Truckee is an incorporated town in

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 Micropoli ...

, United States. As of the

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

, the population was 16,180, reflecting an increase of 2,316 from the 13,864 counted in the 2000 Census and having the 316th highest population in California and 2114th in the United States.

Name

Truckee's existence began in 1863 as Gray's Station, named for Joseph Gray's Roadhouse on the trans-Sierra wagon road. A blacksmith named Samuel S. Coburn was there almost from the beginning, and by 1866 the area was known as Coburn's Station. The Central Pacific Railroad selected Truckee as the name of its railroad station by August 1867, even though the tracks would not reach the station until a year later in 1868. It was renamed Truckee after a Paiute chief, whose assumed Paiute name was Tru-ki-zo. He was the father of

Chief Winnemucca Winnemucca ( – 1882) (also called Wobitsawahkah, Bad Face, Winnemucca the Younger, Mubetawaka, and PoitoOntko, Gale. ''Thunder Over the Ochoco,'' Volume I: ''The Gathering Storm''. Bend, OR: Maverick Publications, Inc., 1997.) was a Northern Pa ...

and grandfather of Sarah Winnemucca. The first Europeans who came to cross the Sierra Nevada encountered his tribe. The friendly chief rode toward them yelling, “Tro-kay!”, which is Paiute for 'Everything is all right'. The unaware travelers assumed he was yelling his name. Chief Truckee later served as a guide for

John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a U.S. Senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the United States in 1856 ...

History

Habitation by Native Americans

Photograph of Washoe Indians making Rabbit skin quilt - NARA - 296117

The Truckee River flows from

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake i ...

for approximately northeast to the border of the arid Great Basin of Nevada and Utah and into Pyramid Lake. This water source formed a natural, seasonal route for Native Americans. Although no particular tribe is considered to have inhabited Truckee year-round, the Washoe people occupied a large territory roughly centered in the modern day Carson City area, but

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easte ...

and Paiute Tribes were also present (the Paiute Tribe Reservation now encompasses Pyramid Lake). These peoples are considered to be the primary source of Native American travelers in the area. Hobart Mills, just north of Truckee on Highway 89, has a large, horizontal, circular petroglyph of the type common to travel routes in Nevada. The date of that petroglyph, as well as several etched into granite slabs on the summit west of Truckee, are not agreed upon. But those artifacts, as well as the abundance of arrowheads throughout the Truckee region, attest to a minimum of hundreds of years of Native American presence. It is possible that, like the Shoshone,

Ute people Ute () are the Indigenous people of the Ute tribe and culture among the Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. They had lived in sovereignty in the regions of present-day Utah and Colorado in the Southwestern United States for many centuries un ...

and earlier Fremont tribes of

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

and Eastern

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, the nearby Native American populations fluctuated over the course of millennia as a result of weather cycles, food source, and possibly disease or war. Some historians date the pre-

Fremont culture The Fremont culture or Fremont people is a pre-Columbian archaeological culture which received its name from the Fremont River in the U.S. state of Utah, where the culture's sites were discovered by local indigenous peoples like the Navajo and Ute ...

of Eastern Nevada to as early as 10,000 B.C. and it's likely that the Eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains next to Truckee, since it faces the Great Basin, had Native Americans of a hunter-gatherer culture visit at least as early as 3,000 B.C. These people were probably of a purely nomadic group since datable housing structures like those found in Nevada and Utah are not present. Like most of the modern history of the West, as the European settlers' population increased, the Native American population decreased. The Gold Rush of 1849 caused a surge in fortune-seeking settlers (although Truckee itself wasn't settled until later). It is not known exactly when the last indigenous Native Americans passed through Truckee, but there is Washoe people oral history of the

Donner Party The Donner Party, sometimes called the Donner–Reed Party, was a group of American pioneers who migrated to California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a multitude of mishaps, they spent the winter of 1846–1847 snowbound in th ...

tragedy of the winter of 1846–47.

