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Bowers Mansion Regional Park
Located on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, the park boasts views of the Washoe Valley. The historic Bowers Mansion offers a glimpse into Nevada life during the 1860s. The mansion was built in 1864 by Comstock millionaires L.S. “Sandy” Bowers and his wife, Allison Oram. Their story reflects the rags-to-riches to-rags tales so commonly associated with Nevada’s first silver boom. Features beautiful picnic facilities, playground areas
Carson City
Nevada’s state capital, Carson City, is nestled in the northwestern part of the state only a short drive from Lake Tahoe and Reno. Built on mining, logging and the railroad, the city is named after frontiersman Christopher “Kit” Carson, who scouted the area for John C. Fremont in the mid-1840s. It sits at 4,687 feet above sea level, in a protected valley surrounded on all sides by mountains featuring the dramatic peaks of the Sierra Nevada to the west and south.
Genoa
Genoa, pronounced “ju-NO-ah,” is nestled on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada in Carson Valley. Established in 1851 by Mormon traders, it was called Mormon Station until 1855 when, as legend has it, Judge Orson Hyde named the burgeoning town after Genoa, Italy, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus. Home to only 250 people, Genoa offers visitors a quaint town with historical charm. You can spend the day shopping at Genoa Square, where you’ll find unique gifts, old-fashioned candy and freshly ground coffee, or have a picnic at Mormon Station State Historic Park. On a warm day, you can grab a cool drink at the Genoa Bar, Nevada’s oldest saloon. Be sure to visit Genoa’s historic buildings: Genoa Town Hall, Genoa Community Church and Genoa Courthouse Museum.
Kingsbury Grade (aka Daggett Summit)
Dagget Pass Trail, named for C.D. Dagget, who acquired land at its foot in 1854, was earlier called Georgetown Trail. Replaced in 1860 by the wagon road built by Kingsbury and McDonald, for which they received a Territorial Franchise in 1861, it shortened the distance between Sacramento and Virginia City by 15 miles. The road cost $585,000. Toll receipts were $190,000 in 1863. Heavy eastward travel occurred in 1860 to 1868. The toll for a wagon and four horses was $17.50 round trip from Shingle Springs, California, to Henry Van Sickle’s station near the foot of the grade. Van Sickle, who helped finance the road, eventually acquired it and sold it to Douglas County in 1889 for $1000. Horse-drawn water carts sprinkled summer dust, and sleds packed winter snow, providing a year- round hard-surfaced road. Pony Express and the line of the Humboldt & Salt Lake Telegraph Company followed Kingsbury Grade.
Lake Tahoe
The jewel of Nevada. The largest alpine lake in the United States, Lake Tahoe is 22 by 12 miles of crystal clear water and 72 miles of pristine shoreline. It sits at 6,255 feet above sea level and is the second deepest lake in the United States and the tenth deepest in the world. Download the Nevada State Parks Brochure or the Nevada Scenic Byways Guide here to learn more about the trails and shoreline drive at Lake Tahoe.
Spooner Summit
Johnson’s Cutoff, also called the Carson Ridge Emigrant Road, passed over Spooner Summit and down Clear Creek from 1852 through 1854, but was rugged and little used. With discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859, Spooner Summit became a focal point on the most heavily traveled branch of the bonanza road system linking Placerville, California, and the new towns east of the Sierra Nevada.
