Donner Lake Vacation Rentals, Hotels, Weather, Map and Attractions

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Donner-Lake is a pristine mountain lake located in the northern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, approximately 100 miles east of Sacramento via Interstate 80. It is the site where the infamous Donner Party, one of the earliest pioneer wagon trains, was stranded in the winter of 1846-1847. Located at the site today is the Donner Memorial State Park, which offers summer vacation opportunities for boating, fishing, water-skiing, hiking, picnicking and camping. The park encompasses about 1700 acres, and contains the Emigrant Trail Museum and Pioneer Monument, built to commemorate those who immigrated to California from the east in the mid-1800's. Inside the museum are displays and information about the Donner Party. A public boat ramp is available at the northwest corner of the lake and there are over three miles of frontage on the lake and Donner Creek for fishing. Donner Lake has approximately 2.5 miles of hiking trails, and the park property in Coldstream Canyon to the south contains the alignment of the original emigrant trail. There is a state park campground located at the lake, along with day-use areas with picnic tables, a beach, fishing, a hiking trail and restrooms. The town of Truckee is a ten-minute drive away and has shopping, restaurants and other conveniences. Donner Lake is approximately 20 miles to the North Shore of Lake Tahoe and 35 miles to Reno.

Surrounding areas: Tahoe Donner, California (2.1 mi), Truckee, California (4.5 mi), Northstar, California (8.6 mi), Squaw Valley, California (8.6 mi), Olympic Valley, California (10.1 mi), Alpine Meadows, California (10.2 mi), Cedar Flat, California (11.6 mi)

Donner Lake Vacation Rentals

Donner Lake Weather & Climate

The Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, just west of the Nevada state line has an alpine mountain climate. This high mountain region is known as one of the chilliest spots in the country, which comes as a big surprise to many that visit California. Nestled between the Sierra Nevada peaks, the towns of Truckee and Graeagle, and the Donner Lake region, often gets an inversion, whereby cold air is trapped overnight, thus the reason for the extreme cold temperatures in the very early morning hours - even in summertime. As the sun comes up, the temperature begins to rise and daytime highs are usually quite pleasant. Large amounts of snow are received in the higher elevations of the Sierras - up to 40 feet. Rain is possible any month of the year, although most occurs October through April. Mountain weather conditions can change quickly, and rain in the lower elevations can mean snow, sleet or ice in the higher elevations.

Month	High Temp	Low Temp	Rainfall	Ocean Temp
January	39°F	14°F	6.89 in.	-
February	42°F	16°F	6.72 in.	-
March	45°F	21°F	5.83 in.	-
April	51°F	25°F	2.50 in.	-
May	60°F	31°F	1.55 in.	-
June	71°F	36°F	0.76 in.	-
July	79°F	41°F	0.47 in.	-
August	79°F	40°F	0.59 in.	-
September	72°F	35°F	1.11 in.	-
October	61°F	28°F	2.18 in.	-
November	47°F	21°F	4.92 in.	-
December	39°F	15°F	5.48 in.	-

Donner Lake Map & Transportation



Click each thumbnail image to enlarge.

The closest airports in the area are the Truckee Tahoe airport (TRK) located about 6 miles east of Donner Lake in Truckee, California, the Reno Tahoe International airport (RNO) located approximately 29 miles east of Donner Lake in Reno, Nevada, the Reno Stead airport (4SD) located roughly 31 miles northeast of Donner Lake in Reno, Nevada, the Lake Tahoe airport (TVL) located around 32 miles south of Donner Lake in South Lake Tahoe, California, and finally the Minden Tahoe airport (MEV) located about 35 miles southeast of Donner Lake in Minden, Nevada.

Donner Lake Attractions


Amusement and Theme Parks
Playland Park	Reno	NV	28.1 mi.
Tahoe Amusement Park	South Lake Tahoe	CA	30.9 mi.
Wild Island	Sparks	NV	31.1 mi.
Funderland	Sacramento	CA	83.6 mi.