Donner Party

The

ordeal is arguably Truckee's most famous historical event. In 1846, a group of settlers from Illinois, originally known as the Donner-Reed Party but now usually referred to as the Donner Party, became snowbound in early fall as a result of several trail mishaps, poor decision-making, and an early onset of winter that year. Choosing multiple times to take shortcuts to save distance compared to the traditional

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...

, coupled with infighting, a disastrous crossing of the Utah salt flats, and the attempt to use the pass near the Truckee River (now

Donner Pass 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 appro ...

) all caused delays in their journey. Map of Truckee Lake and Alder Creek

Finally, a large, early blizzard brought the remaining settlers to a halt at the edge of what is now

Donner Lake Donner Lake is a freshwater lake in Northeast California on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada and about northwest of the much larger Lake Tahoe. A moraine serves as a natural dam for the lake. The lake is located in the town of Truckee, be ...

, about below the steep granite summit of the Sierra Nevada mountains and east of their final destination, Sutter's Fort (near

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

). Several attempts at carting their few remaining wagons, oxen, and supplies over the summit—sometimes by pulling them up by rope—proved impossible due to freezing conditions and a lack of any preexisting trail. The party returned, broken in spirit and short of supplies, to the edge of Donner Lake. A portion of the camp members also returned to the Alder Creek campsite a few miles to the east. During the hard winter the travelers endured starvation and were later found to have practiced

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

. Fifteen members constructed makeshift

snowshoe Snowshoes are specialized outdoor gear for walking over snow. Their large footprint spreads the user's weight out and allows them to travel largely on top of rather than through snow. Adjustable bindings attach them to appropriate winter footwe ...

s and set out for Sutter's Fort in the late fall but were thwarted by freezing weather and disorientation. Only seven survived: two were lost, and six died. Those who died were used as food by those who remained. The Truckee camp survivors were saved by a Reed Party member who had set out ahead after having been ejected from the party months earlier for killing another man in a violent argument. Seeing that the group never arrived at Sutter's Fort, he initiated several relief parties. Of the original 87 settlers in the Donner-Reed party, 48 survived the ordeal. The

Donner Memorial State Park Donner Memorial State Park is a state park of California, US, preserving the site of the Donner Camp, where members of the ill-fated Donner Party were trapped by weather during the winter of 1846–1847. Caught without shelter or adequate sup ...

is dedicated to the settlers and is located at the East End of

Other historical events

Truckee grew as a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

town originally named Coburn Station, starting with the

Transcontinental Railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...

. The railroad goes into downtown Truckee, and the

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

passenger lines still stop there on the trip from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. Truckee's Sinophobic movement had begun during the

Reconstruction Period The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, American history following the American Civil War (1861–1865) and lasting until approximately the Compromise of 1877. During Reconstruction, attempts were made to rebui ...

, marked by the

Trout Creek Outrage The Trout Creek Outrage, also known as the Truckee Outrage or Trout Creek Murder, was an example of anti-Chinese violence in California which occurred on the night of June 17–18, 1876. White residents of Truckee, California set fire to two cab ...

of 1876:

By 1876, some 300 of the town’s residents, from workers to its most prominent citizens, had formed a local chapter of the Order of the Caucasians, also known as the Caucasian League, to drive out the Chinese. Truckee gained statewide notoriety that summer when late one night seven of the group's members, clad in black, surrounded and set fire to two cabins full of Chinese woodcutters who had refused to leave the area. The vigilantes shot at the Chinese men as they ran out of the cabin, killing forty-five-year-old Ah Ling.

