Western Railroad Discussion > Camping Along Roseville Sub

My son and I plan to camp out soon - for a night near U.P. tracks. We're thinking about the area above Alta, where train enters National Forest land. Casa Loma, Blue Canon, and that general area.

Any advice on good spots to check out? We don't mind parking and walking a ways in for what the Forest Service calls "dispersed camping". As long as we can see and hear the trains!

Mobile Mac
Ozol, Calif.

Do check for USFS signs for any restrictions on camping outside designated campgrounds. It's getting pretty hot and dry up here.

Exit I-80 at Alta, keep right, then east on Casa Loma Road, keep right after about a mile, go down and cross the stream, then up and cross rhe tracks, continue south above the tracks and you enter a small subdivision of the Tahoe National Forest which is marked by a sign. There is a small campground there with a fire pit but no other facilities. It's above the railroad on a knoll. You cannot see the trains but you can hear them and also the horn at the Casa Loma and American River crossings.

Regards, Jim Evans

I camped for two nights earlier this month above Donner Lake overlooking the former SP, now UP, mainline. Good views of the RR above Donner Lake, entrance to the east portal of the summit tunnel and Truckee in the distance.

To get there, it is about a three mile pack in with a pretty good climb. Take the Soda Springs exit off I-80 to the summit past Norden. Turn right off Donner Pass Rd. onto a dirt road for about 1/4 miles. Parking limited. There is some signage at the trailhead. Walk south on the trail to Donner Peak. The first section of the trail is part of the Pacific Crest Trail. Once at the west base of Donner Peak, continue cross country until you find a suitable site with good views of the RR.

It is very dry in the Sierra, so exercise extreme caution with any flame, fire or stove anywhere you go. There was running water in nearby streams, but you must filter it.

Thanks for these great suggestions. To scenic Casa Loma!
And don't worry - no fires, no nothing.

And - we will not EVER camp out anywhere near Sacramento! Sheesh.

By the way.... I nominate the Casa Loma area for best area along Roseville Sub. If you've never been out that way (not far from Alta, CA.), check it out and you'll be bowled away by the beauty.

Mobile Mac

Is there a "railfan's guide" to Donner Pass anywhere? Brochure? Book? Web page?

Such a guide would be really useful. It's an 80 mile corridor, mostly forested, with a gazillion different landowners, no good maps, no logic to the freeway exits (odd names, no numbers) (so it's hard to connect a road on a map to an exit on the freeway), there's 2 alignments for the first 30 miles, etc. etc.

I've thought about putting together something for myself, I've made little maps while riding the Zephyr, with mileposts, road crossings, tunnels, etc. But tying this in to the road/highway network, and determining where the public lands are, would still be a bit of work.

On the one hand, it adds to the mystique.

But on the other, it's a disincentive for me to drive up the hill if I don't have a clear itinerary in mind...

Ted in Davis