Five Snowshoe Hikes in Truckee
Five Truckee Snowshoe Hikes // tahoefabulous.com
This winter, I've been getting more and more into snowshoeing. If you don't want to by a lift ticket or a season pass, snowshoeing is a great way to get outside and enjoy the winter. There are a bunch of great places to snowboard in and around Truckee, and here are some of my favorites:
Truckee Train Tunnels Hike // tahoefabulous.com
1. Donner Summit Train Tunnels This is not your typical Truckee snowshoe! This route takes you into the abandoned Transcontinental Railroad tunnels. Don't worry, the tracks have been pulled out so there's no chance you'll get hit by a train. The appeal of the tunnels is the natural ice sculptures and graffiti that collects in the tunnels. Click here to read my blog post with more details, and don't forget your headlamp!
2. Donner Memorial State Park This state park commemorates the site of the ill-fated Donner Party, who spent the winter of 1846-47 in this area and famously resorted to cannibalism to survive. Park at the Visitor's Center ($10 parking or use your California State Parks Pass) and explore the east end of Donner Lake. During the summer, this park is packed, but it's much emptier in the winter. Be sure to check out the giant statue memorial to the men, women, and children of the Donner Party (the base of the sculpture is the height of the '46-'47 snows!) and head into the recently remodeled museum when you're done with the hike.If this visit gets you interested in the story of the Donner Party, read the book The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown. I just finished it, and it's amazing!
Donner Summit Canyon Snowshoe // tahoefabulous.com
3. Donner Summit Canyon Donner Summit Canyon is a moderately strenuous hike with beautiful views of Donner Lake, Donner Peak, and Shallenberger Ridge. It doesn't get a ton of sun, so it's a great option when snow has melted off of other sunnier trails. Check out my blog post with more details here.
Snowshoeing Coldstream Canyon // tahoefabulous.com
4. Coldstream Canyon For a mellow, flat snowshoe, I highly recommend Coldstream Canyon. It has more widely spaced trees than a lot of the snowshoe hikes in the area, so it gets great sun on a bluebird day. It's a perfect hike for a sunny day after some storms, and it's close to both downtown Truckee and Donner Lake. It can be a pretty popular area on busy weekends, so get there early if you don't want to have to park too far away. Check out my blog post with more details here.
5. Commemorative Overland Emigrant Trail So there were actually two Donner Party camps, and the eponymous Donners didn't actually camp at Donner Lake! They set up their shelters a few miles away by Alder Creek, which is now the home of the trail most locals just call "Emigrant". This is a great place to explore via snowshoes. You can stick to the flatter areas, or climb up the small hills for a view of Prosser Creek Reservoir. To get here, head north on Highway 89 to the Donner Party Picnic Area. The actual parking lot is closed in the winter, but there are plowed spots across the road. Click here to see my Strava route.