Too often, when talking about a special vacation in a far away place, people will say, “There is a lot of history there.” Well, there happens to be “a lot of history” around Tahoe, too.

Have you ever thought about America’s transcontinental railroad, and the people responsible for that slight miracle? Instead of a dangerous ocean passage, or one heck of a long walk, it became possible to travel, almost quickly and comfortably, across America, from its Atlantic coast to its far Pacific.

So, how about taking a relatively easy hike through some of that history? With our connection to the transcontinental railroad right in our own back yard, it’s possible to walk in the steps of the extraordinary people who planned, engineered, and built one of the most difficult routes of the railroad.

Begin the hike just outside of Truckee, along Donner Pass Road, at the Donner Summit Bridge. There you will find parking, and a plaque commemorating the China Wall that was built by the Chinese railroad workers. The Wall is still there, and still looks capable of doing its job. Beyond the plaque is the trail toward the abandoned railroad tunnels.

No tracks run through the tunnels now; the bare ground is uneven and the tunnels are dark, so don’t forget to bring a light with you. The system is a series of disconnected tunnels. Some do have a few openings that allow light to filter in, and occasionally you can see the light at the end of a tunnel, but mostly, it’s a dim walk through them.

It’s best to hike these tunnels in the summer or fall when you are less likely to encounter snow or ice or mud.

Theodore Judah, was the young engineer who planned the railroad’s route in the Sierras. Using a barometer to determine altitude, Judah surveyed more than one route, finding that the best one for the railroad was through Truckee. Wikipedia gives Mr. Judah the credit that he is due.

As you are walking, take a minute to appreciate the hundreds of unnamed and unsung laborers who built the Chinese Wall, and dug the tunnels with little more than hand drilling, black powder and nitroglycerin. That unstable combination led to an extraordinary number of worker deaths in the over 15 months it took to finish the job.

The tunnels around Truckee and Donner were closed In 1993 when the railroad was rerouted to a new tunnel running through Mount Judah, the peak named after that pioneering engineer, Theodore.

A full round trip of the Truckee/Donner tunnels is about 5 miles, and could easily be divided into two trips on different days. That would give you more time to study the modern graffiti on the old tunnel walls. Depending on your opinion of that art form, your history hike could double as a street-art walk.

See pictures of the tunnels as well as the art >