Park Overview:

Bridge and pathway

Image by Jay Kolbet-Clausell

Construction on Manzanita Park was approved by the Reno City Council in 1978 and work began two years later. The impetus for adding this park to the city’s portfolio was that many families were moving into the new housing subdivisions which were being built around that time. The city was aware that the existing parks were so popular that they were often at capacity. By 1981, families were enjoying the 4-acre park’s many amenities—the picnic pavilion, baseball/softball field, restrooms, and the playground area.

Almost a decade later, funds were earmarked for improvements and work began to expand the park’s area. Added were irrigated landscaping, pathways, prefabricated bridges, parking, and eventually picnic tables, fencing, volleyball and tennis courts. According to the Parks and Recreation Community Service Department, the park was expanded to thirteen acres at that time and was used by baseball/softball leagues and family gatherings. Along with Horseman’s Park, Manzanita Park was one of southwest Reno’s most popular parks in the late 1990s.