Donner Lake, formerly known as Truckee Lake, is a freshwater

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

in Northeast

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

on the eastern slope of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

and about northwest of the much larger

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...

. A

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

serves as a natural

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

for the lake. The lake is located in the town of Truckee, between

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

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 A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous rail transport, railroad trackage that crosses a continent, continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks may be via the Ra ...

. The historic route of the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated Octob ...

, the first automobile road across America and

US 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America (a nickname shared with U.S. Route 66), is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid- ...

follows the northern shoreline, then climbs to Donner Pass from where the entire lake may be viewed.

History of the name of the lake

The lake was called Datsa’ shut by the Washoe people. In 1844, the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy party was the first wagon train to successfully cross the Sierra Nevada mountains. Before them, in January 1844,

John C. Frémont Major general (United States), Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He was a United States senator from California and was the first History of the Repub ...

and

Kit Carson Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868) was an American frontiersman, fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent and United States Army, U.S. Army officer. He became an American frontier legend in his own lifetime ...

found the river, which Frémont named as Salmon-Trout River for the fish in it. They enjoyed the company of the Paiutes in the area, as did later pioneers seeking to cross at this pass. The wagon train group named it Truckee Lake, from the help given them by a Paiute Chief; they understood him to be calling the river and lake by the word Truckee. They left six wagons at the lake. They took five other wagons across the pass into the Central Valley on November 25, 1844. Both the lake and the pass were named after the ill-fated

Donner Party The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California interim government, 1846-1850, California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent ...

, which wintered involuntarily near the lake in 1846. Donner Memorial State Park was established in 1928; it is not clear when the name of the lake was changed from Truckee to Donner. The state park is on the east end of the lake and provides campsites with access to several different beaches. There are also hiking trails in the park.

Fishing

The lake's depth has been measured by the California State Lands Commission to be deep at its deepest point. High water level is above Mean Sea Level. Donner Lake holds some of the biggest

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater Salvelinus, char living mainly in lakes in Northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, laker, and grey trout. In Lake Sup ...

in the state. There is also a good population of rainbow and

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

as well as Kokanee salmon. Fisherman use downriggers and troll with plugs for Kokanee salmon and

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

in order to catch the trophy-sized lake trout. During the spring and fall lake trout come to the top to feed, and these are the only times of year one has the chance to hook a laker in shallow water. A public boat ramp operated by the Truckee Donner Recreation & Parks District is available in the northwest corner of Donner Lake. A fee is charged for boat launching. The lake is open to both powerboats and sailboats. The

California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, commonly referred to as OEHHA (pronounced oh-EEE-ha), is a specialized department within the cabinet-level California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) with responsibility for evaluati ...

(OEHHA) has developed an advisory for Donner Lake based on mercury and PCBs found in fish caught from this water body. Th
advisory
provides safe eating advice for fish species caught in the body of water.

Recreation

Donner Memorial State Park wraps around the East and part of the South shore of the Lake, encompassing Scallenberger Ridge to the south. Summer activities include: camping, picnicking, boating, fishing, water-skiing, wind-surfing, hiking, and mountain biking. Winter activities include cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. The Park features the Pioneer Monument - welcoming visitors year round - which was built to commemorate the

traveling to California from the east in the mid-19th century. The statue itself is positioned high, which is said to be the depth snow reached during the winter of 1846 when the Donner Party failed to make it over the pass. The North shore of the Lake hosts of public docks for both swimmers and boaters. The Donner Lake Triathlon is held every year, which consists of the Sprint Triathlon: swim, bike, run and the International Triathlon: , , run.

Hiking

There are roughly 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 around.

Camping

There are 154 sites to camp at in the park and a day-use area along the lake. A lakeside interpretive trail has 18 panels which discuss the natural and cultural resources in the local area.

References

External links

*
Trailspotting: Donner Memorial State Park Trail
Hike description & photos
California State Parks:Donner LakeViews of Donner Lake, California. Photographed by R.J. Waters and Co., ca. 1915

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library is the primary special-collections library of the University of California, Berkeley. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retain the name Bancroft Library in perpetuity. ...

Change of PacePipeline spill of diesel fuel into Donner Lake settlement
{{authority control Donner Party Lakes of California Lakes of Nevada County, California Tourist attractions in Nevada County, California Lakes of Northern California Stephens–Townsend–Murphy Party