Truckee

South Truckee is a California mountain town surrounded by the Tahoe National Forest and roughly 12 miles from the crystal waters of Lake Tahoe. South Truckee has plenty of open lots for sale, allowing homebuyers to build their mountain homes from the ground up. There are also plenty of things to do, from outdoor recreation to spending hours downtown shopping and eating at plenty of local spots. The area's major claim to fame is the fate of the Donner Party. The ill-fated travelers ended up in the area during the winter of 1846-1847 and made camp. South Truckee pays homage to the party with the Donner Memorial State Park, Donner Lake, Donner Creek, the names of several restaurants and more. South Truckee has a variety of housing opportunities. Residents can own a property with upwards of 20 other owner groups starting at around $12,000, purchase empty lots for at least $100,000 to build their dream mountain homes or own single-family homes starting with two bedrooms and two bathrooms for roughly $500,000. Existing homes include large private estates, mountain homes, cabins and even modern rows of colorful townhomes. Many locals settle in the Glenshire section of the community. Known as "The Shire," this neighborhood is a quiet area east of downtown. Residents who prefer to live near water live in the Donner Lake neighborhood. Residents can enjoy the great outdoors living in the Tahoe Donner section of the community. Tahoe Donner has mountain biking trails, cross-country ski trails, a downhill ski area, an equestrian center, and a golf course. Living in South Truckee puts residents at a hub for outdoor activities for all seasons. Whether residents want to ski, hike, bike, rock climb or take to the water. There's also Donner Memorial State Park, which, besides offering a wealth of recreational activities, is the site of the Pioneer Monument that pays tribute to the Donner Party and is home to several exhibits on the area's history in the visitor center. Northstar California Resort is a top ski resort in South Truckee. Hiking enthusiasts can spend time on the Martis Creek Trail, which locals describe as a 4-mile easy-to-moderate hiking loop through meadows. There are plenty of local boutique shops and mom-and-pop eateries in the downtown. At Truckee Brewing Company, residents can enjoy several craft beers like pale ales, sours and stouts. If locals like spice, they can get their fix at Thai Delicacy, a cozy little restaurant serving authentic Thai dishes. For a caffeine jolt, locals can stop at Wild Cherries Coffee House, which has been serving cups of Joe for over two decades. Locals can do their grocery shopping at the neighborhood Raley's. Neighborhood kids can attend the Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District. Several of the schools are located in the Truckee region. The youngest learners can attend Truckee Elementary School, which has an overall B-plus rating from Niche. At Alder Creek Middle School, which has an overall A-minus rating from Niche, students can participate in cross country and track and field. Then, students can attend Truckee High School. Here, students can join the school's alpine ski or snowboarding teams. Truckee High also has a ski academy that allows competitive skiers who cannot attend school regularly to enroll in the academy's customized study programs to provide a flexible schedule for these student-athletes. Truckee High School has an overall A ranking from Niche. Interstate 80 passes through the region, connecting residents to Sacramento and Reno. State Route 89 connects the community to the shores of Lake Tahoe. The local Amtrak station is located in the historic downtown. While there's a small regional airport in Truckee, the Reno–Tahoe International Airport is roughly 35 miles away and offers over 100 daily direct flights serving areas like New York City and Chicago.

About 15 miles north of Lake Tahoe, Donner Lake is often overlooked. “Over the last 30-something years, people have walked into my office and said they’ve been driving past to get to Tahoe,” says John McCormick, a resident since 1976 and a Realtor with McCormick Realty. “It’s often the first time they’ve ever stopped. Some of them fall in love with the lake, and they end up staying. It has all the quality of Tahoe, but it’s smaller, noncommercial and much more family oriented.” Named for the infamous Donner Party and founded in the 1860s, this community has maintained its small-town feel over the years. Its 1,500 full-time residents share three restaurants and a single grocery store, and neighbors have often known each other for years. “Some people were raised here or had cabins here as kids," says Ross Collins, who’s lived in the Sierras since 2000 and has 30-plus years of real estate experience. "They love it and wouldn't think of being anywhere else. Some of these are legacy homes, where the owners have passed their properties to family. There’s a tradition here, but it’s also casual and unpretentious.” Other residents have second homes here and visit seasonally from Reno and Sacramento. They come back for fresh-powder skiing, summertime swimming and other recreational activities. The namesake lake is the most obvious attraction here. Fed by mountain streams, its water often provides a near-exact reflection of the pines and granite peaks around it. The lake is just over one square mile but has several beaches to explore. West End Beach is the most well-known, and as the name suggests, it’s on the west end of the lake and has lifeguards on duty. Visitors can take their pick of sand volleyball courts, paddleboard rentals and a snack bar. McCormick says, “After the beach, you can decide whether to walk to the ice cream parlor or the pub.” Shoreline Park, on the north end, offers more swimming and waterside picnicking, and public piers are nearby for fishing. To the east, Donner Memorial State Park has multiple