page_title: Donner Lake
section_title: Hiking
hierarchical_section_title: Donner Lake / Recreation / Hiking
caption_attribution_description: English: Hiking through Donner Memorial State Park
context_page_description: Donner Lake is a freshwater lake in Northeast California on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and about 20 miles northwest of the much larger Lake Tahoe. A moraine serves as a natural dam for the lake. The lake is located in the town of Truckee, between Interstate 80 to the north and Schallenberger Ridge to the south. The tracks of the Union Pacific Railroad run along
  Schallenberger Ridge and closely follow the route of the original transcontinental railroad. The historic route of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile road across America and US 40 follows the northern shoreline, then climbs to Donner Pass from where the entire lake may be viewed.
  Both the lake and the pass were named after the ill-fated Donner Party, which wintered involuntarily near the lake in 1846. Donner Memorial State Park is on the east end of the lake and provides campsites with access to several different beaches. There are also various hiking trails in the park.
context_section_description: There are roughly 2.5 miles (4.0 km) of hiking trails inside the Park. Visitors can legally park in Coldstream Canyon (just past the 76 gas station) which contains the alignment of the primary Emigrant Trail, which leads up to U.S. Forest Service and the Pacific Crest trails beyond the park. Donner lake is roughly 8 miles (13 km) around which also makes for a great hike.
caption: Hiking through Donner Memorial State Park in the winter.
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