Emigrant Trail Conservancy

02/10/2026

Please forgive the two day down time on the website. The publisher took our payment, but didn't actually press the button. Now all is good. www.EmigrantTrailConservancy.org

09/29/2025

Send a message to learn more

08/10/2024

Coming soon - fun hikes and history of our trail.

The Donner Party Hike (DPH) combines the love for the Sierra Nevada wilderness and its history. The history of Donner Summit Pass has many “firsts” including: – First Wagon train into...

08/06/2024

BLM just purchased part of the California National Historic Trail: The Rush Creek parcel, 800 acres of high desert east of U.S. Highway 395 near Susanville. This preserves portions of the Nobles Emigrant Trail, a segment of the California National Historic Trail. Managed by the Eagle Lake Field Office, the property contains lush stream corridors and supports greater sage grouse, pronghorn, migratory birds, raptors, and fish. It also offers excellent public access for hunting, fishing, hiking, and photography. This acquisition provides protection from potential development and includes water rights, bolstering resource resilience for the future.

The Bureau of Land Management has purchased approximately 3,200 total acres of new public land in areas from the Great Basin in northwest Nevada to the Pacific Coast in northern California.

05/16/2024

One of the best books of the Donner Party and the Emigrant Trail trek is on Kindle and iBooks today on Amazon here and it's only $2.99 special.

The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny

04/27/2024

WHEATLAND - The historical society in Wheatland is making a push to preserve a little-known wagon trail that marked the end of the Donner Party. California's early history is on full display at Wheatland's historical museum. "Once a historical site is gone, it's gone forever and what we're talking about is America's heritage," said Bil Holmes. Along with Historical Society President Bart Thompson, Holmes is out to preserve a vital piece of it. "The Emigrant Trail comes from basically the Missouri River and it's about 2,000 miles long," Holmes said.
Johnson's Ranch is the terminus of the Emigrant Trail. "This is the last two miles of it and it's pretty undisturbed," Holmes said.
But what makes it so significant?
"This is where the Donner wagon train survivors all ended up and got their first sustenance help," Holmes said.
So far, the historical society, along with developer and landowner Angelo Tsakopoulos, are hoping to find solutions to make sure the area is preserved. "Mr. Tsakopoulos is very interested in preserving history and has dedicated himself to doing it," Holmes said. That could be a foundation to caretake the area or even a state park to keep the area safe.
"We were looking at maybe some combination of conservancies, foundations and maybe an oversight agency like state parks," Holmes said. "Without somebody or someone or organization that's gonna give some protection or oversight to the areas it will fall into ruin." This is all to make sure that the history of the state is held for future generations in Wheatland and beyond.
"Once it's destroyed and it's gone, it's gone forever. The story of California's birth really ties Sutter's Fort, Donner Memorial State Park and Johnson's Ranch together," Holmes said.
The society is walking the site on Friday. The town just celebrated its 150th anniversary.

The historical society in Wheatland is making a push to preserve a little-known wagon trail that marked the end of the Donner Party.

03/11/2024

Great article on those following the Emigrant trails...

John “Snowshoe” Thompson hiked and skied 90 miles across snowbound mountain ranges for 20 years in the late 1800s to deliver mail. Five local endurance athletes plan to retrace his steps starting t…

11/17/2023

What happens in Santa Cruz county when landowners illegally fence and block the legal public trail easement for the Anza Trail.

Pima County workers on Thursday removed illegal fencing that has blocked the Anza Trail for nearly three months. But the homeowner who put it up said this isn’t the end

01/01/2023

The Donner Summit Historical Society's January 2023 newsletter. It's a valuable treasure trove of information about the Emigrant Trail!

08/09/2022

One of the best books about the Donner Party on our Emigrant Trail - for your Kindle or iPad today from BookBub, only $2.99.

The Best Land Under Heaven: The Donner Party in the Age of Manifest Destiny

06/12/2022

June 12 – A 5-month virtual road trip along the California Trail

Just across the North Platte river is the gravesite of Rebecca Winters (https://www.nps.gov/places/winters-grave.htm GPS coordinates -103.617, 41.843), who died of cholera in 1852 while traveling on the Mormon Trail (https://www.nps.gov/people/rebecca-winters.htm). The photograph is from the Historical Marker Database (https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=86666).

John Hawkins Clark (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31822035077213&view=1up&seq=28&skin=2021) was traveling on the south side of the North Platte river during 1852 and he commented several times on the cholera epidemic plaguing the travelers. On June 4, after having just visited Ash Hollow (see the June 7 page post), he wrote, "Just before leaving the valley we visited a graveyard pleasantly situated on a rising mound- There were four newly made graves and three of older date, the occupants of which were, perhaps, strangers, coming from different parts of the world to lie down and sleep together in this quiet place. Although a most beautiful valley death had been busy; only a few days ago four of the occupants of this quiet little graveyard heard the birds sing and saw the beautiful flowers growing. Sickness and death have marred the pleasures of our journey thus far, but how long it will continue to do so Providence only knows. Wherever there is a little shady grove where we might stop and view the beautiful scenery as it presents itself in many places, our spirits are dampened by the sight of fresh earth piled up in an unmistakable form, showing that beneath it lies the inanimate form of some being who, like ourselves, delighted in viewing nature in such beautiful forms as it everywhere presents itself in the neighborhood of our travels."

02/22/2022

January 10, 1946, newspaper article in the Truckee Republican newspaper about our trail...