Donner Memorial State Park and Emigrant Trail Museum

Donner Memorial State Park and Emigrant Trail Museum Review

Donner Memorial State Park and Emigrant Trail Museum commemorates the Donner Party, a group of 89 westward-bound pioneers who were trapped in the Sierra in the winter of 1846-47 in snow 22 feet deep. The top of the stone pedestal beneath the monument marks the snow level that year. Only 49 pioneers survived, some by resorting to cannibalism, though none consumed his own kin. (For the full story, pick up a copy of Ordeal by Hunger, by George R. Stewart.) The museum's hourly slide show details the Donner Party's plight. Other displays and dioramas relate the history of railroad development through the Sierra. In the park, you can picnic, hike, camp, and go boating, fishing, and waterskiing in summer; winter brings cross-country skiing and snowshoeing on groomed trails. The day-use parking fee includes admission to the museum.