Charles Fayette McGlashan, local lawyer and owner/publisher of the ''Truckee Republican'', defended those accused in the Trout Creek Outrage and was a leader in the town's anti-Chinese movement. In 1886, the town's Chinese inhabitants, about 1,400 in number, were expelled from Truckee as part of a campaign that included a boycott of any business that did business with Chinese. In 1891, Truckee's famous lawman, Jacob Teeter, was killed in a violent gunfight with fellow lawman, James Reed (no relation to James Frazier Reed of the Donner-Reed Party). Constable Reed was among those accused of participating in the Trout Creek Outrage fifteen years prior. Truckee reportedly had one of the nation's first mechanized ski lifts at the site of the Hilltop Lodge. The historic Hilltop Lodge was converted to a restaurant in the 1940s by the Crandall Brothers, and eventually became Cottonwood Restaurant and Bar. There were possibly two rope tows and a Poma lift, which was installed in 1954.Truckee Historical Inventory At the same location there was a ski jump constructed during the early 1900s that was designed by Lars Haugen, a seven-time Olympic ski jumping champion.

Incorporation

In 1993, Truckee incorporated as a city.

Geography and climate

Truckee is located along

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

at (39.342163, −120.203568). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (3.96%) is water, mostly

and the

Truckee River The Truckee River is a river in the U.S. states of California and Nevada. The river flows northeasterly and is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 20, 2012 Th ...

Climate

Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Truckee has either a cool-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(''Csb'') or a dry-summer

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing som ...

(''Dsb''), depending on which variant of the system is used. Winters are chilly with regular snowfall, while summers are warm to hot and dry, with occasional periods of intense thunderstorms. Its location near the Sierra Nevada crest at provides conditions for winter storms to commonly deposit nearly a meter of snow in a 24-hour storm event and the occasional week-long storm event can deliver of snow. The

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

reports that Truckee's warmest month is July with an average maximum temperature of and an average minimum temperature of . January is the coldest month with an average maximum temperature of and an average minimum temperature of . The record maximum temperature of 104 °F (40 °C) was on July 6, 2007. The record minimum temperature of was on February 27, 1962. Annually, there are an average of 8.4 days with highs of or higher and 239 with a high above . Freezing temperatures have been observed in every month of the year and there are an average of 228.4 nights with lows of or lower – seven more than

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

and only eight fewer than Nome – but only 6.0 nights with lows of or lower and 15.6 days where the high does not top freezing. Normal annual precipitation in Truckee is ; measurable precipitation ( or more) occurs on an average of 87.0 days annually. The most precipitation in one month was in December 1955, and the most precipitation in 24 hours was on February 1, 1963. The wettest calendar year has been 1997 with and the driest 1976 with , although the extremes by “rain year” are a maximum of between July 1981 and June 1982 and a low of between July 2000 and June 2001. Truckee has an average of of snow annually, which makes it the fifth-snowiest city in the United States, while snow cover usually averages in February, but has exceeded . The most snow in one month was in February 1938, and the most in a season was between July 1951 and June 1952. The maximum 24-hour snowfall was on February 17, 1990.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 US Census Reported that Truckee had a population of 16,729, an only 549 person increase since 2010.

2010

The

reported that Truckee had a population of 16,180. The population density was {{convert, 480.8, PD/sqmi, PD/km2, sp=us, adj=off. The racial makeup of Truckee was 13,992 (86.5%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 3,016 (18.6%)

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

, 60 (0.4%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 95 (0.6%) Native American, 241 (1.5%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 15 (0.1%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 1,431 (8.8%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 346 (2.1%) from two or more races. The Census reported that 16,137 people (99.7% of the population) lived in households, 43 (0.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 6,343 households, out of which 2,135 (33.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,443 (54.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 411 (6.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 314 (5.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 502 (7.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 43 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,382 households (21.8%) were made up of individuals, and 275 (4.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54. There were 4,168

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...

