The Wild Side of Downtown Truckee | The Truckee Springs Project

By Tiffany Connolly | Photos Courtesy of Truckee Donner Land Trust 

In 1893, C.F. McGlashan took action on an idea to bring more winter tourists to Truckee. He built an ice palace in the center of downtown and hosted grand winter carnivals. In the winters that followed, the festivals grew, and publicity for the event ran all the way down to San Francisco with increasing visitors flocking to the small lumber town. Winter tourism in Truckee had begun.

The last ice palace was built in 1976 and reduced to rubble in a fire. But Truckee Springs, the downtown Truckee land that it sat on, is a well-preserved open wilderness space that hugs the Truckee River. Truckee Springs is zoned commercial-residential and could have up to a 120-room hotel or 40 single-family homes. Development at this scale would result in the demise of the natural habitat and encroachment on the fragile watershed. While commercial developers have proposed various projects over the years, the Truckee Donner Land Trust and local community supporters have other ideas.

THE WILD SIDE OF DOWNTOWN

Truckee Springs is the open 26-acre space that lies on the south side of the Truckee River. If you walk down South River Street until it ends, you’ll be at the east border of the property. Visitors experience a well-preserved wilderness of willows, alders, aspen, sage and bitterbrush. It’s also a corridor and home to local wildlife. Bears, coyotes, deer and countless birds enjoy the wild space of Truckee Springs. To allow commercial development on the property would mean the missed opportunity to preserve, share and enjoy a wilderness retreat right in downtown Truckee. While the proposed project preserves the wilderness integrity of this centralized area, it will also act as a hub, effectively connecting downtown to the outskirts of Truckee by way of paved and dirt trails.

ACCESSIBILITY + CONNECTIVITY

Imagine riding your bicycle through downtown Truckee. Maybe you pedaled there from your Tahoe Donner home along the Trout Creek Trail. The warm summer breeze pushes you toward the river, where you pick up your leisurely cruise over the newly constructed bridge above the Truckee River and on to the extension of the Truckee River Legacy Trail. You veer east toward Glenshire, admiring the river on your left and enjoying the tall pines that create shade. Or you head west and pedal yourself over to Donner Lake and Beach Club

Marina, breaking at a point along the river for a snack. This is only one of the various scenarios that will be possible with the conservation of Truckee Springs as a public wilderness park to be enjoyed by the population of a growing town. Truckee Springs, once acquired, will be host to miles of trails to explore, riverside beaches for respite and a starting point for a plethora of adventures, with connectivity to the Legacy Trail, Sawtooth Ridge Trail and more.

The preservation of the Truckee watershed, and of the Truckee River itself, is an important concern among conservationists. The Truckee Springs Project keeps large development off the river, which prevents further erosion and allows for clean water, watershed restoration and flood mitigation.

MAKING TRUCKEE SPRINGS A REALITY

The Truckee Donner Land Trust, the nonprofit integral in the Lower Carpenter Valley and Frog Lake acquisitions, is heading the efforts to acquire the property with the help of a local community board, tasked with raising the $10 million needed to see this vision into fruition. The purchase price of the 26-acre Truckee Springs property is $6 million with $4 million allocated for the building of a bridge, the creation of trails and trailheads and for general stewardship. Grants have been secured from the Town and the state, but $2.5 million is still being gathered from the community.

“I got involved with the Land Trust’s Truckee Springs project because I believe it will be a game-changer for Truckee in general and the historic downtown specifically. The Truckee River is the heart of the town, but is such an under-utilized and hard-to-access asset,” said Andy Barr, owner of Truckee Craft Ventures and member of the Truckee Springs Community Campaign. “The Truckee Springs project, through the preservation of open space, the creation of the bridge and the connection to the West River corridor, will cement the Truckee River as an integral part of downtown, benefiting everyone involved.”

Connectivity is the keyword to the project. Besides the fact that there is currently no river access from downtown Truckee, there is also little non-motorized connectivity to the rest of town. Access to the Truckee River, Donner Lake, Glenshire and the wilderness along the 06 Road will be possible with the completion of the project. Imagine stepping off the Amtrak, getting on your bike and being able to ride anywhere in Truckee on established paths.

“I’m so excited that people can come down on their bike from Tahoe Donner and then safely cross over the proposed bridge. It’s a real game changer for this parcel of land,” said Paco Lindsay, board member of the Truckee Donner Land Trust and Truckee Trails Foundation and Tahoe Donner homeowner.

“As the town experiences more growth due to the West River and Rail Yard Projects, Truckee Springs will secure open space in downtown for all the new people.

“I ran the campaign for Measure R and what we found in polls was that the preservation of open space was a number one concern for people in Truckee. The Truckee Springs Project is such a direct benefit to the community. Fewer people can visit Carpenter Valley and Frog Lake. This is a space that everyone can enjoy – locals and tourists. It’s a game changer for the town.”

GET INVOLVED

Want to help see Truckee Springs become a reality? Donate to the Truckee Donner Land Trust and inquire about naming opportunities.

ONLINE

Visit truckeedonnerlandtrust.org and donate online. Specify “Truckee Springs” to direct your gift to this specific project.

ON THE PHONE

Call the Truckee Donner Land Trust at (530) 582-4711. Learn more about the project at truckeedonnerlandtrust.org.