Hey friends, welcome back to Grand Adventure! I'm your host Marc Guido,
and this week's Grand Adventure is going to bring
you to Nevada's beautiful Washoe Lake State Park, so stay tuned!
This episode of Grand Adventure is sponsored by The Dyrt PRO!
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Folks, this Grand Adventure is going to be somewhat shorter than our typical travel episode.
The reason being, we're only here for three nights midweek
and that doesn't afford us the opportunity to get out and explore many of the sights, sounds
and history of the area, much like we normally do when we stay somewhere for a complete week.
That's really unfortunate, because this is actually the home of the Comstock Lode,
which was a huge development in the history of mining in the western United States.
In fact we're only about 30 minutes from
beautiful historical Virginia City, which we visited first a couple of years ago.
If you haven't yet seen that episode I'll put a link right here on the screen.
That way you can go back and check it out after you've watched
this episode from Washoe Lake State Park.
However, that's not to say that there's not a lot to see and do right here in the park,
and it is a beautiful facility located midway between Carson City and Reno.
Come along, we'll show you around Washoe Lake State Park.
Washoe Lake State Park makes an excellent base camp for visiting Reno,
Carson City, Virginia City and even Lake Tahoe, all 30 minutes or less away.
It's situated on nearly 3,800 acres on the south and east shores of Washoe Lake,
named for the Washoe people who would generally spend the winter
in the lowlands of the Washoe Valley and summer on the shores of Lake Tahoe.
After the discovery of silver in the Comstock Lode near Virginia City,
two silver processing mills were built in the Washoe Valley near the lake.
Washoe Lake State Park was opened in 1977.
Wildlife commonly seen here include mule deer, hawk, coyotes, and eagles.
Camping in the State Park year-round occurs on 49 sites
split between two loops set back from the lakeshore by a few hundred yards.
We're in Loop A, closest to the lake with water and electric hookups,
although like many, our site's water hydrant isn't functioning during our visit.
Sites here cost $25 per night, plus a $5 surcharge for non-Nevada vehicles.
Loop B is dry camping only, further from the lake
and with much taller sagebrush, which provides a bit more privacy.
Sites in loop B cost $15 per night, plus the $5 out-of-state surcharge for non-Nevadans.
One shower building services both loops.
A two-bay dump station is available for free for campers, and $5 for the dump station only.
Potable and rinse water are both available.
If you bring your horse, there's an equestrian area just past Camping Loop B with an arena,
corrals, horse washing station and a covered barbecue area.
Camping is permitted for both tents and RVs with large parking areas for easy horse trailer access.
For those times when no ranger is in the booth, an automated kiosk at the entrance
allows you to purchase a camping permit with a credit card 24 hours per day.
All sites are first come, first served, although all Nevada State Parks
are planning to transition to a reservation system for 2023.
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Washoe Lake's water level varies widely from year to year,
as it's only 12 feet deep at its deepest point.
In heavy drought years it may even dry up completely, as it last did in 2004.
The lake is fed by several small streams emanating from the Carson Range to the west,
as well as ephemeral streams which flow from the Virginia Range to the east.
The lake provides habitat for hundreds of migratory and resident species of birds.
Pelicans, night and great blue herons can be found on the waters of the lake.
Near the park's main entrance, and a short walk or bike ride from the campground
they've built one of the park's two boat ramps.
This is the park's main day use area right on the lakeshore,
with manicured lawns, sandy beach areas and these beautiful giant cottonwood trees for shade.
Washoe Lake is popular with windsurfers, kiteboarders
and (lake level permitting) small boat sailors.
Here at the northeast end of the lake, near the town of New Washoe City
the State Park maintains another boat ramp and day use area.
For the life of me I don't understand
why the state didn't construct the campground closer to the lakeshore.
No matter, it's only a few hundred-yard walk from our campsite to the water.
From our campsite, in the distance we've been watching wild horses traverse these dunes.
There's plenty of evidence in the mud that this is where they come to drink.
Found them!
Actually, I didn't have to hunt them down.
Had I been a little more patient I would have found this same pair
grazing on the grass a few hours later, right at the main entrance to the park.
Later still, much to our delight they found their way right to our campground.
So if you take a look at that Sierra Mountain ridge right behind me,
that's all that separates us from the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe.
And we're getting ready to pack up here, and we're going to be heading up into the Sierra Mountains
not too far from the shores of Lake Tahoe.
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