ACTIVITIES and EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

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DONNER MEMORIAL STATE PARK

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Legacy Day at Donner Memorial State Park!!

Legacy Day returns at Donner Memorial State Park for its fourth annual celebration of the land’s legacy, its cultural and natural history, and the people who inhabited the land. Bring the family for this free event and enjoy live music, food truck, historical half-mile tours, children’s activities, visiting exhibitors, and a riveting talk on the perils the King of Pines is facing! Admission is free. The $10 parking fee remains in effect.

Stay for The Kings of Pines in Peril by Maria Mircheva, the Executive Director of the Sugar Pine Foundation, at 4 pm. This is a great talk for children, too.

Thank you to our partners: Truckee Chamber of Commerce, Town of Truckee, Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation, Tahoe Guide, and Tahoe.com.

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SIERRA SPEAKERS SERIES

MAY 16, DOORS OPEN AT 5:00PM, PRESENTATION 5:30PM-6:30

DONNER MEMORIAL STATE PARK

VISITOR CENTER - MAIN THEATER

“The Donner Party: Weathering the Storm”

The Sierra State Parks Foundation, in partnership with California State Parks and the Nevada County Library, is proud to announce the return of the monthly Sierra Speaker Series. The first talk of 2026 is bound to be a crowd-pleaser, featuring award-winning weather historian Mark McLaughlin. The presentation, “The Donner Party: Weathering the Storm,” will take place on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at the Donner Memorial State Park Visitor Center and offers a new analysis of the Donner Party's tragic story.

While the story of the Donner Party is etched into American folklore, McLaughlin’s presentation offers a unique, data-driven perspective on the catastrophic winter of 1846-47. By utilizing real-time weather observations from 19th-century American warships and eyewitness accounts from ground personnel, McLaughlin provides a harrowing look at how heavy Sierra snowpack and lowland Pacific rainstorms converged to impede rescue efforts and overwhelm the pioneers.

Doors open at 5:00 pm, and the presentation starts promptly at 5:30 pm. Admission is a suggested $5 donation. Attendees can enjoy light refreshments and wines generously sponsored by Highway 12 Winery. No pre-registration is required to attend this event. Free parking is available after 5:00 pm.

Mark McLaughlin is a five-time recipient of the Nevada State Press Award and a nationally published author with over 1,500 articles in print. He has served as a consultant for The History Channel, The Weather Channel, and the BBC.

“We are excited to be kicking off the 2026 Sierra Speaker Series with Mark McLaughlin. This partnership allows us to bring subject matter experts directly into our community, giving the community the rare opportunity to interact, face-to-face, with the researchers and historians who are actively uncovering the secrets of our region’s rich cultural past,” shares Michael Myers, Executive Director of the Sierra State Parks Foundation.

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DONNER LAKE PADDLING TOURS

Explore Donner Lake on a raft led by a California State Parks guide!

Welcome to all ages and we encourage youth participants to join with a parent/guardian. We provide paddling instruction, safety talk, and life jacket fitting before launching our two 14-foot rafts into the lagoon for a one-hour lake exploration (3/4 mi). Each raft holds 6-7 participants plus one guide who will discuss wildlife diversity and the rich cultural history of the area. You will have an opportunity to jump into the lake if you'd like!

Participants stay relatively dry throughout the tour, but clothes and shoes have the potential to get wet. This is a family friendly program with no-cost.

Full description, schedule, and registration

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CAMPFIRE TALKS and SIERRA SPEAKERS SERIES PRESENTATIONS

Our Saturday evening programs fall under two categories. The Sierra Speakers Series is held on the third Saturday of every month from May through October. The speaker series is held in the main theater of the Visitor Center and is a collaborative of Nevada Couty Libraries, Sierra State Parks Foundation, and Donner Memorial State Park.

With one exception, doors open at 5:00pm and programs take place 5:30pm-6:30pm. Note: the June 20 program is held after the conclusion of Legacy Day (11:00am-4:00pm) and the speakers series program starts at 4:00pm.

Our Campfire Programs are held Saturday evenings, except when Sierra Speakers Series programs are scheduled. Campfire programs take place in the campground amphitheater located just south of Ridge Campground. Campfire Program start at 8 PM. Remember to bring a flashlight or headlamp and light sweater or jacket. FREE!

2026 Sierra Speakers Series

Sierra Speakers Series programs are held in the Main Theater of the Donner Memorial State Park Visitor Center. With one exception, doors open at 5:00pm and programs take place 5:30pm-6:30pm. Note: the June 20 program is held after the conclusion of Legacy Day (11:00am-4:00pm) and the speakers series program starts at 4:00pm.

May 16 (5:30-6:30), Mark McLaughlin, “The Donner Party - Weathering the Storm”. Weather and snowpack conditions during the winter of 1846-47 are critical to understanding the narrative of the Donner tragedy. This unique analysis looks at real-time weather observations from American warships, eyewitness accounts from on-the-ground personnel, as well as reliable statements from an array of contemporary sources.

June 20 (4:00-5:00), Maria Mircheva, “The King of Pines in Peril”. Sugar pine is known as the King of Pines for its size and the beauty of its giant pine cones. Sugar pines used to be about 25% of the local forests but are less than 5% now. This is due to historic logging, fire suppression which favors other species, and a non-native invasive fungus called White Pine Blister Rust. Come learn about the effort to bring back sugar pines!

