Davis Creek Regional Park - Washoe Valley

Early this springs we made our first visit up to Davis Creek Regional Park in Washoe Valley and fell in love with it! Have you been here yet?

Long Ranch Park - Carson City

Carson City has so many great parks! Long Ranch Park is one of the really good ones! Tucked back in Kings Canyon, this park feels a little out of the way, but it's really only a few minutes away from downtown Carson City. 

Mills Park (East Side) - Carson City

I think most people know about Mills Park here in Carson City. It's huge! It's full of beautiful green lawns, big shade trees, and a meandering stream. Some of the biggest events of the year are hosted here.
Even so, I think this park is SO big that some of us (ME!) don't even know everything it has to offer! Did you know it has 2 playgrounds? A skate park? A mini railroad (that you can actually ride)? I have to admit I didn't until we'd been here in town for almost a whole year. Check out my first post about this park and you'll see I missed a few things! And things have changed a little bit since then too!

Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park - Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest

If you're looking for a way to get away from the craziness of life right now and experience something new, you can't get much farther away than this! This state park is jam packed with really interesting things to see and do, as long as you're willing to drive out of your way to get there. 

Nevada Beach - Lake Tahoe

 Nevada Beach was the first Tahoe beach we visited as a family, and we've been back many times since. If you want to enjoy a day at the lake this might be just the place for you! You certainly can't beat the view!

Splash Pad - Minden Park - Minden

The Minden Splash Pad has been one of our favorite hang-out spots this summer! It's new this year, so we were excited to check it out and we weren't disappointed!

East Brockliss Loop - River Fork Ranch - Genoa

We've been so excited to get outside as the weather will let us this Spring. We had a nice sunshiny day and nothing to do, so we decided to head down to the River Fork Ranch and explore the Brockliss Loop.

Carson River Park - Carson City

I was looking back through some pictures and realized that somehow our trip to the Carson River Park back in the Autumn never made it here on the blog. I'm not really sure how that happened, but I'm here today to get that fixed because this a great place to take your family!

Jake's Wetland - Minden

The other day we were leaving the library in Minden and decided to explore a little bit. We picked a random street and decided to see where it went. After a little while we stumbled across Jake's Wetland and Wildlife Meadow and just couldn't pass it by without stopping for a look. I'm so glad we did, because this place is neat! 

The Discovery - Reno

I've been hearing people talk about Reno's Discovery Museum since shortly after we moved here, and we've been anxious to find a time to visit. Then, our kids got a Family Membership for Christmas and suddenly this visit jumped to the top of our To Do list. We had been warned that the place was SO big that you could easily lose a child in there in the blink of an eye, so we were surprised when the museum didn't seem too huge from the outside. BUT, as soon as we walked inside, we were reminded never to judge a book (or museum) by its cover!

Fallen Leaf Lake - Lake Tahoe Basin

We have a new favorite place to go when we head up the mountain towards Tahoe. It's beautiful, easy to get to, and the parking is free. What more could you ask for?!

Eagle Lake - Desolation Wilderness

When I asked around on various local Facebook pages for kid-friendly hiking suggestions, the trail to Eagle Lake got mentioned more than once. I did a quick google search and immediately knew this one needed to go on our to-do list! It took us two tries to actually do this hike due to the high levels of traffic in the area, but we're so glad we didn't give up! Luckily, while Emerald Bay drives a lot of traffic to that stretch of road, the actual hiking trail up to the lake is comparatively empty. 

Rainbow Trail - Taylor Creek Visitor Center - South Lake Tahoe

During the week of Labor Day our family made a couple of trips up the hill to the Tahoe area to do some exploring. Some of the places we visited were planned, and some of them we ended up visiting as a back-up when our original plans didn't work out. The Forest Service Visitor Center at Taylor Creek was one of those happy accidents. We had a lot of fun here, and will probably go back again to finish seeing all there is to offer. 

Ross Gold Park - Carson City

After weeks of smoke keeping us inside, we finally had a day that had fairly clear air so we decided to go explore a new park and have some fun. This little park looked promising, so we stopped by for a bit. It wasn't quite as fun as some of the others we've visited around town, but the duck pond is fun!

Sand Harbor - Lake Tahoe State Park

We went up the mountain to Tahoe a few times in the late Spring/early Summer right after we moved here, but we've been avoiding it all summer. Why? Because we just don't do crowds. I don't want to fight for a parking spot, then fight for a spot on the beach, and have to spend my whole day trying to keep track of my kids among tons of people. Recently though we learned the trick to enjoying Tahoe, even during the busy summer months. I'm sad we didn't learn this sooner, but at least we'll know for next year!

Water Fun at Mills Park - Carson City

Are your kids driving you up the walls with their boredom? Are you looking for a free, fun way to pass a lazy summer afternoon? Do your kids love to splash in water more than life itself? I answered yes to all those questions, and if you did too than I might have just the thing for you! The creek in Mills Park! 

Kings Canyon Waterfall Trail - Carson City

I often heard people talk about this little hike just outside of Carson City, but I hadn't been there yet. Finally, this last weekend we went for it. It was fun to get out of the house for a hike without having to drive more than a few minutes up the road from town. We really loved this hike, and thought it was an especially good trail for teaching beginning hikers to love this kind of experience. 

Splash Fountain - Bob McFadden Plaza

We recently discovered that Carson City has a splash pad of sorts, and we wasted no time going to check it out! It's nothing fancy, but it's still plenty of fun!