The Emigrant Trail Museum was completed in 1962 after 15 years of effort by local citizens, park staff and legislators. Open all year, the museum includes exhibits about the natural history of the Truckee Basin, local Native American life, the overland immigration of the 1840s, the Donner tragedy, construction of the transcontinental railroad, lumbering and ice harvesting.

The museum store featues books on the Donner Party and Emigrant Trail, local natural history and recreation and related items. The Pioneer Monument, located near the museum, was erected in honor of all who made the difficult trek across the western plains and mountains to reach California during the 1840s. Work on the monument began Donner Lake in 1901, when the Native Sons of the Golden West purchased the site and constructed the stone base on which the bronze statue stands today. The monument was completed and officially dedicated June 6, 1918.

This is the site of the Breen Cabin, one of the structures used by members of the Donner Party during the winter of 1846-1847. The Murphy cabin site is located 200 yards south of the museum. It was built against a large rock that formed the west end of the cabin. The cabin was built in November 1846, and was approximately 25 feet long and 18 feet wide. It was cold and damp, with an earthen floor. Sixteen members of the Murphy, Foster and Eddy families spent the winter in this cabin.

A gentle, self-guided nature trail starts near the museum and makes a loop through the forest. Printed trail guides are available at the museum and entrance station. An easy, 1-mile lakeside interpretive trail starts in the lagoon portion of the day-use area and continues along the lake.

The Sierra Nevada is littered with gold, the celebrity element that rocked financial institutions last month at a record $1,000 an ounce in futures trading. Suddenly, gold panning has become a hot recreational activity.

Since its record high, gold has hovered around $900 an ounce. In 2000, gold was around $280 an ounce.

“In California, they say, 80 percent of the gold is still in the gold fields,” says Mark Michalski, a ranger at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma.

Realistically, recreational gold panners aren’t likely to get rich, but the prospect of a few hefty nuggets glistening in the pan is enticement enough.

Last spring, Frank Sullivan, owner of Pioneer Motherlode Mining Supply in Auburn said, “somebody discovered a 19-ounce nugget using a “metal locator” or detector. The biggest he’s ever seen is a 3-pound chunk of gold.”

Gold is nearly twice as heavy as lead. Despite its density, gold is soft. In the prospector’s pan, gold settles to the bottom as the motion of the water washes other material away. You’re much more likely to find gold flakes in the pan than gold nuggets.

Gold’s value isn’t just based on weight. The shape of a nugget can increase its value two- or threefold. Gold can be sold to prospecting stores, jewelers, other hobbyists and businesses like Security Gold Exchange Inc. in Grass Valley.  Full article