(65.7% of all households); the average family size was 2.98. The population was spread out, with 3,769 people (23.3%) under the age of 18, 1,139 people (7.0%) aged 18 to 24, 5,030 people (31.1%) aged 25 to 44, 4,986 people (30.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,256 people (7.8%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.3 males. There were 12,803 housing units at an average density of {{convert, 380.4, /sqmi, /km2, sp=us, adj=off, of which 4,326 (68.2%) were owner-occupied, and 2,017 (31.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.8%. 10,783 people (66.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 5,354 people (33.1%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

{{cite web, url=https://www.census.gov, publisher=

, access-date=January 31, 2008, title=U.S. Census website of 2000, there were 13,864 people, 5,149 households, and 3,563 families residing in the town. The population density was {{convert, 426.1, PD/sqmi, PD/km2, sp=us, adj=off. There were 9,757 housing units at an average density of {{convert, 299.8, /sqmi, /km2, sp=us, adj=off. The racial makeup of the town was 88.4%

, 0.3%

, 0.6% Native American, 0.9%

, 0.2%

, 7.6% from

, and 2.2% from two or more races.

of any race were 12.8% of the population. There were 5,149 households, out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.2% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 18.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.09. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.7% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 36.8% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 5.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 112.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.0 males. The median

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. For ...

for a household in the town was $58,848, and the median income for a family was $62,746. Males had a median income of $38,631 versus $29,536 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the town was $26,786. About 2.8% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 5.3% of those under age 18 and 2.0% of those age 65 or over. Recent land clearing outside town limits may affect the population.

Transportation

{{see also, Truckee (Amtrak station) Truckee Hotel Exterior

, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Truckee. The town's passenger rail station is located at 10065 Donner Pass Road in the historic downtown. Amtrak Train 5, the westbound

California Zephyr The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall ...

, departs Truckee daily with service to Colfax, Roseville,

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, Davis, Martinez, and

Emeryville Emeryville may refer to: * Emeryville, California Emeryville is a city located in northwest Alameda County, California, in the United States. It lies in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, with a border on the shore of San ...

across the bay from

. Amtrak Train 6, the eastbound California Zephyr, departs Truckee daily with service to Reno, Sparks, Winnemucca, Elko, Salt Lake City, Provo, Helper, Green River, Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Denver, Omaha, Galesburg, and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Capitol Corridor The ''Capitol Corridor'' is a passenger train route in Northern California operated by Amtrak between San Jose, in the Bay Area, and Auburn, in the Sacramento Valley. The route is named after the two points most trains operate between, San J ...

service from San Jose has been proposed, with the intention of going to

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

. It is uncertain whether that extension may ever happen because there is only a single-track tunnel through the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountains at

Norden, California Norden is a small unincorporated community in Nevada County, California, United States, about west of Truckee. The community is located on a former portion of U.S. Route 40 near Interstate 80 and lies along the historical First transcontinen ...

. Traffic is heavy, often with trains waiting on either side to cross through, and therefore the Union Pacific railroad has said in the past that it is unlikely that Amtrak passenger rail travel will increase in frequency unless a second tunnel is built. Truckee_Tahoe_Airport

There is a free public bus, operated by neighboring

Placer County, California Placer County ( ; Spanish for "sand deposit"), officially the County of Placer, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 404,739. The county seat is Auburn. Placer County is included in the Grea ...

; this connects the Truckee train station to the West Shore of Lake Tahoe, and a second goes to

Incline Village, Nevada Incline Village is a census-designated place (CDP) on the north shore of Lake Tahoe in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 8,777 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Reno− Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Until the ...

. There are also winter ski buses between Reno Airport and the ski areas near Truckee.

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...

operates from the Amtrak rail station, going west to Sacramento and San Francisco, and east to Reno, Salt Lake City, and Denver. There are also private bus companies from the San Francisco Bay Area which bring skiers up to Truckee for day trips.

passes just to the north of central Truckee. Essentially, it follows the old emigrant wagon route. Reno is {{Convert, 31, mi to the east on I-80. State Route 89, a north–south highway, connects Truckee to the West Shore of Lake Tahoe. The Truckee-Tahoe Airport provides access to the North Lake Tahoe recreational area through general aviation services. The airfield boasts a 7000-foot main runway and a 4600-foot crosswind runway. The airport is not serviced by any commercial airline at the present time, although commercial flights are available from the nearby Reno-Tahoe International Airport. There are also glider tours operated from the airport.

