Spooner Lake & Backcountry State Park
Photos by Kyler Klix/Nevada Appeal
Nevada State Parks are there for everyone. They are important because they protect our natural resources and the beauty of Nevada. There are 27 state parks in Nevada and 12 of them are within a three-hour drive of Carson City.
The State Parks motto is that they have “A State Park for Every Adventure” in Nevada.
“Most of our parks are diverse enough to be doing any outdoor activity that you really love,” said Tyler Kerver, education and information officer for Nevada State Parks.
For example, Walker River State Recreation Area is open to hunting, disc golf, camping, fishing, outdoor motorsports and anything you can think of at Walker River, Kerver said.
Near Tahoe, Spooner Lake is good for backpacking, hiking, snowsports then Sand Harbor is down the road for swimming in Lake Tahoe’s crystal-clear waters or boating.
For the history buffs, there are some historic sites such as Fort Churchill.
Each park has varying accommodations and fees, so be sure to check out the specific place you’re traveling too for all the details and rules. Not all parks offer camping, but many do.
PROTECTING RESOURCES
The importance of the state parks is to protect natural resources and the beauty of Nevada. These habitats are left untouched, and they are created to help wildlife and plants thrive.
An example of this recently was in March 2024 when Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources allocated 160 acres of vital habitat in White Pine County for the Monte Neva paintbrush, which is a critically imperiled Nevada species.
The future of state parks is always changing as they try to protect more land and as habitats change. The state is always looking to add more land to state parks and even has set goals to acquire more.
“We are always looking to add more,” Kerver said. “We have 27 state parks, and we have to get to 30 within the next five years. It’s a goal.”
He said the state has funds and ability to purchase lands, and certain areas are more fitting to become a state park if it has the right criteria. Some land is also donated by the owners. One of the newer state parks created, Walker River, was a historic ranch that was donated to the state.
FAVORITES
Everyone might have a favorite state park for different reasons, and Kerver shared that his favorite is Cathedral Gorge State Park in Lincoln County.
“There’s a lot of cool rock formations out of soft clay, a lot of pillars and stuff,” he said.
He said you can hike through these slots that were created by volcanic ash and erosion.
“I could spend two hours just doing slots,” he said. “You could spend a whole weekend crawling through caves and holes.”
He also enjoys the newest park, Ice Age Fossils, which is about 315 acres in the upper portion of the Las Vegas Wash. It’s both paleontological and historical, where you walk along the trail and see fossils coming out of the dirt.
“That’s really cool,” he said. “It was the site known as the ‘Big Dig,’ where they dug up mammoth fossils, camel locks and dire wolves and giant sloths.”
THE PARKS
Here’s a list of 12 state parks within a 3-hour driving distance of Carson City. They are listed by distance, with the first ones being closest to central Carson City. Each park offers different amenities and different entry fees depending on their use. Information taken from parks.nv.gov.
WASHOE LAKE STATE PARK — 4855 Eastlake Blvd., Carson City
Located in Washoe Valley along the east side of Washoe Lake, this park offers hiking, camping, picnicking, water sports, hunting and equestrian activities. The area is known for the vast views of the Sierra Nevada to the west and the Virginia Range to the east. It’s a popular spot for birdwatching too especially because of the wetlands. This park is open year-round and entrance fee is $5 for Nevada residents.
MORMON STATION STATE HISTORIC PARK — 2295 Main St, Genoa
Mormon Station isn’t a very large park, but it will interest history buffs. The site in Genoa was the first permanent non-native settlement built in 1851. It was a trading post providing supplies to travelers along the California Trail. The site now has a lawn with picnic tables, a group pavilion and a reconstructed version of the trading post (the original burned down in 1910) that also serves as the museum ($1 entrance fee). There’s a 0.5-mile path in the park with interpretive signs that tell the story of Genoa. The park is open year-round with free admission. Museum hours vary.
DAYTON STATE PARK — 825 US Hwy 50 East, Dayton
The state park in Dayton offers a mix of history and nature in about 160 acres of cottonwoods, sage, rabbitbrush and willows. The park offers camping, fishing, hiking, geocaching, picnic areas and a large group area. On the west side of the highway, the park includes the remains of Rock Point Mill built in 1861. On the east side of U.S. 50, the park sprawls along the Carson River. The park was a traditional meeting place and fishing camp for the Paiute Tribe. The park is open sunrise to sunset every day of the year and has a $5 day-use fee for Nevada vehicles.
