Donner Memorial State Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Donner Memorial State Park
Donner Lake, with Donner Memorial State Park at the far end, right, viewed from near Donner Peak
Donner Memorial State Park Location in California Show map of California Donner Memorial State Park Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Nevada and Placer Counties, California, US
Nearest city	Truckee, California
Area	3,549 acres (14.36 km2)
Established	1928
Governing body	California Department of Parks and Recreation
Donner Camp
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
The 1918 Pioneer Monument at Donner Camp
Built	1846
NRHP reference No.	66000218
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NHL	January 20, 1961

Beach at China Cove in Donner Memorial State Park

Donner Memorial State Park is a California State Park located in Truckee, California. This park protects a special part of the Donner Camp site. Here, a group called the Donner Party got stuck in heavy snow during the winter of 1846–1847. They were trying to cross Donner Pass but couldn't make it.

Without proper shelter or enough food, the group faced extreme hardship and made desperate choices to survive. This historic camp, high in the Sierra Nevada mountains, is now a National Historic Landmark.

Donner Memorial State Park was created in 1928 and covers about 3,549 acres. It has monuments to the Donner Party, like the Pioneer Monument built in 1918, and a visitor center. You can also enjoy 18.5 miles of trails, campgrounds, and 1.7 miles of shoreline along Donner Lake.

Park History and the Donner Party

When snowstorms trapped the Donner Party in the Sierra Nevada, they set up two main camps. One smaller group, including the Donner families, stayed in tents at Alder Creek. The larger group traveled about 6 miles further and camped near what is now Donner Lake. The state park includes the spots where two of their three cabins once stood.

Early Efforts to Remember the Donner Party

People wanted to remember the Donner Party for a long time. Early memorials included large crosses at the Graves Cabin site. However, this site is outside the current state park.

Later, a historian named Charles Fayette McGlashan bought 1 acre of land. This land was where the Schallenberger/Breen Cabin once stood. With help from the Native Sons of the Golden West, a monument was built there. It was officially opened in June 1918.

Creating the State Park

In 1927, Cora Woodbridge helped pass a law. This law allowed California to buy the 11 acres of land with the monument. The state also bought more land to create a new state park. On August 18, 1928, the land officially became Donner Memorial State Park.

Since then, the park has grown with more land purchases. A big purchase in 1948 added the southeast shore of Donner Lake to the park. This new land allowed for more trails and campsites.

Park Features and Attractions

Donner Memorial Visitor Center

The park has a modern visitor center where you can learn a lot. Before the current center, there was a small shop and museum called "Pioneer Donner Park." This was replaced by the Emigrant Trail Museum in 1962.

The Emigrant Trail Museum taught visitors about the Donner Party. It also showed exhibits on the Native American tribes of the area. Early transportation over the pass and the general history of pioneers were also covered. This museum cost $250,000 and opened on September 9, 1962.

In 2011, work began on a new, larger museum. It was completed in 2013 but opened later due to some issues. The new Donner Memorial State Park Visitor Center finally opened on June 6, 2015. This date also marked the 97th anniversary of the Pioneer Monument. The new center cost $9.6 million and has 9,400 square feet of space.

Inside, you can explore exhibits about the area's history. This includes local Native American cultures, the Donner Party, and the builders of the First transcontinental railroad. Park staff also lead hikes, special talks, and campfires near the museum. The old Emigrant Trail Museum building is now used for offices and storage.

Donner Party Monuments

The Pioneer Monument

The Pioneer, a sculpture on top of the monument

Historian Charles McGlashan worked for years to create a monument. He wanted it at the site of the Schallenberger/Breen Cabin. The Native Sons of the Golden West helped him raise money and plan the project. A special ceremony for the monument's first stone was held on June 10, 1910. Three women who were young girls in the Donner Party attended this event.

The finished monument was revealed on June 6, 1918. The governors of California and Nevada were there. Three women who had been part of the Donner Party as children also attended. The monument's base is 20 by 21 feet. A pedestal rises 22 feet high, which is the height of the snow during the winter of 1846–1847. On top of the pedestal is a 17.5-foot-tall statue of a pioneer family. This statue is called "The Pioneer" and was made by artist John McQuarrie.

The monument cost $35,000 to build. The bronze statue was one of the largest west of the Mississippi River at that time. It was believed to be built exactly where the Schallenberger/Breen Cabin stood.

The front plaque on the Pioneer Monument says: "VIRGINIA REED MURPHY, ELIZA P. DONNER HOUGHTON, FRANCES E. DONNER WILDER, SURVIVORS OF THE DONNER PARTY, WERE PRESENT AT THE LAYING OF THE CORNERSTONE, JUNE 6, 1910. THIS MONUMENT WAS ERECTED BY THE NATIVE SONS OF THE GOLDEN WEST AND THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, IN MEMORY OF THE PIONEERS WHO CROSSED THE PLAINS TO SETTLE CALIFORNIA."

The back plaque on the Pioneer Monument says: "NEAR THIS SPOT STOOD THE CABIN OF THE BREEN FAMILY, ONE OF THE THREE CABINS OCCUPIED BY THE DONNER PARTY IN THE WINTER OF 1846-47. THE SUFFERING AND HEROISM OF THE PIONEERS WHO PASSED THIS WAY IS A PART OF THE PRICE PAID FOR THIS GOLDEN STATE."

The monument was fully repaired in 2022.

Schallenberger/Breen Cabin Site

Plaque about the Schallenberger Cabin; the Pioneer Monument is in the background

The Pioneer Monument stands on or very close to where the Moses Schallenberger Cabin once was. The Breen family used this cabin two years later when they were stuck with the Donner Party. A plaque was added in 1995 to tell the cabin's story. It says:

"IN 1844, MOSES SCHALLENBERGER, A MEMBER OF THE STEVENS-TOWNSEND-MURPHY PARTY, BUILT A SMALL CABIN AT THIS SITE. HE AND TWO COMPANIONS, LEFT TO GUARD THE PARTY'S WAGONS, SPENT THE WINTER HERE. TWO YEARS LATER, THE BREEN FAMILY, MEMBERS OF THE DONNER PARTY, OCCUPIED THE CABIN. THE CABIN SITE WAS ACQUIRED BY CHARLES F. MCGLASHAN IN 1893. THE PIONEER MONUMENT WAS ERECTED HERE IN 1918."

Murphy Cabin Site

Monument at the site of the Murphy Cabin

The site of the Murphy Cabin became part of the park in 1948. Here, you can see a large granite boulder. The Murphy, Pike, Foster, and Eddy families built their cabin against this boulder for shelter. A plaque on the boulder from 1919 reads:

"NEAR THIS SPOT STOOD THE MURPHY CABIN, IN WHICH THE MURPHY, PIKE, FOSTER AND EDDY FAMILIES OF THE DONNER PARTY SPENT THE WINTER OF 1846-47."

The plaque then lists members of the Donner Party who "Survived" and "Perished." Some of this information is not completely accurate.

Climate at Donner Memorial State Park

The park experiences cold, snowy winters and warm, dry summers. In January, the average temperature is about 27.2°F. Temperatures can drop below 0°F a few days each year. Most of the rain and snow falls in winter. The park gets about 38.81 inches of precipitation and 182.9 inches of snow on average each year.

Summers are dry with warm days, sometimes over 90°F. Nights are cool, often dropping below 32°F. July is the warmest month, with an average high of 82.3°F and a low of 43.5°F. It only gets about 0.35 inches of rain in July. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -28°F in February 1962. The hottest was 99°F in July and August.

More to Explore

• Donner-Reed Museum
• List of California state parks