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Big Blue Adventure
Donner Lake Alpine Swim event badge

26 Jul 2026 · Open water swimming

Donner Lake Alpine Swim

Donner Lake, Truckee, CA

Warmer than Tahoe, still unmistakably alpine. The friendliest water of the swim series.

Distances
2 miles · 1 mile
Where
Donner Lake, Truckee, CA
Water temp
~68°F

What race day looks like

Donner Lake Alpine Swim runs at Donner Lake, Truckee, CA, and like everything we put on, it is built to be genuinely hard and genuinely welcoming at the same time. The front of the field will race it. Everybody else will finish it, and get the same welcome at the line.

The water sits around 68°F, which is wetsuit-legal and colder than most people expect on a warm morning. Get your face in the water before the gun. We run full kayak and personal-watercraft cover with certified divers on the course for the entire swim.

Aid stations are stocked and staffed by volunteers who will know your name by the second lap. There is food, a raffle and a cold one from Alibi Ale Works at the finish, and the whole thing runs under permit on public land we intend to leave exactly as we found it.

Entries and questions

Registration for the 2026 season is handled by the office. Call 530-546-1019 or send us a message and someone who has actually marked this course will answer.