On May 23rd, the Hellman-Ehrmann Mansion (also know as Pine Lodge) will open for the 2009 Summer season.  Built in 1903, in a grove of pine and cedar trees, by Isaias Hellman, the mansion was later the summer home for Hellman's daughter, Florence Hellman Ehrman, her husband Stanley and their many guests.

Tours of the mansion are given 10 a.m to 3 p.m.  Tour tickets are $5 for adults, $3 children 6-17, children under 6 free.

There are numerous campsites adjacent to the mansion, at Ed Z'berg -Sugar Pine Point State Park.  This state park contains one of the finest remaining natural areas at Lake Tahoe. With nearly two miles of lake frontage, the park has dense forests of pine, fir, aspen and juniper.

Facilities and activities offered at Sugar Pine Point in the Summer include: hiking, swmming, playing on the beach, visiting the nature center and fishing (mid July to September).

To reserve a campsite at Sugar Pine Point State Park, call Reserve America at: (800) 444-7285.  As of the date of this article, there were plenty of campsites available during the summer months. 

The history of the Sugar Pine Point area offers a glimpse of the life of the Washoe Indians.  Lake Tahoe lay at the heart of the Washoe Indian territory, prior to 1860 the area was the summer home for generations of Washoe Indians, who came to these peaceful shores to hunt and fish. Evidence of their lifestyle can still be seen today in the form of bedrock mortars or grinding rocks just offshore from the mansion.