donner memorial state park and emigrant trail museum

Stopped here on our way to Lake Tahoe and were surprised by the dog policy on the nature trails, they are not allowed. In addition to the fee to park? Do yourself a favor and park on the road and enjoy the beach at Donner Lake, it is worth stopping.

Two opportunities, the museum at the state park and a roadside stop on Highway 80. The historical marker describes the early immigration to California through this route. "The spring of 1845 saw the first covered wagons surmount the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They left this valley, ascended to the ridge, and turned westward to old Emigrant Gap. The wagons were lowered by ropes to the floor of Bear Valley." Over 250,000 used this 1,250 mile route from St. Louis in their covered wagons before the transcontinental railroad in 1869. Highly recommended stops to better appreciate the challenge of coming to California by covered wagon.

Yes, most of us just get in our cars and make the trek from the Bay Area to Reno and back in about 4 hours. If you like to make a stop, though, and you want some fascinating history and/or great easy hiking along the way, then this is a wonderful location!Much has already been noted about the museum displays and movie detailing the story of the Donner Party. The displays are a bit "dated", but very interesting.There is also a nice level hike from the parking area, along Donner Creek to Donner Lake. The paths are maintained beautifully. There is a nice 3.5 mile loop, but you can really choose to make it any length depending on how far you want to go. Of course, this all depends on the weather! When it's clear this is a gorgeous way to get off the freeway for a while.

Beautiful lake, in which we swam. Love the idea of camping here right on the lake and if we ever visit again will seriously consider it. We didn't spend long in the museum as the kids weren't as interested in me. I bought the DVD to watch without them and I'm going to read the book too.

Growing-up on the East Coast, I was fascinated by the classroom stories of the struggles of the emigrants as they crossed the plains, deserts and mountains in the hopes of reaching California and a better life, and the tragedy of death and the struggle for survival of the Donner party in particular. When my kids shared with me they had the same fascination, stopping here to see the memorial and museum became a priority when we traveled to the Truckee area. The museum is open every day, except for the major winter holidays, from 10am to 5pm. Our visit was to the old museum and although the building, exhibits and movie were obviously dated, the story was still well told and we enjoyed the Pioneer Monument and the interpretive trail that loops behind the museum as well. In addition to the Donner Party, the museum also told story of the area’s Native Americans, early explorers and the transcontinental railroad. Other facilities at the park include camping and picnicking as well as swimming and fishing in picturesque Donner Lake. When speaking to one of the park rangers, we learned that the museum will be transitioning to the new building the first quarter of 2015 but the new museum will focus primarily on the railroad and the interstate built through the area as it is being funded by the California Department of Transportation and the exhibits related the Donner Party are headed for storage; shocked, I confirmed that I heard her right. Hopefully plans change and the they remain on exhibit in the new building.

We really enjoy camping at donner state park. Camp grounds are really clean, sites are large and contain nice fire pit and picnic table. Great trails to walk and the lake is within easy distance of walking or driving. Noise levels have been good. Great place, not to far to take a family. Only thing that would be nice is electric hookups.

Nice presentation of the natural and human history of the area. Much more than the tragedy of the Donner Party.

You can't visit North Lake Tahoe without visiting the Donner Memorial Museum, and, perhaps hiking around Donner Lake. Take a picnic. Nearby street parking is free. The lot is not.

I had never even heard of this until we heard about it from a traveler. Im glad we went,what an emotional site to think they all tried hard to make the passage and suffered such tragic loses.

The campground is situated in a beautiful area and the sites are separated a fair distance for the most part. Longer rigs will have a tough time though. The trails are awesome. The museum is full of the history of the Donner party and is fascinating but it is getting a bit worn. Still interesting though.

Walking the trail and seeing the area were the Donner party stayed was serene. The museum is nice. Make sure you watch the short movie about the Donner Party. We visited there in October of 2013, and we also camped in the campgrounds about 10 yrs ago.

Donner Memorial State Park is a great place to get away from it all. The park features camping, boating and hiking. While we were there, they were building out the new museum, which should be great when it opens.Camping in the park is great, while some spaces are small, many are spacious with plenty of trees. The campsite also features showers, which were excellent.The lake and boat rental (including Kayaks and Standup Paddleboards) is well stocked and the staff is friendly and helpful, the lake features calm areas which are great for a relaxing afternoon on the water.

Always facinated with the Donner Party tragedy, it was a must visit for me. Having read books on the horrific events of the Donner Party it was nice, but sad, to see the actual area where it took place. The new visitors center was not open when we were there in September 2014. The monument to the emigrants is especially night, and the shaft of it is 22 feet high, the height of the snow fall in the winter of 1846. It's too bad the plaque about that is on the rear of the monument because a lot of people don't want around it. Glad we went and hopefully next time, the visitors center will be open.

There's a fascinating story to discover here, but at present, the park falls short in telling it. The visitor center is currently not worth visiting; it's simply dated and its exhibits are not impressive. A new facility for guests was still under construction as of June 2014. Its a gorgeous building and looks like it will be very impressive indeed when it is finished! I plan to return when this is complete and the story of the Donner party is fully told so that guests can truly appreciate what happened here. In the meantime, come only to view the large pedestal monument and to take a nice hike to the lake.

If your not familiar with the Donner party tragedy, just visit this swanky little museum. The state park offers beautiful walking trails around the gorgeous yet less popular lake. their is camping and places for picnics also. Really scenic area just outside the madness of Lake Tahoe.