Washoe Valley treats fall visitors
by Catherine Felty, Outpost staff
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In this package
On the Web Washoe County Regional Parks
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Washoe Valley offers fall visitors more than a route to Carson City. The valley is filled with fall activities for the family, a couple or just the invidivual out for an afternoon drive. Pack up the sleeping bags for an overnight camping trip or saddle up for a trail ride. Or choose from three parks and a pumpkin patch to wander through on an autumn afternoon.
Saddle up at Old Washoe Stables
Head south of Reno for about eight miles on US 395 and drop down into Washoe Valley. Old Washoe Stables is located about one miles south on the right-hand side of the road. It's the place with all the horses in the old corral.
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Washoe Valley, just south of Reno, offers a variety of fall fun.Photo by Joe Gosen |
" We offer several different rides," said Michael Stockwell, owner of the stables. "We can accommodate the experienced and the inexperienced riders."
Take a ride up into the forested foothills of the Sierra Nevada or head for a scenic canyon where a link of the Virginia-Truckee Railroad traveled through in the 1800s.
If riders are looking to howl at the harvest moon, night time trail rides are also available.
Although the full moon for October has already passed, riders will be lit by a nearly full moon during the Halloween weekend.
Prices for rides are $25 per hour. That includes a guide and a lot of friendly horses to choose from.
For daytime rides, Old Washoe Stables are open every day, including holidays, from sunup to sundown. For for information on night rides or for reservations, call 849-1627.
Pumpkins, pickles and fudge whet appetites
Some horseback riders may have worked up an appetite on trail. To fill a sweet tooth, stop off down the road at Nevada Lynn Emporium and Pumpkin Patch or the Chocolate Nugget Factory. Both are located just south of the stables on Highway 395, and both offer fudge and candies. The Chocolate Nugget has delicious ice cream bars, too. Or try a cappuccino, a homemade pie or a pickle at the Emporium.
Also at the Emporium, the Pumpkin Patch is in full swing. Children and adults can wander through the bales of hay and have their pictures made with 'ol' timers' stuffed with hay. And with pumpkins ranging in size from a few inches to several feet in diameter, the right size pumpkin for your jack-o-lantern is waiting -- providing you can carry it home.
Davis Creek Park boasts trout and trails
About one mile south of the Chocolate Nugget Factory in Washoe Valley is a large dome on the right-hand side of US 395. On the left is an old turn-of-the-century home, once part of the old Winters Ranch. Turn right at the dome onto State Route 429.
For those curious about the dome, some passers-by may catch a glimpse of the Nevada Department of Transportation using it to store the sand used on the roads during the winter.
Follow the signs for about a mile and turn right to Davis Creek Park, which is operated by the Washoe County Parks and Recreation Department.
The park, which has day-use and camping facilities, is open year around.
Davis Creek Park opened to the public in 1968. It was originally the Winters Ranch and was known for its thoroughbred horses. Because it was a private ranch, many of the trees, particularly those around the pond, survived the heavy logging of the 1800s.
Check out the hiking trails. The half-mile long Nature Trail circles around the 3-acre pond. The Discovery Trail is a mile and a half and encompasses the park. For a longer hike, the six-mile Ophir Creek Trail takes you up to Price Lake and Tahoe Meadows.
Those visitors with a fishing pole and a Nevada fishing license may want to try their luck in the pond. Washoe County Park ranger Jerry Buzzard, whose office is located down the road at Bowers Mansion Regional Park, said it may be worth the time.
"The pond at Davis Creek has been planted with rainbow trout," Buzzard said. "And right now the fishing is very good."
If the pond happens to freeze over before there's time to fish, just bring ice skates. The pond, whose ice was once transported to homes and mines in Virginia City, now provides winter skating at the park.
Of course, visitors can just hang and watch the squirrels stock up for winter or picnic at one of the tables around the pond.
The park also has 63 campsites, only two of which were taken on a recent weekday trip. But you still have to share the space with the squirrels and magpies.
There are flush toilets as well as hot showers that can warm campers up on a chilly autumn morning.
Camping fees are $11 per day for non-Washoe County residents, $10 for residents. Additional vehicles are $5 each, and pets are $1 each per day.