Government

The town is governed by a five-member Town Council, which elects one of its members as Mayor; the mayor presides over meetings and ceremonial events, but has no other special responsibilities. The mayor as of December 2019 is David Polivy. The first mayor of Truckee was Kathleen Eagan.

State and federal representation

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...

, Truckee is in {{Representative, casd, 1, fmt=sdistrict, and {{Representative, caad, 1, fmt=adistrict. In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, Truckee is in {{Representative, cacd, 4, fmt=district. According to the California Secretary of State, as of February 10, 2019, Truckee has 9,910 registered voters. Of those, 4,336 (43.8%) are registered Democrats, 1,901 (19.2%) are registered Republicans, and 1,398 (14.1%) have

declined to state Decline to State (DTS) was an affiliation designation on the California voter registration form that allows voters to register to vote without choosing a party affiliation. It is similar to what in other states would be called declaring oneself as ...

a political party.{{cite web, url=https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/ror/ror-odd-year-2019/politicalsub.pdf, title=CA Secretary of State – Report of Registration – February 10, 2019, website=ca.gov, access-date=March 12, 2019

Education

There are no four-year universities in Truckee. The closest large universities are in

, and

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

. The two-year

Sierra College Sierra College is a public community college in Rocklin, California. It is part of the Sierra Joint Community College District, a district that covers over , serves Placer, Nevada and parts of El Dorado and Sacramento counties. History The c ...

, headquartered in Rocklin, has its Tahoe-Truckee campus in town. Students can complete all the requirements for a two-year Associate of Arts degree at this campus, as well as various certificates, such as Accounting. The

Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District Tahoe Truckee Unified School District is a unified school district based in Truckee, California that educates students in the Truckee and northern Lake Tahoe areas. The district area encompasses 723 square miles, serving Placer County, Nevada ...

provides K-12 education to Truckee and the Lake Tahoe area with nine traditional schools, of which two elementary schools, a middle school, elementary school and

Truckee High School Truckee High School is one of two high schools in the Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District, which is based in the Lake Tahoe area town of Truckee in eastern Nevada County, California. Athletics Truckee High School is one of five California h ...

are in the town itself. A newer middle school was recently built as well. In interscholastic athletics, due to Truckee's isolation from the rest of California by the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

crest, Truckee High competes in the

Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association (NIAA) is the governing body of athletic programs for high schools in the state of Nevada. In addition, five schools in the state of California (Coleville, Needles, North Tahoe, South Tahoe, and Tru ...

along with four other similarly isolated California schools:

North Tahoe High School North Tahoe High School is a public high school located in the eastern Placer County settlement of Tahoe City, California, on the northern side of Lake Tahoe. It is one of two high schools in Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District; its counterpa ...

South Tahoe High School South Tahoe High School (STHS) is a public high school in South Lake Tahoe, California, United States. It was established in 1952 and is the only high school that belongs to the Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD). The school mascot is the ...

, Coleville High School, and

Needles High School Needles High School (NHS) is a public high school in Needles, California, Needles, California. It is part of the Needles Unified School District. The school mascot is the Mustang, and the school colors are royal blue and white. The current alma mat ...

Notable people

{{colbegin, colwidth=40em * Jeremy Jones, snowboarder * Krista Benjamin, poet and writer *

Alissa Bjerkhoel Alissa Leanne Bjerkhoel (pronounced ''byeer''-kul) is an American litigation coordinator at the California Innocence Project (CIP), a law school clinic that investigates cases of factual innocence while training law students. Bjerkhoel was born ...

