Getting Out (and About) While the Getting's Good

Last week just might have been the last gasp of summer. When I look at the weather forecast, it feels like when you're driving back north from Las Vegas on Route 95 and you're coming up the hill toward Goldfield and the speed limit is 75 miles an hour and then suddenly it isn't, suddenly they drop the limit to 45 and you spot the county patrol car up ahead and you try to slow down without being too obvious about it and slamming on your brakes but it's too late and you end up with a speeding ticket anyway. My point being, I feel as if the weather all of a sudden realized it's NOVEMBER and did a big course-correction with the temperature. So here's a few area parks that maybe have gone under your radar for a while and might be good places to go for a little outdoor recreating before the calendar flips the page and, before you know it, we're knee-deep in December. Photo at right: Pixabay, Martin Holzer.

Given that this week marks Veteran’s Day, it seems fitting to start out at the Korean War Veterans Memorial Park. It’s tucked away out on the end of Fifth Street, east of Fairview Drive and the Eagle Valley Middle School. It’s a small and tasteful memorial with benches and some landscaping. Spreading out behind it, all the way to the Carson River, is Riverview Park. This is more than 100 acres of green space, enough elbow room to get out and enjoy nature. And bring along your favorite canine friend, because dogs can run off-leash here. Speaking of off-leash dogs, you can check out the dog park over on the other side of town near Fuji Park. Long ago, Fuji itself was a place where dogs ran free, but these days there is a specific dog park located for them at the back of the Fuji facility. You can still have your dog in the grassy and open 14-acre public park, but they need to be on a leash. Photo at right: Pixabay, Stephen Hunt.

For the feeling of getting away from it all, you can always take a quick drive north to Washoe Lake State Park. Located off Eastlake Boulevard on the south end of Washoe Lake, it takes only a few minutes to get there from Carson City. It’s classified as a year-round recreation area, but with the temperature dropping, you might want to try for a day when the wind dies down a bit. With the right timing, this place qualifies as one of those hidden gems the travel guides are always talking about. The park allows for birding, fishing, horseback riding and hiking as well as water-oriented activities. Photo at left: Wikimedia Commons, Rick Cooper.

Looking south to the Carson Valley, consider the Genoa Town Park. It seems that when it comes to Genoa, it’s the Mormon Station State Park that always gets all the attention. Granted, the town park doesn’t consist of much more than a nice grassy area, a couple of picnic tables and a small playground for the kids, but it’s nice and clean and low-key, a perfect spot to relax and soak it all in. If you haven’t been here before, it’s technically on Genoa Street, but you’ll want to take Nixon (the continuation of Genoa Lane) off of Main Street to get to the entrance. 

And finally, one of my favorites is Lampe Park on Waterloo in Gardnerville. This one isn't really under the radar, but I wanted to include it anyway. It’s such a family-friendly facility with such a wide range of amenities, it’s no wonder it’s a hub for so many of the valley’s activities. In addition to several ball fields and courts, Willow Creek runs through it and makes for some fun duck and geese watching. They also claim to have the largest playground structure in Northern Nevada, but I’d have to see some hard data showing how it fares against the one in the park at Elko before I’d be convinced. Photo at right: Facebook, Lampe Park.

So there’s a selection of parks you can sample before the snow flies. Not that they won’t still be there in the wintertime, but at least right now you can enjoy them without bundling up like the little brother in Jean Shepherd’s A Christmas Story, right?