Clair Tappaan Lodge
Donner Summit · near Soda Springs / Truckee · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Nordic & Snowshoe
At a glance
- Best season
- Dec–Apr; snow-sure Donner Summit (~7,000 ft)
What is here
- Activities
- classic · snowshoe · backcountry
- Setting
- forest
- Amenities
- Historic Sierra Club lodge · Marked Nordic & snowshoe trails · Hut-system access · Communal ski-in lodging
- Best for
- A cozy, communal Nordic lodge base
- Features
- Historic mountain lodge · Snow-sure Donner Summit · Own trail network · Gateway to Sierra Club huts
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- High elevation & cold · Backcountry beyond marked trails · Storms & I-80 access · Reservations recommended
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Guides, rentals and operators
- Rentals
- No
Nordic & Snowshoe detail
- Venue
- backcountry
- Ability
- beginner
- Snow
- 5
- Trail notes
- A historic Sierra Club mountain lodge on Donner Summit with its own marked Nordic and snowshoe trails and hut-system access — cozy, communal, snow-sure ski-in lodging
- Terrain note
- ~7,000 ft forest trails; marked & backcountry; reliable snow
- Intl tip
- A rustic Sierra Club timber lodge on Donner Summit (built in the 1930s) offering an old-fashioned, communal Nordic experience: dorm-style lodging, hearty family meals, and snow out the door. The lodge maintains marked cross-country and snowshoe trails through the summit forest and is a gateway to the Sierra Club backcountry hut system (Peter Grubb, Benson) — a favorite base for all levels. Snow-sure at ~7,000 ft. Bring warm layers, expect storms that can snarl I-80, and reserve ahead. A friendly Sierra classic.
The guide
Clair Tappaan Lodge, a rustic timber lodge on Donner Summit built by the Sierra Club in the 1930s, offers a wonderfully old-fas…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Clair Tappaan Lodge — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 39.31, -120.33