Site Name: Donner Summit
Coordinates: 39.31971567241991, -120.31910061644689
Bortle Class: 3
Best time of the year to visit for Milky Way visibility: August-September
Site Ratings
Site Darkness Rating: 4 (1 – Poor, 5 – Great)
Site Light Pollution: 4 (1 – Bad, 5 – Very Little)
Site Airline Traffic: 3 (1 – Lots, 5 – Very Little)
Site Accessibility: 3 (1 – Difficult, 5 – Easy)
Site Foreground Interest: 5 (1 – Poor, 5 – Great)
Site Safety: 5 (1 – Poor, 5 – Great)
Cell Phone Signal: 3-5 (How Many Bars)
Accessibility:
Easy 2WD vehicle access, on paved roads. The site is flat. Parking is on the pullout immediately next to the bridge.
There are no restrooms or other facilities onsite. The last facilities are at the gas station at I-80/Norden exit.
The hike down to photography site below the bridge requires sturdy shoes. It is a scramble over a granite face with a 50 ft cliff to the east. The hike is about 100 yards from the parking lot, about 50 feet down.
Pack your gear into a backpack (including your tripod).
Directions:
Take 1-80 east from Sacramento, CA or west from Reno, NV. Follow I-80 E to Donner Pass Rd in Nevada County. Take exit 174 from I-80 (Soda Springs/Norden). Drive 4.2 miles, over the summit, over the bridge. Park in the first pullout on the left after the bridge.
Additional parking is also available across the road from the pullout.
Notes:
If you come before sunset, you can also explore the Donner Train Tunnels.
Sugar Bowl ski resort is just west of the Rainbow Bridge. There is an opportunity to image the Milky Way over Sugar Bowl from multiple vantage points along Donner Pass road on your way back to I-80.
Looking East, there incredible views of Donner Lake and Truckee CA.
What to Bring:
- Camera
- Tripod
- Headlamp
- Backpack
- Drink / snacks
Map
Google maps link with directions from Sacramento: https://maps.app.goo.gl/h4SvrcGhBT393wHQ8
