The Lake Tahoe Maritime Museum

Visit Vintage Boats at Lake Tahoe Maritime Museum in Homewood, CA

Jun 12, 2008

Did you know there's a brand new Tahoe Maritime Museum on the shores of Lake Tahoe? Visit this Homewood museum on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe on your next visit!

Lake Tahoe has a long, maritime tradition. In fact, before there were automobiles, and roads around the lake, boats and ships were the main mode of transport around and across Lake Tahoe. Now, the brand spanking-new Tahoe Maritime Museum celebrates the heritage of boating on Lake Tahoe. Located on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe in Homewood (right next to the Homewood Ski Resort), the museum is a wonderful stop during your trip to the lake.

What will you find at the Lake Tahoe Maritime Museum? First, the new building is beautifully designed in a traditional Tahoe boathouse style. Massive wooden doors with cast iron hardware allow the museum staff to move the boats of their collection into and out of the museum with ease, and soaring windows combined with native stone touches create an intimate lodge feeling throughout the exterior.

Inside, you'll find several vintage boats on display, along with various motors, history of some of the most famous boats that traversed Lake Tahoe, and hands-on exhibits for the kids. The museum owns a collection of over 25 vessels significant to Lake Tahoe, and they rotate these boats in season displays in the museum. They also own the largest collection of outboard boat motors on the West Coast of the U.S. At any one time, the display will include three or four different boats, plus photos, periodicals, and huge motors hanging on the walls of the museum.

Even fisherpeople will find something to love about the museum, as they hold a large collection of fishing gear and photographs of all things "fishy" around Lake Tahoe, including some antique fishing poles that are quite unique.

If you're thinking about joining the museum to help add to the collection and support this fine group, here's another perk. During July and August, the museum boat, "Miss Tahoe" offers rides on the lake to museum members. This classic old wooden boat first sailed Lake Tahoe in 1939, and it's a magnificent example of the beautiful and stately wooden speed boats used on the lake for decades.

Plan a visit to the Tahoe Maritime Museum this summer. Open in its new location since Labor Day, the museum is a great place to spend some time on the shores of Lake Tahoe, while you learn just a little more about the history of this magnificent jewel of a lake.

The copyright of the article The Lake Tahoe Maritime Museum in California Travel is owned by Sherril Steele-Carlin. Permission to republish The Lake Tahoe Maritime Museum in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.