The Donner Pass summit tunnels present a fascinating opportunity to explore California’s railroad history along with some gritty urban graffiti. This will give you some history on the Donner tunnels along with practical advice for when and how to visit them.

What Are the Donner Pass Summit Tunnels?

Donner Pass in California’s Sierra Nevada is one forbidding mountain gauntlet. It sits over 7,000 feet and its 300-500 inches of annual snowfall is more than just about anywhere else in the Continental US.
In the 1800’s, the long rugged chain of mountains on California’s eastern border presented a huge challenge to those who wanted to settle here. In an effort to avoid the formidable mountain passes, most pioneers went north, using the Oregon trail. But there were some intrepid folk who attempted the Sierras at Donner. The beleaguered Donner Party of 1846, made a go of it. But their ill-timed October arrival to the area, combined with inexperience and bad luck did them in. Only half of their party survived the brutal winter.
Railroad engineer Theodore Judah was instrumental in bringing awareness to the need for a railroad over the pass. He surveyed the construction of four tunnels and snowsheds over the summit. He lobbied both railroad businessmen and the federal government in an effort to put some money and effort behind the completion of the transcontinental railroad. Sadly, he died in 1863 of yellow fever. He contracted it on a land transit of the Panama isthmus- a trip he probably wouldn’t have undertaken had the railroad been in place.
In 1862, President Lincoln signed the necessary legislation to fund the transcontinental railroad and in 1868, it was completed. Digging out those granite Donner Tunnels required backbreaking manual labor, most of it performed by contract Chinese labor. In fact, Chinese laborers built a lot of the California infrastructure in the 1800s. They weren’t paid well, they were mistrusted, and in 1882, strict immigration laws excluded them from citizenship. But we owe the backbreaking construction of the railway to their efforts.
The Donner Pass summit tunnels were in use until 1993, when Union Pacific decided that a longer, taller tunnel would be more reliable and suitable to modern railcars. The current rail line runs a bit south of the old Donner Pass summit tunnels, through the aptly named Judah mountain.



Hiking the Donner Pass train tunnels in the summer or fall months is ideal. During these months you’re less likely to encounter snow, ice, or standing water (from the previous winter) within the tunnels.
Lastly, the historic train tunnels form a makeshift art gallery for many graffiti artists. Regardless of your thoughts about graffiti, at this point in history the graffiti has become a mainstay. And, in fact, many people visit the tunnels specifically to see the graffiti.



Parking for the Donner Pass Tunnels:

Down the hill from Tunnel #6 on Donner Pass Road near the China Wall Marker. Park just off of Donner Pass Road at the dirt pullout near the China Wall Marker. This parking location is the most obvious to people who don’t live in the area. However, it does require a short hike up from the parking area which includes a little bit of scrambling up rocks. Although it’s not a difficult climb (to me), I would be hesitant to recommend this section for elderly people.

Drive up Donner Pass Road (aka Old Highway 40) from Donner Lake.
Park into the dirt pullout on the south side of Donner Pass Road at the China Wall Marker. This parking area is located just down the hill from the Donner Summit Bridge.

Please note that this parking area has limited space in which to park, so arrive early in the day for your hike. And, again, remember that you’ll have a short hike uphill to the train tunnels. Once you reach the train tunnel route, you’ll be in-between Tunnel #6 (to the west) and Tunnel #7 (to the east). Be sure to explore Tunnel #6 even though you’ll have to backtrack out of it.

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