when did the donner party get stranded?
August 1846. 1  August 1â5, 1846: The Donner Party makes good time following the tracks of the group led by Hastings. 2  August 6, 1846: The Donner Party stops near the mouth of Echo Canyon on the Weber River, present day Henefer, Utah. 3  August 10, 1846: Reed returns to the wagons.