, there’s only one island! Did you know that there were no other islands in Lake Tahoe?

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Fannette Island, California 96150, USA