campgrounds and hiking trails near the water. The Donner Memorial State Museum is on the park's north side; visitors can learn about the Donner Party, Chinese railroad workers and the native Washoe. But the lake isn’t the only recreation spot around here. “Donner Lake is close to Sugar Bowl Ski Resort and Donner Summit, which has some of the best rock climbing in California,” says Collins. Lake Tahoe, one of the biggest lakes in California, is a short drive south. Buyers pay more for cabins closer to the water, bigger lots and more square footage. Two-bedrooms don’t have much space, and they’re between $380,000 and $680,000. Three-bedrooms are between $720,000 and $1,500,000, and they’re mostly in the Lakeview and Weeks Tract subdivisions. Four-bedrooms are also here; they start at a million and can reach over two million. While these higher-end properties still have a cabin aesthetic, they’re more like estates and often have views of the lake. Houses on the lake itself can have private docks. Homes, in any case, avoid some snow with elevated foundations. Large yards are surrounded by pines, and they’re usually more dirt than grass. The median lot size is over 6,000 square feet, so houses usually have lots of room on either side. Inventory is usually high, and most properties sell in around 30 days. This is quicker than the national average of 43 days. For people who want to build, land is occasionally available, and lots can be more than four acres. Donner Lake has only three restaurants, and staff are likely to know names and faces. On the north end, Little Truckee Ice Creamery has a bunch of outdoor seating and themed flavors, such as Mountain Top Mint Chip. “They’re constantly busy,” says McCormick. “If the string lights that hang over the yard are on, you know they’re open.” The Pub at Donner Lake is a half-mile away, closer to West End Beach. It serves American classics with views of the water, and its hours are flexible. Depending on which locals are in, they might stay open past their usual closing time of 9 p.m. Donner Lake Kitchen is toward the east end, and it’s known for homestyle breakfast and lunch. It’s next to Sticks Market, the only grocer in Donner Lake proper. About 4 miles east on Donner Pass Road, historic downtown Truckee has been around since the 1860s, and it has more commercial options. This walkable district caters to tourists with gift shops and hotels, but locals also frequent its bars and restaurants. Bar of America is popular for its old-timey interior and wooden bar, and the building was constructed before 1891. Moody’s Bistro Bar & Beats — or just Moody’s — is next door for on-tap wines and New American fare. It has live music from Thursday through Saturday, in addition to seasonal menus. Just south on Old Brockway Road, Cottonwood Restaurant & Bar offers hilltop views. “It’s not really in downtown, and it overlooks everything,” says McCormick. “You can see Truckee, the shops and the railroad, and you can watch all the trains go by.” If none of these options satisfy, the town has everything from coffee to Chinese takeout. Grocery Outlet and Safeway are here, too. Along with places to eat, small-town shops and attractions line Donner Pass Road. Arbor Tahoe is a snowboard shop that shares a wall with California 89, a home goods store. Clothing boutiques include The Sock Parlour and Marilyn’s Catwalk. La Galleria and Riverside Studios have paintings, pottery and other crafted items. For history buffs, the Truckee Railroad Museum and the Old Truckee Jail Museum showcase tales of the Old West. Visitors can learn about one of Truckee’s first constables, for instance, who carried a pickaxe handle instead of a revolver. Truckee has everything from brewfests to Shakespeare festivals, so Donner Lake residents always have something to do. The Truckee Farmers Market offers locally grown produce, available twice a week in season. On Tuesday mornings from May through October, the market is south of downtown in Truckee River Regional Park. On Thursday nights from June through August, it’s along Donner Pass Road. The latter event is part of Truckee Thursdays, a street wide event that promotes local businesses and features live music. June brings the Truckee Tahoe Air Show & Family Festival, held at Truckee Airport. The Truckee 4th of July Parade is only a couple of weeks later, and a mile-long fun run precedes its colorful floats. Summer Music in the Park is another popular event, and it’s held from June to August at Truckee River Regional Park. There are no schools in Donner Lake, so students have to carpool or bus 4 miles east to Truckee. Sierra Expeditionary Learning School is a public charter school for kindergarten through eighth grade, and it was recognized as a California Distinguished School in 2023. It gets an A from Niche and ranks as the No. 1 public elementary school in the Reno area, ahead of 103 others. On the other hand, families won’t have to apply to Truckee Elementary, and it gets a B-plus from Niche. It serves kindergarten through fifth grade, and school events include poetry slams and skiing field trips. About 2 miles north of town, Alder Creek Middle serves grades six through eight, and it’s rated an A-minus. Truckee High School is back in Truckee: it serves grades nine through 12 and scores an A. Donner Lake is pretty remote, so most people need a car to get around. Driving can get tricky in the winter, as this area gets over 200 inches of snow per year. Roads can get icy, and snow tires are recommended. This also applies to Donner Pass Road, the main thoroughfare between here and Truckee. This 4-mile route can clog with tourist traffic in the winter and summer months, but Interstate 80 provides an alternative. It also leads 100 miles south to Sacramento and 40 miles north to Reno. Air travelers can use Reno-Tahoe International Airport since Tahoe-Truckee Airport doesn’t offer commercial flights.

