Virtual Guidebook to Lake Tahoe and the Northern Sierra Nevada
Donner Pass Route
Nevada and Placer Counties California

The Donner Pass route across the Sierra, with several variations, was the main route of the covered wagon trains from the 1840's to completion of the railroad in 1869. It gained notoriety when the Donner-Reed Party were stranded here by deep snow in the winter of 1846-7 and resorted to cannibalism to survive.

The main highway now is Interstate 80, which runs just north of the older Highway 40 pass. The original transcontinental railroad crossed here also, protected by miles of timber snowsheds, but a long tunnel now bypasses the summit.