Donner Pass Road Conditions Today I-80 & Old Highway 40
As of 10:48 AM PT, I-80 over Donner Pass is open with no chain controls in effect (Caltrans).
No chain controls are in effect.
Updated 10:48 AM PT · source: Caltrans (report as of Monday 10:48 AM)
This page pulls the live Caltrans report for Interstate 80 over Donner Summit, the chain-control level, Caltrans cameras, Waze traffic and National Weather Service advisories onto one screen, and sorts out the difference between I-80 and Donner Pass Road, the old highway along the lake.
Donner Lake Inn is at the west end of Donner Lake, about 4 miles below the pass on the Truckee side; if chain control catches you, chains are sold and installed next door at the Donner Lake Gift Shop. Directions and winter-driving advice are in the getting-here guide.
Is I-80 over Donner Pass open right now?
The live report at the top of this page is the Caltrans status for Interstate 80 over Donner Summit: whether the pass is open, the chain-control level in each direction (none, R1, R2 or R3), and any holds, screening or wind restrictions, with the time of the last Caltrans check. It refreshes every few minutes. Always confirm with Caltrans (QuickMap or 1-800-427-7623) before you drive; conditions on the pass change faster than any page.
- All westbound trucks are required to stop at the brake check area 0.5 mi west of Nyack (Placer Co) - To reduced the risk of brake fires
Caltrans highway information and District 3 chain-control sensors, checked every five minutes.
Chain controls on Donner Pass: what R1, R2 and R3 mean
Caltrans posts three levels. R1: chains, traction devices or snow tires are required on the drive axle of all vehicles except 4WD/AWD. R2: chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles except 4WD/AWD with snow-tread tires on all four wheels, which must still carry chains. R3: chains or traction devices are required on all vehicles, no exceptions; the pass is usually closed before it gets there. Under R2 an all-wheel-drive car on all-season tires has to chain up.
- R1
Chains, traction devices or snow tires on the drive axle of all vehicles except 4WD/AWD. Trucks and anything towing must chain up.
- R2
Chains or traction devices on all vehicles except 4WD/AWD with snow-tread tires on all four wheels — and those must carry chains. The most common level on the pass.
- R3
Chains or traction devices on all vehicles, no exceptions. Caltrans usually closes the pass before it reaches R3.
How to carry, buy and fit chains, and what to pack for the drive, is in the getting-here guide and the winter travel FAQ. Staying for the storm? The Donner Summit resorts are 15 minutes up the hill — see ski lodging at the base of Donner Summit.
Caltrans cameras: I-80 Donner Pass live
Caltrans District 3 runs traffic cameras along I-80 over Donner Pass; the four below cover the summit, the Donner Lake exit, Soda Springs and Kingvale, and update about once a minute. Click any image for the Caltrans camera page, or open Caltrans QuickMap for every camera on the route.
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Donner Summit I-80 eastbound · 7,221 ft the top of the pass. Caltrans District 3. -
Donner Lake (Exit 180) I-80 westbound · 6,394 ft the inn’s exit, just below the summit grade. Caltrans District 3. -
Soda Springs I-80 eastbound · 6,692 ft the west side of the summit, by Boreal and Soda Springs. Caltrans District 3. -
Kingvale I-80 westbound · 6,128 ft where eastbound chain control usually starts. Caltrans District 3.
Images refresh about once a minute at Caltrans and every five minutes here while this tab is open. Every I-80 camera is on Caltrans QuickMap.
Donner Pass traffic right now
Eastbound I-80 is heaviest Friday afternoon and evening and on the morning of a holiday weekend; westbound stacks up Sunday afternoon into the evening, worst between Truckee and Colfax, and again late on a holiday Monday. On storm days the chain-control checkpoints add queues even when the pass is open — eastbound around Kingvale, westbound at the Donner Lake and Truckee interchanges — and Truckee’s Highway 89 and 267 junctions back up whenever the ski resorts let out. The Waze map is live; the Caltrans report above is the official word.
Donner Pass weather and wind advisories
No NWS watches, warnings or advisories are active for the Donner Summit I-80 zone or the Greater Lake Tahoe area.
Zones: NWS Sacramento, Sierra Nevada above 5,000 ft including Interstate 80; NWS Reno, Greater Lake Tahoe Area.