July 18 (5:30-6:30), Noel Lopez, “The Bidwell Bartleson Party: the first planned overland emigrant journey to California”. In 1841, the Bidwell-Bartleson Party became the first organized group of American settlers to attempt a wagon crossing into California, despite having no prior experience or reliable maps. Faced with the harsh reality of the Great Basin and the Sierra Nevada, the group was forced to abandon their wagons and survive on the meat of their pack animals. Though the party splintered under the immense physical and mental strain, most members eventually reached John Sutter’s ranch in the Sacramento Valley. Their arrival proved that a land route to the Pacific was possible, effectively setting the stage for the massive waves of migration that defined the mid-19th century.

August 15 (5:30-6:30), Alice Wilson, “A Changing Landscape: Photographer Carleton Watkins' Portrayal of the West from 1850 to 1875”. A predecessor to the more celebrated Ansel Adams, Western landscape photographer Carleton Watkins is known for his large-format, scenic portrayals of Yosemite, the Sierra Nevada, and the Oregon Coast. In this analysis of ten selected photographs from Stanford University’s Special Collections archive, Alice Wilson considers Watkins’ visual expression as a documentarian and interpreter of the West during the period 1850 to 1875. While Watkins images the majesty of Western landscape, he also records its environmental degradation. Wilson argues that Watkins’ innovative photography complicates the romantic portrayal of the American West by landscape painters of the time, suggesting that human use of natural resources may threaten the environment, and positioning Watkins among early advocates for conservation.

September 19 (5:30-6:30), History Expeditions, “Fremont’s Sierra Expedition”. A predecessor to the more celebrated Ansel Adams, Western landscape photographer Carleton Watkins is known for his large-format, scenic portrayals of Yosemite, the Sierra Nevada, and the Oregon Coast. In this analysis of ten selected photographs from Stanford University’s Special Collections archive, Alice Wilson considers Watkins’ visual expression as a documentarian and interpreter of the West during the period 1850 to 1875. While Watkins images the majesty of Western landscape, he also records its environmental degradation. Wilson argues that Watkins’ innovative photography complicates the romantic portrayal of the American West by landscape painters of the time, suggesting that human use of natural resources may threaten the environment, and positioning Watkins among early advocates for conservation.

October 17 (5:30-6:30), Paul Helman, “Black Powder and Nitroglycerin - Oh My!” 1000's of Chinese Laborers blasted granite, made tunnels and prepared Railroad roadbed in the mid 1860's during the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad on the route over Donner Pass. How did they do it? What explosives did they use, black powder or nitroglycerine? This presentation will discuss the history of both plus how and where they were used.

Sierra Speakers Series held in the Visitor Center main theater

2026 Campfire Programs

Campfire Programs start at 8:00pm and are held in the Ampitheater at Donner Memorial State Park located south of Ridge Campground.

June 13, Sarina Simons, “Life of Bears – The Mysteries of Bear Biology”

June 27, Leslie Scatchard, “The Tamsen Donner Story”

July 11, Alice and the Wonderlandz, “Music with an historic twist”

July 25, Andy Saunders, “Historic Lincoln Highway and the Sacramento Corridor – 1913-1928”

August 1, Brian Buttazoni, “All About Bats"

August 8, Brian Buttazoni, “All About Bears”

August 22, Touch of Gold, “Children of the Pioneers – A History Story Through Song”

August 29, Alice and the Wonderlandz, “Music with an historic twist”

September 5, Touch of Gold, “Children of the Pioneers – A History Story Through Song”

Campfire programs take place in the campground amphitheater("Campfire Center") located just south of Ridge Campground

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HISTORICAL TOURS

Historical Tours are offered most Thursday-Sunday's at 11:00AM and 1:00PM. Meet at the Visitor Center (12593 Donner Pass Rd, Truckee, CA 96161). Tours are dependent on a volunteer docent being available to lead the tour. Please call ahead to confirm a tour will take place on the day of your visit. (530-582-7892)

Join a compelling guided tour (60-minutes, 1/2 mile walk on packed gravel trail) led by a local historian expert to learn about the the arduous overland journeys of California emigrants (including The Donner Party of 1846), indigenous presence (Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California), and wildlife diversity in the area. Drop in for this no-cost and family-friendly guided hike.

Are you planning a family reunion, looking for something to do with out-of-town guests, or in charge of your business's team building day, how about a custom historical tour led by a docent or park interpreter? If your family or group is interested in a tour on a specific date, please contact Park Interpreters to organize your custom tour. (530-582-7892)

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PORTS Virtual Programs

PORTS (Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students) Program is a FREE distance learning program with California State Parks!

PORTS uses the power of videoconferencing to support K-12 educators in designing deep and meaningful learning experiences in virtual and in-person classrooms.

Travelers of the Sierra Nevada Mountains: Explore the region where the famous Donner Party spent the tragic winter of 1846 with a California State Park Interpreter. We will highlight the California emigrant experience and other important natural and cultural features of Donner Memorial State Park.

PORTS On Demand - Schedule an interactive virtual presentation with your class or group with a California State Parks Interpreter to learn about the Donner Party of 1846.