Visit the Comstock's past at Bowers Mansion Regional Park
Bowers Mansion, built by L.S. 'Sandy' Bowers and his wife Eilley Orrum in the 1860s, is located about a half-mile south of Davis Creek Park on State Route 429 on the west side of Washoe Valley.
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Bowers Mansion provides a glimpse into history. Photo by Joe Gosen |
Lots of autumn colors surround the park, including both native and planted trees and yellow scotch broom, many of which were planted originally by the Bowers, Buzzard said.
"Mrs. Bowers did the landscaping," he said. "She was Irish, and legend has it that she planted scotch broom." The yellow bushes now grow wild over the hillside behind the mansion.
Civil War soldiers invade mansion for a day
For a glimpse into history, check out Bowers Park on Saturday, Oct. 24, when the Nevada Civil War Volunteers, dressed in period costumes, will lead tours through the mansion. An Abraham Lincoln look-alike will greet visitors, and women in period attire will work on crafts and display baked goods.
If you can't make Civil War Day, you can still check out the mansion before it closes for the winter on Oct. 31. The house provides an excellent opportunity to take a peek into the history and opulent wealth of the 1800s Comstock Lode.
The mansion, which cost about $200,000 to build and furnish, was finished in 1864. The Bowers made their money early in the history of the mining district. But according to the park brochure, their mine ran out a few years later. Sandy died in 1868. Eilley, a widow with no income, added a third floor to the mansion to accommodate guests and turned the mansion into the Bowers Mansion Hotel and Resort.
But after the death of her daughter and her inability to pay creditors, Eilley lost the house in 1876 at public auction. After supporting herself as a psychic, she died in 1903.
Winter hours for the park are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For information or to arrange private group tours, call the mansion at 702-849-0201 or the park ranger office at 702-849-1825
Washoe Lake State Park is for the birds
Washoe Lake State Park is located on the southern end of Washoe Lake in Washoe Valley.
To reach the park from Bowers Mansion, follow State Route 429 south past the homes and ranches until it loops back to US 395. Pass under 395. Then go straight to reach Washoe Lake State Park.
For a more scenic drive between Bowers Mansion and Washoe Lake State Park, take the Franktown Road loop. The tree-lined road, which hugs the eastern Sierra Nevadas, turns right off State Route 429 a few miles past the mansion. Follow the signs. The road loops past ranches and stables before hooking back up with State Route 429.
Franktown Road and State Road 429 are popular bicycle routes for people wanting to enjoy the colors of the autumn leaves, Buzzard said.
Trees displaying spectacular fall foliage include cottonwood, aspen and white popular.
Washoe Lake State Park, open all year, has 49 campsites and spaces for recreational vehicles up to 45 feet in length. The campground has flush toilets and showers.
There are picnic sites with barbecues, both on and off the water, and for those wishing to take to the water, there is also a boat launch.
The park contains wetlands, sagebrush and sand dunes. The dunes, located on the eastern shore of the lake, were formed during dry years when the wind blew sand across the dry lakebed. Signs ask visitors not to disturb the plants growing on the dunes because, without the vegetation, the dunes would literally blow away.
The park's environment provides foliage and nesting habitats for many species, making the park a popular bird-watching area. Wetland viewing areas provide visitors with the chance to see hundreds of resident migratory and resident birds. The Scripps Wildlife Management Area also is located at the lake.
Spring is the best viewing time, Buzzard said. But many feathered visitors come to the lake in the fall as well. Bald eagles that usually arrive in December. But now that fall is here, be on the lookout for hunters because duck season is now open.
Spring offers the best viewing, but Buzzard said many feathered visitors stop by the lake in the fall, including bald eagles that usually arrive in December. But fall also brings duck hunting season, so be on the lookout for hunters.
Other resident and migratory species that you may see include hawks, pelicans, great blue herons white ibis, blue birds red wing black birds, magpies, rufous sided towhees and killdeer. On a stroll around the park, you could also encounter deer, coyotes and rabbits.
Day use fees are $3 per vehicle and $1 per bicycle or per person walking into the park. An annual pass, good only for Washoe Lake, is $30 per year. Camping is $10, and boat launching is $5.
Posted Oct. 16, 1998
Copyright 1998 Nevada Outpost
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