Emerald Bay is, by most accounts, the most photographed place in California, and on a clear day it is easy to see why. The water turns a startling shade of green-blue, the result of glacial geology 110,000 years in the making. And at its heart sits Fannette Island, Lake Tahoe's only island.

The bay's most compelling stories belong to its people. Captain Richard Barter, the self-styled Hermit of Emerald Bay, lived a Robinson Crusoe-like existence in a cabin on the island, sometimes going months without human contact. He is buried there still, and local lore insists his ghost haunts the waters on foggy nights. The bay's other landmark is Vikingsholm, a 1929 Norse-inspired mansion built for heiress Lora Knight, whose nephew designed every hand-forged fitting from scratch.

VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours trace both stories, connecting the glacial forces that carved the bay to the eccentric characters who later claimed it.