Washoe Lake State Park

Last weekend we were looking for things to do and saw that there was an event that would allow us to get into Washoe Lake State Park without having to pay the normal Day Use Fees. We're all about cheap/free family fun, so we piled in the car and headed that direction.  We were not disappointed!

The Celebrate Washoe Valley event was at the Group Use Pavilion. This part of the park has a nice covered pavilion with picnic tables underneath and restrooms nearby. There is even a working drinking fountain nearby. All this is situated with a great view out over the lake.
After we'd seen all there was to see at the Group Use Pavilion we decided to drive around and see what else the park had to offer. There are lots of picnic areas available. There were lots of great shade trees above and green grass below, with picnic tables and grills available. The picnic area has a centrally located restroom.
Since we'd already eaten lunch we didn't get out at the picnic areas, but we did decide we had to stop and take a closer look when we saw a sign for a maze and a frisbee golf course. We didn't have time to play through the frisbee golf course, because we spent so much time enjoying the maze!

This state park doesn't have a traditional children's play structure, but our kids LOVED the Miner Mayhem Maze! With lots of fun obstacles to challenge your littles, you can spend quite a bit of time here! Our kids (ages 2-6) all enjoyed playing here.

 We had so much fun here, we decided to leave a little something behind for others who might come along behind us. This location had the honor of becoming home to the first (of what I hope will be many) of our painted rocks. We left it behind for others to find and enjoy. Whether someone takes it home to love, or re-hides it for others to find, we hope it put a smile on someone's face!

 When the kids seemed to be getting tired of the maze we decided to head down the nearby path to the beach. The path was about 1000 feet long, and easy enough that even our two-year-old could handle it. I do not think a stroller would make it though.

As the trail approaches the beach it skirts around a sand dune made of fairly fine sand, perfect for making sand castles. Once you get to the water's edge the sand is quite coarse. Not great for sandcastles, but nice that it doesn't stick everywhere. :)  We hadn't brought any extra clothes, so we didn't get in the water past our ankles. It looked like it got fairly deep pretty quickly though, so if your littles aren't strong swimmers you'll want to keep a good eye on them. ***We have been told since our visit here that with all the livestock upstream and the shallow water conditions it's not a great idea to swim in this lake. Good thing we didn't get in very deep.

One last thing to keep in mind; if you think there's a chance you will be visiting several state parks you might want to check out their Passport Program. Once you have visited 15 different state parks (and had your passport stamped at each), you can turn it in and receive a FREE annual pass (not sure which of the different annual passes this is, but they normally cost in the range of $75-$200). We made sure to pick one up while we were there and get our stamp! There are about 10 state parks within a few hours of here, so we can almost get enough to fill up our book without ever leaving the area.

Essential Details:
Washoe Lake State Park
4855 Eastlake Blvd, New Washoe City, NV 89704
Website
Day Use/Entrance Fee: $5