A lakeside lifestyle draws people to Gateway, the Sierra Mountain community 1 mile outside downtown Truckee. Donner Lake and nearby Lake Tahoe get busy with tourists in the summertime, and in the winter, the mountains are flooded with skiers and snowshoers. "We go from a quiet town to a really busy town fast during tourist season, but locals just have to hit the lake a little earlier in the day,” says Christopher Botto, Realtor with Tahoe Mountain Realty who grew up in the area. "You can mountain bike, hike, fish or boat in the summer, while skiing and snowshoeing are big in the winter.” Shops and restaurants are 5 minutes away, and major roadways nearby lead to Lake Tahoe and Reno. Single-family, cabin-esque homes line curvy roads underneath pine trees, and the area’s highly graded schools are also a draw. Swimming, skiing and fishing are huge in Truckee, and recreation is a big reason why people move here. Donner Memorial State Park has Donner Lake, which attracts swimmers and anglers to its deep blue waters. People cannonball into the lake, fish for mackinaw trout from the public docks and bike the paved 7-mile lakeside pathway. In the winter, snowshoers hike past snowshoe hare or racoon tracks, and skiers descend the five slopes blanketing the Sierra Mountains. Lake Tahoe, the internationally known recreation area, is 18 miles southeast of Gateway. Boaters and kayakers circumnavigate the lake’s 75-mile water trail and parasailers float high above beachgoers. Snorkeling and fishing are other popular Lake Tahoe activities. Gateway’s residential spaces developed in the 1970s and ‘80s. RVs, boats and more than one car are common sights in the neighborhood's wide driveways. “The homes here are what we call ‘Tahoe cabins,’ but they aren’t log homes – they resemble ranch-style houses,” says Botto. Many were built on brick or concrete slabs, and feature either front-gabled or cross-hipped metal roofs and picture windows. Prices range from $500,000 to $800,000. Holidays are huge in Truckee – especially Halloween and the Fourth of July. “Halloween is a big deal here,” says Botto. “Everyone dresses up to trick-or-treat at local businesses, then parades to the Community Arts Center for more candy.” Fourth of July activities start with a pancake breakfast at the local fire station, with donations going to Truckee Fire’s scholarship fund, followed by the Firecracker Mile Fun Run, where participants are cheered by crowds awaiting the parade. Decorative red, white and blue floats peruse from Truckee High School to downtown, and the parade features lively performances and artistic expressions. Trophies are awarded to the best floats. Retail stores and mom-and-pop eateries sit in shopping centers along Donner Pass Road – the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare. Lattes and smoothies are prepared at Wild Cherries Coffee House, and family-owned New Moon Natural Foods offers organic, locally sourced products. Safeway is another neighborhood grocery option here. Taco’s Jalisco serves authentic Mexican fare, including fish or shrimp Baja tacos, pork burrito platters and enchiladas from a dining room painted in orange and white stripes. Down the road, Tahoe Mountain Sports sells camping and hiking equipment, plus skis, split boards and helmets. Seasonal gear is available to rent. Students may attend Tahoe-Truckee Unified district schools, including Truckee Elementary, which earns an overall B-plus from Niche, then continue to A-minus-rated Alder Creek Middle. At Truckee High, which Niche gives an A, students can join the Envirolution Club, where they’ll participate in energy efficiency, water conservation and composting and recycling service-learning projects. The group also promotes environmental sustainability on campus and in the community through videos, posters and signage. Downtown Truckee is a mile east along Donner Pass Road. “You’re within five minutes of almost everything, including the Tahoe Forest Hospital, where some residents work,” says Botto. “There’s basically no commute time here.” Tahoe City is 14 miles south via River Road, or State Route 89, which runs north-south through Gateway. Interstate 80 is less than a mile south and leads to Reno 33 miles northeast and Sacramento 100 miles southwest. Tahoe Truckee Area Regional Transit (TART) buses travel throughout Gateway and to downtown, and the neighborhood has its own BCycle E-bike rideshare program. The California Zephyr Amtrak departs from the Truckee Welcome Center 1 mile east of Gateway, and travels 177 miles southwest to the San Francisco Bay Area. Truckee Tahoe Regional Airport is about 4 miles east, and the larger Reno-Tahoe International Airport is 37 miles east. “Fires are a reality here,” says Botto. “We try to mitigate fire risk by implementing a town-wide burn ban throughout the summer, where we forbid wood burning.” Homeowners in high-risk areas must have fire insurance, and most apply through the California FAIR Plan if traditional insurance companies won’t offer coverage.

