The Truckee-Donner area lies within the boundaries of the Tahoe National Forest and encompasses a region of some 300 square miles. Truckee is 35 miles west of Reno, 100 miles east of Sacramento and 14 miles north of Lake Tahoe. Two highways, State Route 89 and State Route 267, serve the north shore communities of Lake Tahoe.
In and around such areas as Lake Van Norden, Serene Lakes and the Castle Peak wilderness, are excellent opportunities for fishing, swimming, hiking, backpacking, horseback riding and mountain biking. Four alpine ski areas and one Nordic ski area are located within a five-mile radius. Three miles west of Truckee, Donner Lake is three miles long and 3/4 mile wide. The lake is up to several hundred feet deep in spots. It has a public boat-launching ramp at the west end of the lake. The Truckee-Donner Recreation and Park District maintains a beach/park at the west end with swimming, picnicking, barbecue and boating areas.
Located on the eastern end of Donner Lake, the Donner Memorial State Park encompasses 353 acres, has 154 campsites and 50 picnic sites. Points of interest in the park include: Emigrant Trail Museum, the Pioneer Memorial -- a massive bronze monument that commemorates the pioneers and the Donner Party's Murphy cabin site. Located three miles north of Truckee on Highway 89 North is the Alder Creek Picnic Area and its historic walking trail through the area that was one of the camp sites of the Donner Party.
Downtown Truckee includes several historic buildings including the Veterans Memorial Building, a large quonset building on High Street. It was built on the site of the C.F. McGlashan mansion. The famous Rocking Stone is adjacent to the building, inside a gazebo-style enclosure. The historic Truckee jail, in use until 1964, can be seen on the corner of Jibboom and Spring streets.
There are three public courses in the immediate Truckee area: Northstar (18-hole), Tahoe/Donner (18-hole) and Ponderosa (9-hole). All offer early and late season specials, clubhouses, cart rentals and pro shops.
Located a short distance east of Truckee are the Prosser, Boca and Stampede Reservoirs. These lakes have designated campgrounds maintained by the Forest Service for summer use. Stay is limited to 14 days. Water skiing permitted at Boca and Stampede only. There are boat ramps at all reservoirs.
TRUCKEE HISTORY
The Washoe Indians have validated that Spaniards crossed the Sierras from the Pacific Coast, long before any whites were recorded as being in the High Sierras. From as early as 1826, written accounts of travel across the Sierras documented routes well south of here. Wagons were always abandoned before crossing over the high mountain pass that looms just above Truckee. That was to change in 1844, thanks to a legendary Paiute Indian Chief who the Town of Truckee was named for many years ago.
A wagon train originating in Missouri and bound for California was led by Elisha Stevens in 1844. Scouting for the immigrants was an old trapper known as "Old Greenwood" claiming to be 80 years old. His experience and two sons by a Crow wife proved to be invaluable. They arrived in Nevada and stopped near a Paiute Indian encampment. The Chief of the Paiutes communicated with the Stevens party by drawing in the dirt. There are many versions of how he became know as "Chief Truckee", for whom the river and town were named.
Chief Truckee was enthusiastic about the meeting. Drawing in the dirt and signaling to Old Greenwood and his sons, Chief Truckee told of a river that pointed the way to a pass through the High Sierras. Reluctantly, they took the chief's advice and followed him to the river they named the Truckee, in honor of the chief who led them. Since winter was threatening by now, a horse party of six, three males and three females, went ahead to Sutter's Fort in Sacramento to solicit help. They took a route where highway 89 now winds from Truckee south along the west shore of Lake Tahoe.
When encountering the awesome lake (one of the earliest recorded visits by white people to the lake) they were astounded by its size and beauty. However eventful the occasion, survival was uppermost in their minds and they anxiously continued on to reach the fort and safety.
Threatened by winter storms, the wagon train decided to take the route which is now connected by the railroad and an Interstate Highway, still a sometimes treacherous journey in the winter. It was "more suitable for vehicles...", according to Stevens. They quickly encountered the granite outcroppings later to be known as Donner Pass. Fearing starvation from being trapped by winter snow, the party left 6 of their laden wagons on the shores of Donner Lake, and hoisted 5 wagons over the granite, in winter conditions, with oxen teams, and crossed the peak to safety. This kind of courage must surely have come from the burning will to survive, something akin to those folks who make a living around here today.
This occasion in 1844, more than 150 years ago, marked the first wagon crossing of the High Sierras, the first of many to follow. Hordes of immigrants were to follow in wagons, including the ill-fated Donner Party in 1846, trapped as the Stevens Party almost was, by a severe winter storm.
With the discovery of gold to the southwest of Truckee in 1848, hundreds of wagons a day went the way over Donner Pass. Storms of miners migrated through the area for the next 10 years going west. When the Comstock Lode of silver was discovered in Nevada, they began heading back East, but the Truckee Basin was still just a place on the way. The easier route from Carson City, NV to Sacramento was widened and developed, and with Virginia City silver being shipped to the wealthy mine owners in San Francisco, the Truckee Route was forgotten for a while. The decision to build the railroad over Donner Pass caused the Truckee Route to again come alive.
Nineteen years after the Stevens Party crossing, the year of 1863 saw the beginning of the railroad, a new stage company, and the birth of Truckee as a town. Truckee was originally known as Gray's Station after the first white settler, Joe Gray. He built a cabin for his family that served as a stage station for many years. Gray's first building is still inhabited today. The settlement was later known as Coburn's Station after a man who built more buildings here.
Since 1868, the town has been known as Truckee, but with no official charter. On more than one occasion, incorporation was attempted, only to fail. Truckee for many years was destined to be a distant cousin of Nevada City, the seat of Nevada County, certainly another place and certainly a different culture. That was to change in 1993 when we voters decided to bite the bullet and incorporate.
