California · Rock climbing · Soda Springs

Donner Summit

Donner Summit in California has 19 climbing routes across 13 grades, featuring mixed, sport, and trad styles.

19 routes
5.2 – 5.12d
Sport · Trad · Mixed

Is Donner Summit open right now?

Alert in the area

The Forest Service lists 2 alerts for Tahoe National Forest.

As of · Source: USFS · Tahoe National Forest. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Best time to visit Donner Summit

Best months: May–September. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.

  1. Jan

    41° / 17°

    11 wet

  2. Feb

    43° / 18°

    10 wet

  3. Mar

    48° / 22°

    10 wet

  4. Apr

    53° / 26°

    7 wet

  5. May

    63° / 33°

    6 wet

  6. Jun

    73° / 38°

    3 wet

  7. Jul

    82° / 44°

    2 wet

  8. Aug

    81° / 42°

    2 wet

  9. Sep

    74° / 36°

    2 wet

  10. Oct

    63° / 29°

    4 wet

  11. Nov

    49° / 23°

    7 wet

  12. Dec

    39° / 17°

    10 wet

Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Donner Mem Sp, CA, 4.6 mi away at 5,937 ft. The station sits about 1,300 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Donner Summit is a climbing area in California's Tahoe National Forest, within the Truckee Ranger District. The Forest Service manages the land, and the summit sits among several named climbing areas, including Shark Wall and East Face, both about 0.1 mile away. The climbing here ranges from sport routes to trad and mixed styles, with 19 routes in total. Grades run from 5.2 up to 5.12d, and the hardest of them, Caffeine Club, is a sport route. The area also draws hikers, with the Donner Summit Lakes Trail about 0.6 mile away and the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail #2000 about 0.7 mile away. Summer is the most comfortable time to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station show July highs around 82°F with lows near 44°F, and the station sits roughly 1,250 feet below the summit, so temperatures up high run cooler. Winter brings highs in the low 40s and about 10 wet days a month from December through February.

Routes (19)

Sun Wall(1)

Smoke5.7

Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive

East FacePhoto: Jonathan Fox, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

East Face

~0 min drive

East Face in California has 24 climbing routes across 13 difficulty grades, offering mixed, sport, and trad styles.

Grouse #6Photo: Jonathan Fox, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Grouse #6

~0 min drive

Grouse #6 in California has 4 bouldering routes across 3 difficulty grades.

Cuckoo's NestPhoto: donner summit historical society, Public Domain Mark (via Flickr)

Cuckoo's Nest

~0 min drive

Cuckoo's Nest in California has 8 climbing routes with mixed, sport, and trad styles.

The PerchPhoto: Dana L. Brown, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

The Perch

~1 min drive

Perch, The in California has 6 trad climbing routes across 5 grades.

Shark Wall

~0 min drive

Shark Wall in California has 5 climbing routes with sport and trad options.

Donner Pass

~0 min drive

Donner Pass is a bouldering area in California with 13 routes.

Grouse Slabs Bouldering

~0 min drive

Grouse Slabs Bouldering is a 12-route bouldering crag in California.

Southwest Face

~0 min drive

Southwest Face in California has 10 routes spanning 8 difficulty grades, offering mixed, sport, and trad climbing.

Space Wall

~0 min drive

Space Wall in California has 10 climbing routes across 9 grades in mixed, sport, and trad styles.

Dragon's Nest

~0 min drive

Dragon's Nest in California has 5 climbing routes with sport and trad options.