Emigrant Trail Museum & Bookstore

I couldn’t go through this area without seeing this part of CA history regarding the Donner Party and the other families. It does cost $ 8/​car to park, but the upside is you can use the same pass throughout the day at other state parks that charge by the car. We used it at the Marshall Gold Discovery State Park later in the day. The museum has been recently done. I thought they did a great job. I read everything from top to bottom and watched the video; all this took about 1 ½ hours. If you ask the rangers, they will give you a map where each family’s cabin was located. The museum is located where the Murphy Family had their cabin. And the statue is located where the Breen family had their cabin.

A bit of a disappointment. Exhibits lack substance and are on the thin side. Nice building and there is no cost if you park outside the park.

This is a wonderful museum off the highway to stop and visit. We were able to see everything the museum offered, the exhibits, sites, and video. We were also able to enjoy a nice picnic and take some great family photos of our visit. Great experience, definately worth a stop!

They just reopened this museum and we happened to go on grand opening, which meant it was free. It’s really very compelling and engaging. My children asked me a lot of questions and we were able to discuss everything from Henry Ford to China to the Gold Rush. It invites questions and tells the stories well. It’s small so also very manageable to pop in for 30−45min.

This is a MUST just for historical reasons… A 26min video is with the viewing on the Donner Party!
8.00 parking fee witch in the winter you need to pay at the museum.
This is just one of the «MUST» museums to see.

This is a cool little museum they have on a historic trail. Nice place for a pit stop before heading up hill to Rainbow Bridge.

I’m giving this 5 stars because I think history should always be preserved. This is the 2^nd time I’ve come with visiting friends and the movie ended up being different than the 1^st time a couple years ago.
Both are essentially old slideshow type presentations with old photos or artist depictions. Like something you saw in elementary school in the 60s I imagine. BUT, I found both to be informative and engaging. Anyone complaining that it was old or corny should feel free to donate more funding to the CA Parks Dept.
The museum is small but if you take the time to look at and read everything along with the film, you should walk out of there amazed at what people were willing to do to start a new life (versus today when we complain about slow wi-​fi or no Starbucks on this particular corner.)
Plus you pay $ 8 to park, see the museum, the movie and hang out in park as long as you want. Bargain if you ask me.

A wonderful look at the Donner party and it’s misfortunes as well as other historical events that shaped the area.
The «movie» they show is okay but don’t wait to see if it you need to get somewhere or you have to wait 30 mins or more as it’s very low budget.
The parking fee also covers the museum entrance fee for everyone in the car.

We came all the way up here and discovered it is closed on Tuesdays. When we drove back up on Wednesday (because I just had to see it) it was a very nice museum. The movie on filmstrip is AWFUL… so old and corny and bordering on hysterically funny. I almost can picture Joel and the bots from MST3000 sitting in the bottom of the screen commenting on this miserable piece of cinematography. I’m sure the Donners, the Reeds and all the rest turn over in their graves every time that film is played. Still, it is a nice museum, and they are building a new one adjacent to this old one. I hope they get a new movie too!

It’s worth visiting if you are in the area. The lack of funding is obvious, but having a museum based around such a specific event is rare and this place should stay open. I come every time I’m in the area. Such a great educational opportunity. They charge $ 8 for parking but nothing for admission.

Ok, the «video» is an ancient slide show. This is the Parks Dept. they don’t have funding for fancy movies. Regardless of how crappy the visuals are, it’s super interesting and tells the complete story of the Donner party and the other wagon trains. The lack of quality is actually kind of hilarious.
The room where you see the movie also has an amazing butterfly collection from a local historic naturalist as well as lots of great paintings of the pioneers, gold rush era, etc.
The gift shop has a really great selection of guide books/​nature books, local history books, outdoorsy stuff… They also have an awesome case of taxidermied local animals. I mean, ranger stations are cool and if you’re not into them you won’t be into this place.
The coolest part, though, is the room of really well done dioramas depicting every aspect of western history, complete with cases of real artifacts.
Check it out, and don’t bitch about paying for parking: they have to get their funding somewhere and it’s not going to be Sacramento.