Kit Carson Blue Line Trail - Carson City

As we explore around town, we've collected a huge pile of brochures, magazines, maps, etc about all the fun things to do around Carson City. Saturday we found ourselves with a day to fill and no idea what to do. We dug through our pile of information and found a guide for the Carson City Kit Carson Blue Line Trail and decided; why not? What better way to get to know our new home and its history than with a self-guided tour of the most historic area of the city?! And it's free, so there's nothing to lose!

We picked up the trail guide, complete with a brief history of 35 different historic buildings, at the Chamber of Commerce near the Railroad museum. You can also access the map here. The map on the website actually shows a more direct route through the neighborhood which, at least to me, seemed to make more sense than the one in the printed brochure. The only catch is that the website doesn't have all the details about each stop along the way.

The whole family (except me behind the camera) at the US Mint/NV State Museum.

 The trail starts at the Nevada State Museum (which we plan to visit soon!), and winds its way through the most historic areas of town. You wander past beautiful Arts and Crafts style homes, Victorian Style Mansions, some of the oldest churches in the whole state, and more.

US Mint/NV State Museum

 For the most part the blue line is clearly marked and follows level sidewalks. It would be easy to bring a stroller or wheel chair along this route. There was at least one place where the path seemed to cross over a gravel walkway where there was no sidewalk, but maybe we just got a little off course. The path tends to criss-cross over itself so having the map/guide in hand was good.

 In addition to the sites marked on the guide, there are lots of little gems to keep your eyes open for. Fun little shops, pretty flowers, and of fun art like the trees in the picture below. The kids weren't too interested in looking at a bunch of old buildings, so we tried to keep our eyes out for anything like this that would catch their interest. Was it their favorite way to spend a day? Probably not. Did we still have a fun walk together as a family? YES!

 I do have to say that while this is a very easy walk, it is fairly long for littles, as it is roughly 2.5 miles. Luckily there were lots of nice shade trees to rest under as we went, like this one outside the Governor's Mansion.

 We hid 3 of our painted rocks along the trail, so as you go keep your eyes open for them! There is a picture of each one's hiding place in this blog post if you look closely. :)

St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Church

Essential Details:
Kit Carson Blue Line Trail
Trail can be accessed from anywhere, but the recommended start point is the Nevada State Museum located at:
600 N Carson St, Carson City, NV 89701
Website
No amenities, but there are a few little shops along the route where one could probably find a restroom or a drink of water.