About 6 miles northeast of downtown Truckee, the community of Glenshire-Devonshire, which locals call “The Shire,” rests in Northern California’s Sierra Mountain Range. “Some people like that Glenshire provides quick access to Interstate 80 and Reno, plus it typically doesn't get as much snow as other neighborhoods nearby," says Kevin Embertson, Realtor with Chase International, who grew up in the area. "The neighborhood has a great elementary school, a picturesque pond, Boca Lake and bike trails nearby, plus a pizza place and General Store for those last-minute essentials.” With a milder climate and more sunny days, locals stay active outdoors; when winter does hit, many curl up in their modern mountain homes and watch the snow fall on the pine trees. Glenshire-Devonshire’s community clubhouse, near the intersection of Glenshire and Somerset Drives, is where neighbors swim, organize pick-up basketball games and barbecue inside a gazebo. Adult yoga sessions are offered here, along with kids’ art classes in July and August. Starting at the Glenshire Trailhead 1 mile west, bikers can journey roughly 5 miles along the Truckee River Legacy Trail, a mostly flat, paved path, toward downtown, while at Boca Reservoir about 4 miles north, boaters soak up some sun. Friends and family swim here or cast a line, hoping to catch rainbow trout, and Boca’s nearby campground opens annually from May through October. After a snowfall, kids race their sleds and tubes down neighborhood hills. Homeowners in Glenshire-Devonshire live along windy, two-lane roads or narrow residential streets. “There’s a mix of housing styles here,” says Embertson. “3,500-plus sit down the street from ones that are only 1,000 square feet.” Traditional ranch-style homes, some L-shaped, were built during the 1960s and ‘70s. These sit on up to 1-acre lots carved out among groves of pines, ranging from $600,000 to $900,000. Small sheds sit inside fenced-in backyards, and many have wrap-around front porches or decks. Sprawling modern mountain homes, some split-level, on 10 acres, sell between $1 and $2 million. Common features include picture windows, sloped, front-gabled or cross-hipped roofs and wood siding; there’s also space to park snowmobiles. “Halloween is a big deal here,” says Christopher Botto, Realtor with Tahoe Mountain Realty who grew up in the area. “Everyone dresses up to trick-or-treat at local businesses, then parades to the Community Arts Center for more candy.” Fourth of July activities start with a pancake breakfast at the local fire station, with donations going to Truckee Fire’s scholarship fund, followed by the Firecracker Mile Fun Run, where participants are cheered by crowds awaiting the parade. Decorative red, white and blue floats peruse from Truckee High School to downtown, featuring lively performances and artistic expressions; trophies are awarded to the best in show. A small strip mall 1 mile northwest near Dorchester Drive houses popular staples. Glenshire Pizza Company serves up to 18-inch specialty pies, along with family-sized portions of chicken alfredo. Next door, an American flag waves out front of the family-owned Glenshire General Store, stocked with everyday necessities, plus wine and beer. If locals request special items, the owners do their best to accommodate, once ordering barbecue sauces from Texas. They participate in trash pickup days and hold a Toys for Tots drive during the holidays. Promoting a healthy mind and body, the Shire Studio fitness center features dance, yoga and kids’ tumbling classes throughout the week. For retailers, shoppers head about 7 miles west to the Pioneer Commerce Center, or further west to the Gateway at Donner Pass mall for sporting goods and groceries from Safeway. Students can attend Tahoe-Truckee Unified district schools, including Glenshire Elementary, which earns an overall A-grade from Niche, then continue to A-minus-rated Alder Creek Middle. At Tahoe Truckee High, which Niche gives an A, students can join the Envirolution Club, where they’ll participate in energy efficiency, water conservation and composting and recycling service-learning projects, and promote environmental sustainability on campus and in the community by distributing videos, posters and signage. Downtown Truckee is 6 miles southwest along Glenshire Drive, the neighborhood's main thoroughfare. Interstate 80 is 6 miles north, and leads 28 miles northeast to Reno and 107 miles southwest to Sacramento. Tahoe Truckee Area Regional Transit (TART) Connect offers free shuttle rides throughout the neighborhood, and the California Zephyr Amtrak departs from the Truckee Welcome Center 6 miles east, traveling 184 miles southwest to the San Francisco Bay Area. Tahoe Forest Hospital is 7 miles west from Glenshire Elementary, and Truckee Tahoe Regional Airport sits about 9 miles southwest, while the larger Reno-Tahoe International Airport is 33 miles northeast. “Fire rescue’s a reality here,” says Botto. “We try to mitigate fire risk by implementing a town-wide burn ban throughout the summer, where we forbid wood burning. Homeowners are required to have fire insurance, and most use what’s called the California FAIR Plan for that, which they have to apply for.”