Donner Memorial State Park and Emigrant Trail Museum

December 28, 2011 By

As Northern California natives and Oregon residents, we’re well-versed in Oregon Trail pioneering history, and specifically, the Donner Party. We’ve taken the kids to Sutter’s Fort State Park in Sacramento, CA, where they first learned about the ill-fated party, and when we found ourselves on Interstate 80 at the beautiful Donner Summit during our Thanksgiving break travels, we just had to make a pit stop at Donner Memorial State Park and Emigrant Trail Museum in Truckee.

In warm-weather months, the park features lakeside access, well-tended picnic grounds, and hiking trails, but it’s still very worthy of a visit in winter. The Emigrant Trail Museum features extensive displays depicting the Donner Party ordeal, and includes exhibits describing general pioneering ways: wagons, tools, maps of established trails, and the like. Most interesting is the video (shown on the hour) and the short walk (accessible even in early winter) to the site of one of the Donner Party cabins. The kids found it fascinating that it was still possible to see the discoloration on the granite slab that served as a cabin wall, caused by chimney smoke. The nearby Donner memorial statue is also worth a look: the pedestal (base) of the memorial illustrates the height of the snowfall during the winter the Donners spent below the summit.

Tip! If you’re visiting in winter, you might want to consider stopping to sled or snowshoe near the state park at the sno-park by Boreal (a few miles south on I-80).

Date last visited: November 2011

Distance from the interstate: Directly off I-80.

Admission costs: $8 per vehicle, payable at a self-pay station or within the museum. Note: cash only!

Hours of operation: The museum is open 9 am to 4 pm, year round. State park grounds are open sunrise to sunset.

Directions: The park is 100 miles east of Sacramento via Interstate 80, and is within the town of Truckee, just west of downtown on the south side of the freeway.

Sutter’s Fort State Historical Site

February 10, 2011 By

2701 L Street
Sacramento, CA

If you’re passing through the Sacramento Valley on a road trip or family vacation and want to venture beyond the swinging saloon doors and adjustable bar stools of Old Town Sacramento, a visit to Sutter’s Fort State Historical Site makes for a great pit stop.

Note: Sutter’s Fort has a Kidscore of 100. Learn more about Kidscore.

Located downtown in the heart of Sacramento’s capitol district, Sutter’s Fort has been restored on its original site, allowing visitors to tour past rooms replicating fort life in the 19th century, see working dutch ovens, a blacksmith workshop, and more. Our kids loved the cannons in the towers especially, and there’s a great exhibit on John Sutter himself and his role in the California Gold Rush at the start of the self-guided tour. Rooms and other points of interest include audio stations depicting historical and cultural significance, but many areas also feature live reenactments and living history personnel. There’s a great gift shop (we recommend purchasing and reading Patty Reed’s Doll to your kids to give an age-appropriate retelling of the infamous Donner Party), picnic areas, and street parking. (Extra tip: summer temperatures soar in the valley, so plan to arrive early or do as we did: visit in December!)

Date last visited: December 2010

Admission: Adults $5, youth $3, kids under age 5: free.

Distance from the interstate: Five minutes from both I-5 and I-80.

Hours: 10 am to 5 pm daily

Directions: The park is located in midtown Sacramento between K and L Streets and 26th and 28th Streets. Traveling on I-80 from San Francisco, take Business 80/Hwy 50 east. Take the Business 80 exit (north towards Reno) to the N Street turn off. Travel straight on 30th Street then turn left under the freeway at L Street to the Fort which will be located on your right.