An estate by the water’s edge of Lake Tahoe’s north shore, with legendary names in its list of past owners, is what real-estate dreams are made of. Boasting a private pier, boatlift and meadowland with gorgeous views, Summertide, as it is fondly called, once belonged to US tycoon, film producer and aviation entrepreneur Howard Hughes.

The 5.5-acre property has more than 150m of lake frontage in the quiet enclave of Crystal Bay and centres around an Adirondacks-inspired log cabin built in 1934 of local timber by silver mining lynchpin and politician Tasker Oddie. A guesthouse was added to the estate circa 1940, and the combined square footage of the main lodge and guest cottage is approximately 3,800 square feet, altogether encompassing seven bedrooms. There is also a detached garage that can accommodate four cars.

By the 1950s, the property landed in the hands of Hughes, who reportedly used it as a hideaway from his main residence in LA. The billionaire recluse passed away in 1976 at age 70 but the estate was only picked up by its current owners from the Howard Hughes Corporation in 1995.

Since then, amenities and interiors of the two rustic lodges have been upgraded, with the kitchen and bathrooms undergoing complete remodelling. The current owners previously listed the property for US$19.5 million four years ago but finally reduced the price to US$17.5 million late last year when it apparently failed to sell. Broker John Leles of Sierra Sotheby’s International Realty has held the listing for the past two years.

The property isn’t the most expensive abode listed in Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake in North America. For just shy of US$40 million, another Crystal Bay home, a modern ski chalet, came onto the market over a year ago.

For more information on Summertide, please click here.

www.sothebysrealty.com