Donner Ski Ranch is a budget-oriented, family owned

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

located on

Donner Summit Donner Pass is a mountain pass in the northern Sierra Nevada, above Donner Lake and Donner Memorial State Park about west of Truckee, California. Like the Sierra Nevada themselves, the pass has a steep approach from the east and a gradual a ...

in the

Tahoe National Forest Tahoe National Forest is a United States National Forest located in California, northwest of Lake Tahoe. It includes the peak of Sierra Buttes, near Sierra City, which has views of Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta. It is located in parts of six co ...

Nevada County, California Nevada County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California, in the Sierra Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 102,241. The county seat is Nevada City. Nevada County comprises the Truckee- Grass Valley, CA Micropolit ...

. It is owned by Janet and Marshall Tuttle, who purchased it after it went into bankruptcy. The area it is on has been used for skiing since 1937. It has

ski lifts A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/ Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald. Types * Aerial ...

on both sides of Donner Summit, and is located close to Boreal. 25% of its terrain is beginner, 50% intermediate, and 25% advanced, but of the 52 runs 16 are of beginning difficulty, 20 are intermediate, and 16 are advanced. The rustic lodge, built-in 1947, is mostly made of wood, and has open pipes. Norm Sayler began working for Donner Ski Ranch in 1958, helping to build the ski area’s first chairlift in 1955. Sayler took over the management of the resort in 1958, and ran it for the next 46 years, while slowly acquiring most of the ownership. The rustic lodge was renovated after its acquisition by its current owners. At the time of the acquisition, all of the ski lifts were painted as well.

References

External links

Donner Ski Ranch official website
{{Sierra Nevada Ski areas and resorts in California Tahoe National Forest Tourist attractions in Nevada County, California Companies based in Nevada County, California