, litigation coordinator at the California Innocence Project (CIP) *

Win Butler Edwin Farnham Butler III (born April 14, 1980) is an American-Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist. He co-founded the Montreal-based indie rock band Arcade Fire with his wife Régine Chassagne. Early life Butler was ...

, Canadian-American singer, songwriter, musician, and multi-instrumentalist *

Stacey Cook Stacey Janelle Cook (born July 3, 1984) is a World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States, and specializes in the speed events. Racing career Born in Truckee, California, Cook started skiing at age 4 with her father at various Lake Tahoe ...

, World Cup alpine ski racer * Kathleen Eagan, former mayor of Truckee *

Andy Finch Andrew Joseph Finch (born March 20, 1981) is an American snowboarder. His accomplishments include winning the overall U.S. Grand Prix Halfpipe Title in 2003 and 2004, taking first place in the Arctic Challenge in Norway in April 2004, winning th ...

, snowboarder * Travis Ganong, World Cup alpine ski racer * Chas Guldemond, snowboarder * Peter Johnson, a former World Mogul Skiing champion *

Neel Kashkari Neel Tushar Kashkari
Errol Kerr Errol Kerr (born April 12, 1986, in Brooklyn, New York) is a downhill skier formerly with the U.S. Ski Team. Kerr is the son of a Jamaican father and an American mother. Kerr started skiing at age 4 and started racing competitively at age 11. Kerr ...

, downhill skier *

Ximena McGlashan Ximena McGlashan (October 25, 1893 – June 24, 1986), later Ximena McGlashan Howard, was an American entomologist, and a "butterfly farmer" based in Truckee, California. Early life Ximena Myrtle McGlashan was born in Truckee, California, sixth ...

, entomologist *

Debbie Meyer Deborah Elizabeth Meyer (born August 14, 1952), also known by her married name Deborah Weber, is an American former competition swimmer, a three-time Olympic champion, and a former world record-holder in four events. Meyer won the 200-, 400-, a ...

, former competition swimmer *

Daron Rahlves Daron Louis Rahlves (born June 12, 1973) is a former American World Cup alpine ski racer and freestyle skier. Biography Born in Walnut Creek, California, and raised in Northern California, Rahlves attended the Green Mountain Valley School in ...

, a former World Skiing champion and Olympian *

Karly Shorr Karly Piper Shorr (born May 18, 1994) is an American snowboarder. She competed in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, where she placed sixth in women's slopestyle. Shorr was born in Commerce Township, Michigan Michigan () is a ...

, snowboarder *

April Stewart April Stewart (born April 1, 1969) is an American voice actress. Career Stewart is best known for providing the voices of several female characters in the animated comedy series ''South Park'' alongside fellow voice actress Mona Marshall. She i ...

, voice actress *

Marco Sullivan Marco Sullivan (born April 27, 1980) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer from the United States. Born in Truckee, California, he competed primarily in the speed events of Downhill and Super G. Sullivan competed in the 2002 and 2010 Winter ...

, former World Cup alpine ski racer * Annika Taylor, cross-country skier *

Amy Westervelt Amy Westervelt (born 1978) is an American environmental print and radio journalist. She is the founder of the podcast network Critical Frequency and hosts the popular podcast Drilled, which has been downloaded more than a million times. She is al ...

, journalist *

Maia Wilkins Maia Wilkins is an American ballerina. She was a principal dancer for the Joffrey Ballet from 1991 until 2008. She was the principal of Sacramento Ballet School and is currently the Associate Director of Ballet at Northern California Dance Conserv ...

, ballerina {{colend

References

{{reflist, 30em {(01)} Union Pacific Railroad Historical Society Archives

External links

{{wikivoyage, Truckee * {{Official website {{Nevada County, California {{Greater Sacramento {{Sierra Nevada {{authority control Cities in Nevada County, California Populated places in the Sierra Nevada (United States) Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1993 1993 establishments in California Cities in Sacramento metropolitan area