Water Parks
Wild Island Family Adventure Park	Sparks	NV	31.1 mi.
Waterworld USA	Sacramento	CA	83.6 mi.
Oakwood Lake Waterpark	Manteca	CA	117.3 mi.
Big Bear Park	Waterford	CA	119.3 mi.

Golf Courses
Coyote Moon Golf Club	Truckee	CA	4.5 mi.
Tahoe Donner Golf Club	Truckee	CA	4.5 mi.
Ponderosa Golf Course	Truckee	CA	5.5 mi.
Tahoe City Golf Course	Tahoe City	CA	12.4 mi.
Old Brockway Golf Course	Kings Beach	CA	14.1 mi.
Lake Ridge Golf Course	Reno	NV	27.9 mi.
Northgate Golf Club	Reno	NV	27.9 mi.
Rosewood Lakes Golf Course	Reno	NV	27.9 mi.
Washoe Golf Course	Reno	NV	27.9 mi.
Wolf Run Golf Club at Fieldcreek Ranch	Reno	NV	27.9 mi.
Sierra Sage Golf Course	Reno	NV	29.2 mi.
Eagle Valley Golf Course	Carson City	NV	29.3 mi.
Empire Ranch Golf Course	Carson City	NV	29.3 mi.
Silver Oak Golf Course	Carson City	NV	29.3 mi.
Brookside Municipal Golf Course	Reno	NV	29.6 mi.

Ski Areas
Northstar-at-Tahoe	Truckee	CA	4.5 mi.
Tahoe Donner	Truckee	CA	4.5 mi.
Donner Ski Ranch	Norden	CA	4.8 mi.
Sugar Bowl Tahoe	Norden	CA	4.8 mi.
Squaw Valley	Olympic Valley	CA	10.9 mi.
Alpine Meadows	Tahoe City	CA	12.4 mi.
Diamond Peak	Incline Village	NV	16.5 mi.
Ski Homewood	Homewood	CA	17.3 mi.
Mount Rose Ski Area	Reno	NV	28.1 mi.
Heavenly Ski Resort	South Lake Tahoe	CA	31.2 mi.
Sierra-at-Tahoe	Twin Bridges	CA	36.2 mi.
Kirkwood Ski Resort	Kirkwood	CA	44.1 mi.
Bear Valley	Bear Valley	CA	60.6 mi.
Dodge Ridge	Pinecrest	CA	73.4 mi.

State Parks
Donner Memorial State Park		CA	1.4 mi.
Burton Creek State Park		CA	11.4 mi.
Tahoe State Park		CA	12.8 mi.
Kings Beach State Park		CA	14.6 mi.
Sugar Pine Point State Park		CA	20.4 mi.
Lake Tahoe State Park		NV	22.7 mi.
D L Bliss State Park		CA	25.5 mi.
Washoe Lake State Park		NV	26.6 mi.
Snyder Meadows State Park		NV	27.1 mi.
Emerald Bay State Park		CA	27.4 mi.
Dayton State Park		NV	37.1 mi.
Plumas Eureka State Park		CA	38.1 mi.

Museums
Emigrant Trail Museum	Truckee	CA	4.5 mi.	(History)
W.M. Keck Museum	Reno	NV	28.1 mi.	(History)
Nevada Historical Society	Reno	NV	28.1 mi.	(Miscellaneous)
Fleischmann Planetarium	Reno	NV	28.1 mi.	(Science)
National Automobile Museum	Reno	NV	28.1 mi.	(Technology)
Nevada Museum of Art	Reno	NV	28.1 mi.	(Art)
Stewart Indian Museum	Carson City	NV	28.9 mi.	(History)
Nevada State Railroad Museum	Carson City	NV	28.9 mi.	(Technology)
Genoa Courthouse Museum	Genoa	NV	31.5 mi.	(History)
Portola Railroad Museum	Portola	CA	35.4 mi.	(Technology)
Vernon Wood Museum of Art	Dayton	NV	36.5 mi.	(Art)
Carson Valley Museum and Cultural Center	Gardnerville	NV	38.3 mi.	(History)

Zoos and Aquariums
Sacramento Zoo	Sacramento	CA	83.6 mi.
Micke Grove Zoo	Lodi	CA	98.7 mi.

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