Washoe County

The Fabulous Faces of Washoe

The Markers Statistics Related Links

Which Washoe are you?
Faces and places. Washoe County holds three distinct faces and each place poles apart more diverse than any other place in Nevada. When you think about it, Washoe County is one strange duck. It's a place both untouched by modern man in its remote northern sector and cleansed in the western reaches by alpine fragrance and azure blue water. Yet it's also a place that prides itself as a bustling metropolis. Washoe County is a rarity in America. You can be trapped in the "spaghetti bowl" at rush hour, taking a selfie on the Strip, and in only a few hours, be left speechless among the vast emptiness of the Black Rock. You might begin your day in a kayak on the waters of Tahoe only to switch gears to a float tube on the Truckee River. You might begin your day at 10,000 feet above the world on Mt. Rose and then cruise the Reno Arch or roll the dice amidst the glitz and glamour of urban Reno. You can then end the day on the shore of America's most beautiful desert lake, standing in silence on the Black Rock Desert or beneath the towering walls of High Rock Canyon. This is precisely why the people of Washoe are also just as colorful. Here you'll witness a Reno city slicker be stared down if he dares to order a cappucino at Bruno's Country Club. A young snowboarder from Incline Village will butt heads about life and liberty with an old timer from Wadsworth or a rancher from Washoe Valley. Ever see a real cowboy stand side by side with a rhinestone cowboy? Variety preserves identity. Washoe's "faces and places" are precisely why we love this place!

1st: Timeless Places
The first face is a timeless place where emigrant trails and their graffiti still exist in remote canyon country known as High Rock. Welcome to one face of Washoe - a land comprising of the extreme northern half known known as "the northwest corner." In this unpopulated sector are the tiny outposts of Wadsworth, Nixon and Gerlach that find refuge from Reno's hungry metropolis. Today, there are still only a few reasons why the average person would venture into this region. One is to see Pyramid Lake described as "America's Most Beautiful Desert Lake." The other is to see the desert and still another reason is to see "The Desert." The Black Rock Desert. Here even the most generic of rules won't be ignored. In this face of Washoe a single man is still (as he was back then) tiny against the land.

2nd: The Glitz
There's no comparing the second face of Washoe. Welcome to Reno. Here, the city does as she has always done: break the rules. And do we love this place! "The Biggest Little City in the World" is still the place to be. Reno enjoys its nickname not for the sake of sporting a pretty spiffy place name but because it puts its distinction as a "rural city" to the test. Newcomers make the foolish declaration that Reno is the Las Vegas version of the north when in reality they're comparing two entirely different cities in both substance. Tourists in the know don't rely on gaming as their primary incentive to come to Reno. One look in every scenic direction often provides the answer. "Reno-ites" enjoy proximity to the mountains and the desert. Why be anywhere else when you can ski, fish, hike, camp, 4x4, and backpack within minutes from home? And Reno doesn't hide its night-time scene either. Our fine city fancies itself on not just its neon but also its relaxed way of life. Despite its total population of over 200,000, this is a city that still manages to hang to a unique small-town atmosphere. Here we have a clean city with character, sass, reservation, and excitement all rolled into one. But it does have problems. As more and more "spillovers" decide to make this home, Reno's ruralty is put to the test with its close proximity to California. However, throughout history this city has always been a problem-solver. When other states prohibited divorce, Reno became the "cure." When prohibition loomed over the nation, Reno became the answer in its speakeasies and basement casinos. Even during the Comstock, Reno held its ground in innovation by providing service and industry. Reno has earned its spot as "the city" in Nevada.

3rd: Tranquil Pastures
Washoe County's third face is a meeting of the minds. Most "Reno-ites" have strong ties to Incline Village and the Tahoe Basin. Gerlach, Wadsworth and Pyramid Lake stand alone as bystanders away from the main action. No destinction or instructions required. In the late 1860s, "the valley" earned its credit as a lumber export for the Comstock Lode. Washoe City, the first ever seat of Washoe County grew into a sustaining freight community that utilized a unique shipping system on the shore of Washoe Lake. Here lumber was shipped by log flume from the valley's piney westside. From there the lumber was loaded and freighted across the lake where it was then sent up by rail or mule up the Virginia Range to the Comstock mines. This brief era was about the most excitement the Valley ever received. Washoe City shriveled up at the end of this era and the seat was moved to Reno. Ever since, Washoe City was thought as mostly an annoying speed trap in between Reno and Carson City before the construction of the 580 freeway. Nobody seemed to care yet Washoe Valley could be the last remnant of Reno's ruralty - a place where the mountains poignantly meet the desert and people's hearts still beat with the land. Here, there are no busy city lights, jaws of crime, or traffic jams. The valley preserves a valuable demarcation between urban and rural and it's proud to be a part of neither.

The Markers
With its newest addition in 2007, Washoe County has a total of 43 markers - the most of any county in Nevada. To acquire all 42 of these you will need a bit of patience and a heart for exploration. A little over half of the action happens in urban Washoe, mostly within the city limits of Reno and Sparks. Fortunately these two cities aren't difficult to navigate but the markers' distribution make tackling urban Washoe a challenge especially during the summer. Expect quite a few instances where you'll be forced to double-back because of downtown festivities and tripled pedestrian traffic. If you plan to conquer Reno during the busy tourist season (Memorial Day through Labor Day) we suggest retreating away from Virginia Street and following McCarran Blvd. McCarran is a giant circle that completely rings both cities - allowing you ample opportunity to bounce off anywhere in Reno-Sparks. Here's one possible itinerary ...

Start by tackling the markers in the southern Truckee Meadows and work eastward on McCarran Blvd. You'll find three around Victorian Square and one more in nearby Deer Park. Continue northwest on McCarran as you approach northwest Reno and jump onto northbound 395 to bag that lone straggler at Red Rock Road (256) Return to McCarran and bounce onto I-80 to tackle the three stragglers in Mogul and Verdi. Your return trip on I-80 will provide you the chance to tackle the cluster of markers surrounding UNR, downtown Reno and the remaining landmarks off of Virginia Street. Due to the insane distribution of markers allow at least two days to effectively tackle these urban markers. Not only will it be less stressful, but two days allows you some quality time with Reno's interesting nighttime sights and scenes.