SPOONER & BACKCOUNTRY STATE PARK — 1 NV-28. Incline Village, NV 89452
Spooner Backcountry and Spooner Lake is a vast area with more than 12,000 acres, making it about the second largest state park in Nevada. With such a large area, it offers quite a bit with hiking, fishing, primitive camping, cabin rentals, hunting, equestrian use, mountain biking, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
The landscape at Spooner is kept very primitive. There are multiple trails here and this place is a portal to more than 60 miles of paths and trails.
This park is open sunrise to sunset every day of the year and has a $10 day-use fee for Nevada vehicles.
CAVE ROCK STATE PARK — Hwy 50, Lake Tahoe, NV
This is a small state park on the east side of the Lake Tahoe that primarily serves as a boat launch to the lake. There’s a small, sandy beach area on the south part where people can swim, but otherwise most of the area is a parking lot for more than 40 spaces for trailer parking. From here you can launch your boat, kayak, canoe or standup paddleboard. Fishing is allowed and there’s also a small picnic area. The park is open sunrise to sunset every day of the year and the boat launch hours vary by season. There is a $10 day-use fee for Nevada vehicles.
Cave Rock State ParkSAND HARBOR STATE PARK — 2005 NV-28, Incline Village, NV
Sand Harbor State Park is the most popular state park in Nevada, having more than 1.2 million visitors in 2023. It has much to offer with a large, sandy beachline, a boat launch and amazing views of the west. The crystal-clear waters among the rocks and trees of the park are very picturesque and is a favorite for photographers.
Due to the park’s popularity, a reservation will be required for those wanting to visit on weekends and holidays during the busy months. There is a $10 day-use entrance fee for Nevada vehicles.
VAN SICKLE BI-STATE PARK — 30 Lake Pkwy, South Lake Tahoe, CA
This park located in Stateline is considered one of the most accessible parks in the Tahoe Basin. The 542 acres that were donated to the state in 1988 keeps some of Tahoe wild for everyone with stunning views of Lake Tahoe. This park offers biking, hiking, equestrian use, birdwatching and a historic site. Picnic tables are dispersed throughout the park. The park functions as an access to the Tahoe backcountry and many more trails.
The park is open to pedestrians year-round, sunrise to sunset, and there are no fees to visit Van Sickle State Park.
FORT CHURCHILL STATE HISTORIC PARK — 10000 Hwy 95A, Silver Springs
This is a historic site with ruins from 1860. Fort Churchill was built to protect early settlers and guard the Pony Express and telegraph lines. There are trails along the ruins and the park goes along the Carson River and historic Buckland Station is a short distance down the road. At Fort Churchill you can go camping, hiking, fishing, bird watching, and canoeing (and a small section allows hunting). You can canoe from Fort Churchill to Lahontan Reservoir if conditions allow.
LAHONTAN STATE RECREATION AREA — 16799 Lahontan Dam Road
The man-made reservoir at Lahontan offers 69 miles of shoreline and it’s a popular destination for boating, fishing, water-skiing, horseback riding and camping year-round. There’s sandy shoreline and It’s a popular place to see wildlife and waterfowl including a nesting site for bald eagles. The area is open year-round and costs $5 for Nevada vehicles.
Lahontan Reservoir Recreation Area WALKER RIVER STATE RECREATION AREA — 211 East Walker Road, Yerington
Walker River State Recreation Area is one of the newer state parks due to the donation by the Walker Basin Conservancy. The donation included more than 12,000 acres of land and nearly 30 miles of the East Walker River to increase public access and conserve natural resources. Here you can enjoy biking, birdwatching, camping, watersports, picnicking, equestrian use, fishing, hiking, and hunting.
The area is open year-round and costs $5 for Nevada vehicles.
RYE PATCH STATE RECREATION AREA — 2505 Rye Patch Reservoir Road, Lovelock
Rye Patch is more remote and on a 22-mile-long reservoir that has 72 miles of shoreline and 11,000 acres of water surface when full. It’s located in a trench cut by the Humboldt River and has vegetation consistent with what’s found throughout the Great Basin. Visitors can enjoy camping, picnicking swimming, fishing, hiking, biking, watersports, equestrian use and a boat launch. The area also serves as a base for off-roading, exploring gold towns and gold prospecting.
The area is open year-round and costs $5 for Nevada vehicles.
BERLIN-ICHTHYOSAUR STATE PARK — NV-844, Austin
Nature and history come together here in possibly the most remote state parks in Nevada. The site is known for its abundant concentration of ichthyosaur fossils — an ancient marine reptile that swam in the ocean that covered Nevada 225 million years ago. You can find a ghost town here at the park as it preserved the old mining town of Berlin and the Diana Mine. There are several buildings still standing where the work went and there are ruins from the town where the people lived. Interpretive signs along the way give information about what was there.
The park offers hiking, biking, birdwatching and camping. The cost for day-use is $5 for Nevada vehicles.