Great museum to learn about the Donner's fate. Very informative and well maintained site. read more

Donner Party Monument - The statue commemorating the people that passed and perished through this area. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Truckee, California

A monument to pioneer families [Truckee CA] A short walk on the paved trail from the visitor center led us to the pioneer monument. The monument stands on the spot where the Schallenberger, and later the Breen, cabin once stood. Dedicated and honoring all the emigrants (not just the Donner Party) who followed the Truckee River and crossed the Sierra on their way to the west (California). The emigrant family sits on top of a 22-foot pedestal and is facing westward toward Donner Pass. Completed on June 6th 1918 and marked California Historical Landmark #134. There are educational interpretive signs nearby worth the read. Interesting to see this monument standing at one of the most historic sites in emigrant history. During the winter of 1846-1847 we learned that nearly half of Donner Party died from cold and lack of food. They set up camp around this area and was trapped by snow during their journey, imagine trekking in prairie wagons pulled by oxen from Illinois. So sad for those who perished just because of this unfortunate decision they took as a shortcut... ahhh! so close yet so far. Review #3557 read more

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This memorial is to the ill fated Donner party who started too late and could not get across the Sierra Nevada Mountains because of snow. Their story has been documented in a PBS show that I recommend you try to find. It is difficult to think how many survived given the harsh conditions and lack of food the party had. It's also sad to think of the deaths the families endured because of these conditons. This memorial is about 20 yards from the visitor center/museum. Walk around the backside and read the historical infomration on a plaque there, too. This is worth getting off the freeway to visit. read more

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This monument is located right next to the museum. You need to pay to park. They have a very short path to walk around near the monument. I appreciated the history. read more

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Donner Pass, a remarkable story of survival and being pushed to the extreme of hunger; cannibalism. Yes non-Californians, we do have areas in this state that experience remarkable volumes of snow. And not just here in the Sierras, but even in our local Southern California ranges. The poor unfortunate members of the Donner Party experienced the worst of those storms. This is a monument to many of that party's terrible fate 1846-47. I always vowed that I'd stop by to pay my respects if ever in the area. This trip to Truckee fulfilled that vow. read more

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The monument is beautiful and awe inspiring. The large bronze sculpture of a pioneer husband, wife, young child clinging to to the fathers leg, and baby cradled in the mother's arms as they trek forward side by side is darn right captivating. It sits atop a 22 foot stone base. That base height represents the historic snow line of that fateful winter of 1846. Amazing. It was dedicated in 1918. Sculpted by John McQuarrie. The cost was $25,000 ($415,000 now) and some of the money was raised by selling $1 ($17 now) glass vials of wood splinters of the Murphy cabin. There is a plaque on the front and back of the monument. Take the time to walk around to the back. Soak in the scenery of the trees and mountain lines, this was the spot where members of the Donner Party bunkered down. I visited the monument in the summer. I can only imagine how it looks in the winter. As you walk up to the monument, it is on a paved path next to the visitor center. Near the beginning of the path is a plaque on a large boulder. The plaque marks the site of the Schallenberger cabin. The cabin is long gone. It was built in 1844 by another pioneer family and used by the Breen family of the Donner party. Tip: Try to find parking on the side of the road first because parking in the lot is $10. read more

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Did you know that when you search 'Donner Party' on an iPhone it'll try to auto-correct your search to 'Dinner Party'? Too soon, Apple. Too soon. Modern dark humor aside, I feel like I have a lot of things in common with the ill-fated Donner party. For instance, they started out in Illinois with hopes of making it to the coast of California for greater opportunity and a better life and I recently made the cross-country trek from Illinois to California (taking their very same path) in search of a land where I never have to shovel sh*tty snow off my car again. I guess the main difference here is that my crew and I made it unscathed on our journey while the Donner party... well, let's just say that sh*tty snow didn't exactly work in their favor. But I gotta give it up to these true American Pioneers - they go hard. Like, whoa. Which brings me to the next similarity - I would totally eat human. I mean, obviously their circumstances weren't the greatest and people probably wasn't anyone's first menu choice, but they did what they had to do to survive, even if that meant having to eat all their friends. For that reason, I try my hardest to surround myself with only the best and most selfless of friends who I know would have no problem offering up an arm or a leg, should I ever be in dire need of sustenance. The Donner crew had 87 people in their group when they entered the mountains and in the end only 48 survived. The monument set up to honor these historic pioneers rests on the site of one of their (borrowed) cabins. The monument stands 22-feet tall to mark how high the snow went that year and atop there's a (rather busty) pioneer family looking westward. If you walk a little further down the trail you'll find a big rock with the names of the survivors carved on one side and the names of the lost carved on the other. You won't find any mention of cannibalism, or really much information at all, but it's an interesting place to visit and the only stop on our 32-hour drive that didn't involve gassing up. It's just off I-80 and costs nothing to go to, so why not? read more

