Emigrant Trail Museum

Address:12593 Donner Pass R.
Truckee, California
Tel: (530) 582-7892

In the beautiful Donner Memorial State Park in Sierra, Nevada, the Emigrant Trail Museum offers visitors displays and information from the earliest1800s pioneers, including the first wagon trains.

In 1846, brothers George and Jacob Donner, both farmers from Illinois, organized a wagon train of families and set out for California to seek their fortune. In Wyoming, the Donner Party took what they thought was a short cut, over the Wasatch Mountains and across the waterless Great Salt Lake Desert . This secondary route put the Donner party three weeks behind those who kept to the main trail. They hit snowstorms and set up emergency shelters at Donner Lake. Nearly half of the group perished due to the fierce winter and a lack of food. The fate of the Donner Party resulted in the creation of the Mormon-Emigrant Trail south of Lake Tahoe, a new route over the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

The Emigrant Trail Museum was opened in 1962 to honor the struggles of the survivors and those who perished in the tragedy. The museum's exhibits include an 1846 musket used to shoot an 800 pound grizzly bear and a 22 foot statue marking the depth of snow that trapped the Donner party in the winter of 1846. The museum also shows a memorable 30-minute movie that reconstructs the ordeal of the trek, and has several exhibits on the logging and railroad history of Truckee. The monument outside the museum has a stone pedestal that is 22 feet high-the depth of the snow that trapped the settlers.

Visitors to the Emigrant Trail Museum can also explore the geological survey of the land. From the granite that rose within the earth's crust to older sedimentary rocks transformed by temperature and pressure. The Sierra's steep eastern face and glaciers that dominated the area thousands of years ago, are all expounded upon in some of the exhibits.

Visitors will also learn about the history of the area, the people living in this part of the Sierra, and the builders of the transcontinental railroad. You'll visit the Donner Party's Murphy family cabin site, and starting at the museum is a self-guided nature trail for a one half mile loop. Nature trail guides are available at the museum and campground entrance station.

Be sure to check the Emigrant Trail Museum's store which features books about the human and natural history of the area. You can also find outdoor equipment, backpacks, coins, patches, toys and hats.

Fishing and canoeing are available as part of the museum complex for those looking for a more rustic adventure.

The park is about 100 miles east of Sacramento. Take I-80 and is found within the small town of Truckee, just west of downtown on the south side of the freeway.

The Emigrant Trail Museum, located at Donner Memorial State Park, takes about 1 hour to visit. It depicts the history of the area and the people who came into this part of the Sierra, including local Native Americans, the Donner Party, and builders of the transcontinental railroad. Postcards, posters, maps, and books about the human and natural history of the area are for sale at the museum.