Wind matters as much as snow on this pass. The National Weather Service issues Wind Advisories and High Wind Warnings for the summit zones, and Caltrans separately posts high-wind advisories on I-80 over Donner Summit that recommend against travel for campers, trailers and other high-profile vehicles; when one is in effect it appears in the Caltrans details above. On Donner Lake itself an afternoon west wind builds most summer days, and NWS Reno’s Lake Wind Advisories cover it for boaters and paddlers.
Donner Pass Road (Old Highway 40): the local road, not the interstate
Donner Pass Road is not the interstate. It is the two-lane historic highway (old US 40, the Lincoln Highway alignment) that runs the length of Donner Lake’s north shore from Truckee, passes Donner Lake Inn at the west end of the lake, then climbs the switchbacks past Rainbow Bridge to Donner Pass, Sugar Bowl and Donner Ski Ranch before rejoining I-80 at Soda Springs. I-80 is the through route over the summit. Donner Pass Road is plowed in winter as the ski-area access road, but it closes in heavy storms and when I-80 shuts it is closed to through traffic rather than used as a bypass. It also closes for rockfall: a 2023 slide shut the stretch between the lake and the pass from June until Labor Day. The lake and switchback segments are maintained by the Town of Truckee and Nevada County; the county posts closures on its Road Conditions and Closures page (none listed when we last checked, September 8, 2026).
The I-80 exit for the lake is signed Donner Lake (Exit 180) and drops you onto Donner Pass Road at the west end of the lake, two minutes from the inn. The road’s history, overlooks and the Rainbow Bridge are in our Donner Summit historic corridor guide.
Truckee road conditions
Truckee’s streets, including the Donner Lake neighborhoods inside the town limits, are plowed by the Town of Truckee; arterials first, side streets after. The two state routes out of town are Caltrans roads with their own chain controls: Highway 89 south to Tahoe City and Palisades, and Highway 267 over Brockway Summit (7,179 ft) to Northstar and Kings Beach, which typically goes to chain control in the same storms as Donner. County roads outside town are Nevada County’s.
- Highway 267 over Brockway Summit (Truckee–Kings Beach): no chain controls
- Highway 89 south (Truckee–Tahoe City): no chain controls
If chain control or a closure catches you
Chains are sold and installed next door at the Donner Lake Gift Shop (15688 Donner Pass Rd), a few doors from the inn. Donner Lake Inn is at the west end of Donner Lake, about 4 miles below the pass on the Truckee side — Exit 180, one exit below the summit grade. If you’re already over the pass, or you’ve been turned around at the Truckee hold, we can usually take same-day arrivals: 5 rooms with private entrances, a gas stove in each, breakfast included, and a creekside hot tub that runs all winter.
Call and a real person answers; if we’re full we’ll tell you who nearby isn’t.
Alternate routes when I-80 closes
Most I-80 closures over Donner Pass last a few hours (spinouts, jackknifed trucks, avalanche control) and traffic is held at Colfax or Applegate westbound-side and at Truckee or Reno eastbound-side; waiting usually beats detouring. For a long closure the alternatives are US-50 over Echo Summit (7,382 ft) to South Lake Tahoe, then Highway 89 or 28 around the lake to Truckee, roughly two hours longer from Sacramento; or Highway 88 over Carson Pass (8,574 ft) to Minden, then US-395 to Reno and I-80 west into Truckee, longer still. The honest note: both usually go to chain control or close in the same storms.
Sources
Live statewide map of chain controls, closures, incidents and cameras — the definitive picture of I-80 over the pass.
The text report this page quotes, refreshed every few minutes. By phone: 1-800-427-7623.
Closures, spinouts and holds as they happen — the Truckee CHP office posts storm updates faster than anyone.
Forecast, wind advisories and winter storm warnings for Donner Lake, Truckee and the Greater Lake Tahoe zone.
Forecast for the summit itself: the Sierra Nevada above 5,000 ft zone that includes Interstate 80.
Donner Pass Road (Old 40) and other county roads: closures, rockfall and construction notices.
Roads clear? The hot tub’s hot.
Full directions and winter-driving tips are in the getting-here guide. Questions on the way up? Call — we’re here.