Donner Memorial State Park

Located in the beautiful Sierra Nevada, Donner Memorial State Park offers the summer vacationer opportunities for camping, picnicking, boating, fishing, waterskiing, and hiking. The park is forested primarily with lodgepole and Jeffrey pine and white fir; because of its elevation, nearly six thousand feet, there is no poison oak. It is home to deer, squirrels, chipmunks, porcupines, raccoons, beaver, and a wide variety of birds.

In and around the park you can see some of the Sierra Nevada's geologic history. The granite rose within the crust of the earth in enormous bubbles, then cooled and hardened to be exposed by erosion. The older sedimentary rocks were then transformed by temperature and pressure. The Sierra's steep eastern face, the barrier that faced the Donner Party and other California emmigrants, were created when gigantic upheavals tilted a section of the earth's crust as if it were a door with its hinge on the western edge. The glaciers that dominated the area a few thousand years ago have left their traces too, the huge boulders and other debris that remained when the ice melted, scattered as if by a giant hand.

While the park has no boat launching ramp, a public ramp operated by the Truckee Donner Recreation & Parks District is available in the northwest corner of Donner Lake. There is a fee charged for boat launching. For information call (530) 582-7720. The lake is open to both power and sail boats.

The park has over three miles of frontage on Donner Lake and Creek. Fishing is not usually spectacular, though there are trout and kokanee in the lake. The lake is planted with catchable trout and a fishing license is required. Many fishermen prefer to use the park as a base to visit nearby lakes. For suggestions ask a ranger.

The park has about 2.5 miles (4 km.) of hiking trails, and more enthusiastic hikers can also explore the neighboring Tahoe National Forest. Maps are for sale at the museum. Also, located at Donner Memorial State Park is a campground of 150 sites and a day-use area along the lake with picnic tables, restrooms, a beach, fishing, and a lakeside interpretive trail that has 18 panels which discuss the nature and cultural diversity of the area.

Campsite reservations in California State Parks may be made by calling the current toll-free reservation hotline, (800) 444-PARK, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.Pacific Time, seven days a week. Reservations for tours at Hearst Castle and Ano Nuevo State Reserve will continue to be on a first-come, first-served basis until further notice.

On the first of each month, campers will have access to an entire month of available start-up dates up to seven months in advance. For example, callers on the first of February will be able to reserve California State Parks campsites in August.

Truckee
The Truckee-Donner area is the center of a vast recreational wonderland. Truckee and Donner Lake are located 200 miles northeast of San Francisco, 33 miles west of Reno, and 13 miles from Lake Tahoe. Its location makes the Truckee-Donner area the jumping off point for all types of seasonal sports including fishing, boating, water and snow skiing, sailing, rafting, camping, hiking, horseback riding, and many more activities.

How Truckee got its name
Truckee lies beside the main emigrant trail into California. The first emigrants to discover the Truckee basin were the Stephen-Townsend-Murphy Party, which passed through the area in 1844. While traveling westward along the Humboldt River in Western Nevada, a northern Pauite Indian befriended the emigrant party and offered to guide them to California. His name sounded something like "Tro-Kay," but the emigrants called him "Truckee." As they proceeded westward they discovered a beautiful stream running down from the mountains, and later a large deep lake; they named the stream the "Truckee River" and the lake "Truckee Lake," in honor of their guide. The stream still bears Chief Truckee's name, but Truckee Lake became Donner Lake, in memory of the emigrants whose tragic ordeal occurred on its shores.

Donner Lake
Beautiful Donner Lake, called the "Gem of the Sierra," is located immediately beside Truckee. The lake is approximately 3 miles long, 3/4 miles wide, and 200 feet deep. A favorite with anglers, Donner Lake produces large trout, Kokanee and Mackinaw. The lake is a favorite for sailboaters, water skiers and swimmers. There is a swimming beach within Donner State Park at China Cove, but no lifeguard service is provided. A public beach with lifeguard service is located at the lake's west end. Rental cabins and comfortable motels are scattered along the lake's shore. Contact the Truckee-Donner Chamber of Commerce at (530) 587-2757 for more information. Donner Memorial State Park is at the east end of the lake.

The Donner Party
In 1846 a great westward movement began. A small part of the movement, the Donner Party, a looseknit band of midwestern farmers and adventurers, left Independence, Missouri, in April of 1846.Traveling west through the Great Plains, they crossed the Rocky Mountain crest at South Pass, in Wyoming territory, and then headed southwest through a relatively new and unexplored shortcut, or "cutoff." This cutoff was their undoing, for rather than a shortcut, it added precious weeks to their travel time. The party finally reached present day Truckee in late October, 1846. It was too late.

Already starving, their stamina depleted, the emigrants were greeted by one of the earliest and most severe of Sierra winters. The emigrants could not climb out of the Truckee basin, and they remained there to wait out the winter. In January, 1847, a few broke through westward, over the 7,088 foot pass (now Donner Pass) and they summoned relief parties. By April 1847, only 48 of the 89 emigrants who comprised the Donner Party were still alive. The others, 41 in all, had died along the way.

All but a few had died of starvation or cold in the long Sierra winter. Those that survived subsisted on their few meager provisions, the ox hides, and finally the bodies of their dead friends and relatives. There is not a more tragic and gruesome story from the American west.

Donner Memorial State Park is now located where many of the emigrants spent their last days, and the site of one of the emigrant cabins is now marked by a massive monument to the western pioneers; its base is 22 feet high, the same height as the snow in that terrible winter of 1846-47. More fortunate emigrant trains traveled through the Truckee area in the summer and fall of 1847, and in January, 1848, James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill near Coloma in the Sierra foothills. Word spread quickly, and the great California gold rush was on.

Emigrant Trail Museum
The Emigrant Trail Museum, located at Donner Memorial State Park, takes about 1 hour to visit and depicts the history of the area and the people who came into this part of the Sierra. Post cards, posters, maps, and books about the human and natural history of the area are for sale at the museum.

Near the museum is the Pioneer Monument and the Murphy family cabin site. Also starting from the side of the museum is a self-guiding nature trail which is a one half mile loop. Nature trail guides are available at the museum and campground entrance station. Hikes, ranging from 1 - 2 hours, start at the museum at 10:00 a.m. The hikes, special feature shows, and campfires start in late June. For specific information on these activities, please call the park at (530) 582-7892.

Fees for museum and/or slide show: Adults - $2.00, youths (6-12) - $1.00 under 6 - free

Museum hours:
Summer: Memorial Day thru labor Day 10:00 - 5:00 every day
Winter: (September - May) 10:00 - 4:00

Slide show: 10:15, 11:00, 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 Donner Party Story (25 minutes long)

Camping

The park's campground, usually open from Memorial Day thru mid-September, has 150 sites with tables, stoves, and parking spaces. Restrooms with hot pay showers are nearby. Sites will accommodate trailers or motorhomes up to 24 feet long, and there are no hookups. Two vehicles, including trailers, is the maximum number allowed per campsite. Eight people are allowed to occupy one site. Check-out time is 12 p.m. Quiet hours are 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. There is a 15-day limit on summer stays.