Donner Memorial State ParkThe 1918 Pioneer Monument, a museum of the Donner Party and transcontinental railroad, and a swimming beach on Donner Lake outside Truckee

Donner Memorial State Park sits at the west edge of Truckee at roughly 6,000 feet, in the glacier-carved Truckee Basin where the Donner Party was stranded during the brutal winter of 1846–47. The park preserves the site and tells its story, alongside the broader history of westward emigration over the Sierra. It's 100 miles east of Sacramento via Interstate 80, just off the freeway on the south side of town.

The centerpiece is the Pioneer Monument: a bronze pioneer family standing atop a 22-foot stone pedestal — the depth of the snow that trapped the emigrants — dedicated on June 6, 1918 by the Native Sons of the Golden West and designated California Historical Landmark #134. It was comprehensively restored in 2022. The visitor center's exhibits illuminate the Emigrant Experience, the Donner Party, the land of the Washoe people who call Donner Lake 'Little Eye,' the Chinese laborers who built the transcontinental railroad, and early auto travel over Donner Pass.

In summer the park is also a lake park: a day-use beach on Donner Lake with picnic tables and fishing, the accessible 1.4-mile Lakeside Interpretive Trail to China Cove, the half-mile Nature Trail past the historic Murphy Cabin site, and over eight miles of trails total — including the Emigrant Trail in Coldstream Canyon that connects to the Pacific Crest Trail. The 154-site campground books out for summer weekends. Bring a layer; nights drop to the low 40s even in July.