The Sierra’s Best Kept Secret

Sierra Club Clair Tappaan Lodge Offers Three Hots & A Cot


7000 feet above sea level, hidden in the mountains where the Donner Party perished, is one of the Sierra's best-kept secrets. Built in the 1930s by volunteers, the Sierra Club’s Clair Tappaan Lodge is a throwback to simpler times.

In the winter you won’t find lift lines here. In fact you won’t find any lifts. But you can strap on your cross country skis and go skiing right out the back door, up into the high country overlooking the Emigrant Pass. The lodge rents cross country skis and snowshoes. A shuttle bus stops out front and will take downhill skiers to a number of ski runs in the area including Boreal and Sugar Bowl.

In the summer, the Clair Tappaan Lodge offers easy access to world-class mountain biking. Hard core bikers can test themselves on the Hole In The Ground Trail, or drive into Tahoe and spend the day riding around the lake on the death defying Flume Trail. For bikers just getting their legs under them, the nearby Emigrant Basin Trail that leads to Prosser Lake and Stampede Reservoir is a great choice. Gentle rollers and fairly level terrain make this a great 20-mile out and back ride. Road bikers who head out on a weekday will have these roads almost all to themselves.

Other summertime activities include hiking and backpacking the Pacific Crest Trail, which runs nearby, rafting and kayaking down the nearby Truckee River, and exploring the abandoned rail tunnels. Generations of bay area parents have introduced their kids and their grandkids to skiing, frostbite, and a love of the outdoors here. Programs include outings for bikers, hikers, yoginis, and bluegrass aficionados.

Sound good? It gets better. For approximately $50 bucks (if you are a member of the Sierra Club) you get three meals a day, along with a place to sleep. Meals are served camp style at long tables. A recent dinner featured grilled Talapia, pasta primavera, salad and ice cream. Breakfast is hearty: oatmeal, French toast, cereal and fruit. Lunch is sandwiches which you fix yourself, stuff in a sack, and take with you for your day’s outing. A library contains old journals and daybooks (Ansel Adams slept here!) and a common room is equipped with kids games, a piano, and an enormous fireplace.

Be warned: The Clair Tappaan Lodge is Spartan. If prisoners lived like this, 60 Minutes would do an expose. The rooms are so small you have to open a window just to change your mind. And unheated. Bring a sleeping bag and your sense of humor. Check your attitude at the door. It’s all in a good cause.

Directions:
From the bay area, drive East on Interstate 80 approximately 3 hours. Exit at Norden/Soda Springs. Drive 2.4 miles east on Donner Pass road. The lodge is at 19940 Donner Pass Rd. Look for the sign slightly up the hill on your left and the wide footpath leading up to the Lodge. Parking is available on either side of the road.

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Sam McMillan