By Michelle Portesi
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I’ve lived at Donner Lake off and on for years, and I’m just now discovering this hike…literally a mile from my home. That’s what’s so great about living here in the Sierra’s – no matter how long you’ve lived here, there is always something new to discover. Coldstream Canyon is actually considered part of the Donner Memorial State Park, with the entrance road literally hugging the campgrounds.
Located right off the I-80 freeway’s Donner Pass Road/Donner Lake exit on the east end of Donner Lake, go straight from the off ramp and drive to the end of the road, park your car and hike up along the creek. This is also a great area for mountain biking, cross country skiing and snowshoeing. The Truckee River Watershed Council has been working diligently to return this area to its original wetlands and has been an active steward of the creek area, as Cold Creek feeds into the Truckee River. It is still a railroad corridor, and there are plans for housing development in the lower section that was once a gravel quarry.
With so little snow last winter, I was surprised to see the creek still flowing with water. About a mile in you’ll reach meadows and marshland. I didn’t hike in as far as I would have liked this foray, but rumor has it that for a true back country experience, you can make your way to Lost Trail Lodge. It’s completely off the grid, but this is no Quonset hut. In the summer there is a jeep road that can take you all the way up if you have a 4 x 4 but you’ll have to park a 1/4 mile away from the lodge if you only have 2 wheel drive. In the winter however, you’ll be snowshoeing, cross country skiing or snowmobiling your way in and out.
Heavy rains just days before this picture was shot caused a landslide further upstream that made for some murky waters running through the creek. Photo by Michelle Portesi
You can read more about the history of Coldstream Canyon and the ongoing projects on the Truckee Watershed website. Be sure to check their calendar for upcoming events. There will be a River Talk this Thursday, August 21 at 8am and another in Tahoe City on August 25.
You can read an overview of the proposed development at Coldstream Canyon at the Tahoe Daily Tribune
For ongoing updates on the Coldstream Canyon Development, you can check in on the Town of Truckee website.
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