Donner Memorial State Park CA
• 4-star hike
• 2.7 mile loop
• Easy difficulty | Gain 50 feet (Peak 6,025 feet)
• Donner Summit, CA | Lake Tahoe
• Driving Directions: Trailhead
It's easy to relate to frustrated motorists returning from a weekend skiing in Tahoe, stuck in heavy interstate 80 traffic with aching legs and a long journey ahead. But spare a thought for those whose journey to the west coast was a little more arduous, and a little less certain that they'd make it there in one piece.
Just over a century and a half ago, a group of emigrants led by George Donner headed west over the Sierra Nevada mountains in search of a better life. Instead they found little more than suffering, snowstorms, and a distinct lack of food. Infamously resorting to cannibalism of the dead to survive, the party was to lose half its numbers before finally making it over Donner summit and into a more forgiving landscape.
The site of the Donner Party's suffering at the shores of Donner Lake is memorialized with a State Park complete with Emigrant Trail Museum and a monument to the casualties of 1846.
South Shore Loop South Shore Loop 4★2.7 mi, Loop, Easy, Gain 50 ft
Trailspotting Map at AllTrails
Traveling around the area now is much less foreboding, and the hike on the shores of the lake now offer great tranquil and scenic landscapes, despite its location next to I-80.
Provided you take care along the snow-covered shorelines, the level flat landscape next to the lake is a great place for an introduction to snowshoeing, and a good way to escape the crowds on the ski slopes. Also, there are several good opportunities for renting snowshoes in the neighborhood.
Statue representing the Donner Party at the park entrance.
Tangents:
• Trail Links: Official, Public Map at AllTrails
• Facebook Group: Comment on this article
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