California Trail Interpretive Center

If anything about the Donner Party—or the more than 200,000 pioneers who passed through Nevada on their way to California—has ever piqued your interest, a visit to the California Trail Interpretive Center is long overdue. Through immersive exhibits, visitors explore the triumphs and tragedies experienced by those who embarked on the 5,600-mile journey. The center also presents a unique perspective on the historic corridor by showing how the great migration forever changed the West’s original inhabitants. 

The West’s Most Emigrant Trail

Located just outside Elko, the California Trail Interpretive Center ranks as one of the best museums in the state. The exhibits—which range from life-size dioramas to interactive displays—are high quality and engaging, and the museum’s layout is an inspired design that lets visitors discover the trail’s history in geographic order.

In the outdoor plaza, you’ll find mural-size quotes from travelers and a scale-model map of the Trail—about 10 miles a step. Faithful recreations of both Western Shoshone and pioneer camp sites (complete with sagebrush huts and covered wagons) are also outside. An 0.8-mile, out-and-back trail offers impressive views of the Humboldt River. Emigrants followed this winding greenbelt—the longest river entirely within Nevada—for nearly 300 miles. Beyond that lies the conspicuous South Fork Canyon, which the Donner Party passed through in 1846 when rushing to reach the Sierra Nevada before the first frost.

Inside, your visit starts in a Missouri river town, where pioneers stocked up on provisions and kitted out their covered wagons. These towns, which sat on the then-eastern edge of American civilization, were the first stop for emigrants. The (literal) elephant in this exhibit’s room pays homage to the era’s famous expression, “I saw the elephant,” which meant that someone had gone west and then returned home.

In subsequent rooms, you’ll follow the Platte River along the Great Plains, trek across the Salt Lake Desert, enter the Great Basin, then begin the most perilous stretch of the journey: the infamous 40-Mile Desert, which is today located between Lovelock and Reno. After crossing the Sierra Nevada, your journey ends in Gold Country, where relieved pioneers began their new lives.

While at the California Trail Interpretive Center, stop in the theater to enjoy a short film featuring the era’s most famous emigrants: the Donner Party. Be sure to visit the great gift shop, which offers a variety of books, children’s gifts, apparel, art, candy, a Nevada-specific library, and miscellaneous Trail-related goodies. The center also rewards repeat visits through the programs it hosts throughout the year, which include crafting workshops, summer camps, and presentations on the desert’s wildlife, flora, and dark skies.

Where is the California Trail Center?

The California Trail Interpretive Center is located on the historic California Trail along Interstate 80. Look for Hunter Exit 292, 8 miles west of Elko (and 2 miles north of the ill-fated Hastings Cutoff).