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Gorgeous and well-done visitor center has recently opened and they have done a GREAT job. Definitely recommend to anyone visiting the Sierras, Truckee or just traveling on Hwy 80 to stop and visit the tragedy that is the Donner Party. Admission to the visitor center is free, but you do have to pay to park. I think we paid $8.00 for parking, it was money well spent. The outside memorial is very fitting, the height of the stone base is the same height of the snow that plagued the emigrants. The bronze pioneer family is so high on top of the stone monument, they will never be under the snow again. Once in the museum, please make sure your watch the movie, even if you have to wait for it....it is an older film, but it is so well told, you will learn much about the pioneers that emigrated from all over the country to California in search of a better life. Highly recommended to all, if you pay attention it will garner and few found respect for Western history and you will learn in important lesson about not taking "short-cuts". read more

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Terrible. As a federal and state parks employee of 15-20 years they asked me if I was there for the beach at the fee gate. I stated politely we were there for the history. I'm 37 years of age and told them I was there for the history. I was charged the $10.00 then informed after that the visitor center interpretive museum was closed, but the staff would answer my questions. I walked into the visitor center eagerly to find out more information about the site. The staff was more than willing to answer questions from an older couple in front of me, but ignored me as I stood nearby. Not even a "we will be with you in a minute." I continued to stand there as one of the staff members answered the older couples questions and the other one ignored me as she had better things to do on her phone. She probably also thought I was there for the beach and a waste of her time. This was The Worst and most disappointing experience at a park in my life. The goal should be to promote younger generations into appreciating the parks and visiting. Not making them feel bad for visiting... I encourage your park to do a better job at accepting and not judging your visitors off their looks alone. read more

A must for anyone who is even vaguely interested in American history. I drag all the tourists who are visiting me in Tahoe here. Then we can spend all day after seeing the cute little museum making jokes about which one of us we would eat first. This review is mostly for the museum section - it's small but worthy, kinda kitschy and adorable. Worth watching the little movie. Bringing kids here is a hoot - it helps them to imagine 1) how much snow there can be here and 2) yes, Americans can be cannibals too! read more

Love hanging here and a good place for a run in spring/summer. The museum part is very interesting. If you're in town and a fan of history... It's worth the stop! Definitely check out the statue. Puts a gut wrenching perspective on the Donner party. The parking lot is paid parking, But there is free parking on Donner Pass Rd. read more

Finally the new museum has opened! I've been stalking it for what seems like forever. They were in desperate need of an update, they'd had the same tiny museum for years! The museum contains not only info about the ill fated Donner party, but the history of the area including displays about the local Native Americans and the building of the railroad. Stop in for a visit if you are in the area! read more

We visited the memorial, and it was beautiful in the summer time. Great little trails to "hike" and a museum (which was unfortunately closed for renovations when we came). It was a lovely place to stop and reflect. read more

I am fascinated by the Donner party story. This museum has a very good bookstore and I found books about the Donner party I didn't know existed. You don't have to pay to see the memorial statue and stuffed animals (not the cute kind, the creepy taxidermy kind) or peruse the books. I saw admission was $8 and almost turned around, but the woman behind the desk told me it was $8 per car...so bring your friends and family! I saw the short movie, which seemed about 40 years old and drew some snickers from the audience. The museum isn't much-truth be told, but I would argue everyone should go at least once, as the history of Truckee and the Sierras is worth knowing. The Donner party camps were burned to the ground, so not much left (sorry, no bones or kettles!) except a few buttons and the like. Eerie smallish mannequins in frontier clothes near a covered wagon...kind of nightmarish in a Twilight Zone way. There is some interesting stuff about the making of the first train tracks through the Sierra, that is, if you are interested in trains. read more

The day I visited was the day they opened a museum. It's a must stop. A great history lesson that won't take too much out of your day.

Very nice scenery. Calm and quiet too. There's a large monument to the Donner Party, a trail and a lake. There's a little museum that shows an obviously quite dated documentary about the Donner Party but informative. There are some actual artifacts they've uncovered in the museum. The museum isn't very large but it's worth it to learn some history about the country's most unfortunate road trip. read more