Castle Peak & Peter Grubb Hut
Donner Summit · near Soda Springs / Truckee · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Nordic & Snowshoe
At a glance
- Best season
- Dec–Apr; snow-sure summit terrain (~7,200–9,100 ft)
What is here
- Activities
- backcountry · snowshoe
- Setting
- summit
- Amenities
- Iconic Donner Summit backcountry · Peter Grubb Hut (Sierra Club) · Castle Peak & Round Valley · Snow-sure high terrain
- Best for
- Backcountry touring & a classic hut trip
- Features
- Beloved Peter Grubb Hut · Classic Castle Peak tour · Snow-sure summit terrain · Overnight hut adventure
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Avalanche terrain higher up — check the forecast · Route-finding & winter navigation · Cold, wind, whiteouts · Hut requires reservation; carry the essentials
- Good for a first timer
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Rentals
- No
Nordic & Snowshoe detail
- Venue
- backcountry
- Ability
- advanced
- Snow
- 5
- Trail notes
- Classic Donner Summit backcountry — snowshoe or ski-tour up toward Castle Peak and Round Valley, with the beloved Sierra Club Peter Grubb Hut as an overnight or turnaround goal
- Terrain note
- ~7,200–9,100 ft; ungroomed backcountry; reliable deep snow
- Intl tip
- Classic, accessible Donner Summit backcountry: the snowfields and forests below Castle Peak, gateway to Round Valley and the beloved Sierra Club Peter Grubb Hut — a rustic A-frame reachable by a ~2-mile tour and available by reservation for magical overnights, or a scenic day-tour turnaround. Strong parties push on to Castle and Basin Peaks. Genuine backcountry: higher slopes are avalanche terrain (check the Sierra Avalanche Center forecast), carry navigation and the ten essentials, expect cold, wind, whiteouts. A ski-touring rite of passage.
The guide
Just north of I-80 at Donner Summit lies some of the most classic and accessible backcountry Nordic terrain in the Sierra: the …
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Castle Peak & Peter Grubb Hut — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 39.36, -120.35