Carson City/Douglas County Trail Guide
Throughout the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, we all have sought ways to enjoy the outdoors while remaining responsible trail stewards and respecting the health of others and ourselves.
This guide, produced through a cooperative effort between the Quad County Area of the Nevada Health Department; Carson City Parks, Recreation and Open Space; Muscle Powered; and the Carson Valley Trails Association, is designed to illustrate the abundance of trails we have in our backyard so that we may better practice social distancing measures and spread out our trail usage.
Be safe, and we look forward to hearing how you’ve expanded your hiking horizons!
Ash to King Trail
In a cooperative effort with Carson City and the U.S. Forest Service, Muscle Powered constructed the Kings Canyon to Ash Canyon non-motorized, multi-use mountain bike trail. The trail is seven miles long and connects the Ash Canyon trail system to Kings Canyon Road (Lincoln Highway) and the Longview Trail. Though the trail is designed for mountain bikes, it’s suitable for runners, hikers and equestrians.
Construction began July 1, 2012, and was completed over three years later. On March 18, 2011, Muscle Powered was awarded a $5,000 community services grant for the purchase of trail construction tools and bridge materials for the Ash Creek bridge crossing. In 2012, the Great Basin Institute was awarded a $159,000 Recreational Trails Grant to construct trail on the USFS portion of the alignment. In 2013, Muscle Powered was awarded top honors in the Rec Trails program for the purchase of tools. Join us on this fantastic trail!
Historic Virginia & Truckee Trail
The developing Historic Virginia & Truckee Trail inhabits one of the most famous railroads in Nevada History. The corridor dates back to 1868, when the Virginia and Truckee Railroad was built by the Bank of California to carry ore from the Comstock silver mines of Virginia City to the processing mills along the Carson River.
The rail corridor’s new life as the Historic Virginia and Truckee Trail will connect five counties, five cities and six museums. Portions of the trail have already been constructed; Carson City, the state capital, has several miles of the V&T on the ground. And bicyclists ride along much of the old route, without even realizing it, through Washoe and Pleasant Valleys in Washoe County.
Once complete, the rail-trail will also link together a handful of regionally and nationally significant trails such as the 1,800-mile Pony Express Trail and the 114-mile Tahoe Pyramid Trail. Through connections to those trails and others in Carson City and Douglas and Washoe counties, travelers can also reach the Tahoe Rim Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail.