This dataset consists of three turbidite sandstone samples that were analyzed for U-Pb detrital zircon ages. The dataset accompanies the publication "An empirical test of Maximum Depositional Age through paired LA-ICP-MS and CA-ID-TIMS detrital zircon analysis: implications for the "Nevadan orogeny" in the Sierra Nevada foothills, California, U.S.A.", as well as planned future publications in this region. U-Pb detrital zircon data were used for this study to generate maximum depositional ages (MDAs) based on current established practices to be compared to CA-ID-TIMS dates collected from the same samples. The geochronology data collected from these samples provides an example of the potential for sub-million-year resolution of contemporaneous igneous and sedimentary systems during deformation and clarifies the timing of regional deformation that defines the local "Nevadan orogeny".