About the Lodge

The mountain lodge was built in 1947 by volunteer members from the San Francisco and Oakland branches. The lodge is named after the founder of the San Francisco Nature Friends, William Heidelmann, who was the inspiration behind the new lodge after the club’s previous lodge that was built in 1931 on the same location, Sierra Haus, burned down in 1943.

Activities

In summer, there is easy access to Donner Lake, Donner Summit, Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and Reno where members and their guests can hike, swim, rock climb, raft, boat, play volley ball, and enjoy other activities.

In winter, members can enjoy downhill and cross-country skiing, tubing, sledding at Donner Ski Ranch, skiing at Royal Gorge, Soda Springs, and Sugar Bowl. A short drive gives access to Alpine Meadows, Boreal, Northstar, and Squaw Valley.

Members organize activities through the year that are published in the Nature Friends’ Bulletin. These events include New Year’s Eve, Presidents’ Weekend, Ski Races, and Summit Fest.

Accomodations

The lodge has sleeping accommodations for 100 people. There are two large single-gender dorms, with showers and restrooms on the second floor. The first floor offers a large living room with a piano and a wood-burning stove, a large dining room-kitchen, a small library, and a warming room. The large basement has a cold storage room, with refrigerators and a large freezer. There are cubbies for storing dry food items, as well as lockers that are for members only. Accommodations are on a first-come, first-served basis. Some weekends are for members only. You must bring your own sleeping bag, pillowcases, and toiletries. Indoor activities include games, table tennis, video, dances, music, reading, cooking, and more!

For years [after the first lodge was built in 1931] the Nature Friends who wanted to go downhill skiing had to climb up to the peak behind the lodge in order to ski down. Ski lifts were coming into being however…and the Nature Friends and the Sierra Club wanted to join in. They ordered a modern rope tow from San Francisco and had it shipped up to the summit on the Lincoln Highway. There it was unloaded and hauled up the hill over the tracks, past the lodges to the the ski hill about a quarter mile farther on.

Donner Summit Historical Society Newsletter, September 2011 #3