2 Epic Half-Day Detours: Historic Donner Pass (Rainbow Bridge) & 1859 Boomtown Virginia City

Whether you are driving to Lake Tahoe from Sacramento/San Francisco along Interstate 80 or flying in and out of Reno-Tahoe Airport, two of the most historic places in the American West sit just 20 to 40 minutes outside the lake basin, making effortless half-day excursions.

1. West of Truckee: 'Donner Pass', 'Rainbow Bridge' & 'Donner Memorial State Park'.

Instead of speeding past Truckee on modern Interstate 80, take the exit at the west end of Donner Lake onto scenic two-lane Old U.S. Highway 40:

• Stop 1, Donner Memorial State Park & The Pioneer Monument: situated at the eastern end of sparkling Donner Lake, where the ill-fated 1846 to 1847 Donner Party wagon train was trapped by early November blizzards. Notice the 22-foot-tall stone pedestal of the 1918 Pioneer Monument: its height marks the exact 22-foot depth of the snowpack in the winter of 1846 to 1847. Step inside the modern Visitor Center Museum and walk the 10-minute flat trail to the massive Murphy Cabin boulder.
• Stop 2, Climb Old Highway 40 to the 'Rainbow Bridge Overlook' & 1866 'China Wall / Train Tunnels': drive 4 miles up the dramatic granite hairpins of Old Highway 40 to the free stone turnout just above the 1926 Donner Summit Bridge, which frames the concrete arch bridge against the entire length of Donner Lake below.

2. East of Lake Tahoe in Nevada: The 1859 Silver Boomtown of 'Virginia City'.

Following the 1859 discovery of the Comstock Lode, the richest silver and gold deposit in American history, which yielded standard fare million , funded the Union during the Civil War, built San Francisco and launched the career of a young newspaper reporter named Mark Twain., Virginia City, Nevada grew to 25,000 people. Today, walking down its half-mile main street (C Street) on original 1870s wooden plank boardwalks feels like stepping straight into Bonanza: step inside the 1870 Bucket of Blood Saloon, take a 35-minute ride on the historic 1869 Virginia & Truckee Steam Train through the gold mines, and tour an underground silver drift at the Chollar or Ponderosa Mine.