1160 E Huffaker Ln, Reno, NV 89511

Huffaker Park

Park Description:

Huffaker Park is a 76-acre Reno park with restrooms (opened seasonally: late April-early October weather permitting). The park features a 9-acre developed area and a 1.7-mile hiking and running trail with native high desert terrain and scenic views.

Park Amenities:

Playground, soccer/football field, baseball/softball field, basketball court, tennis court, horseshoes, exercise area, hiking trails, picnic shelter, barbeque area, rentable shelter, and tables/benches.

Park Contact Information:

City of Reno - Parks & Facilities (775) 334-2417

Park Highlights

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Park History

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Huffaker Settlers

The first European settlers in the area surrounding Huffaker Park were Mormons who built their homes here in the 1850s from stone. When Brigham Young called his Mormon followers back to Salt Lake City, these settlers left. Granville W. Huffaker was one of the early non-Mormon settlers of the Truckee Meadows. He and Lew P. Drexler had a cattle business in this area as of 1958 consisting of around 500 head of cattle.

Raising livestock was an important business in the Truckee Meadows as it provided food for the miners after the discovery of silver in the nearby Virginia Hills. Prior to the discovery of the Comstock Lode, there were only about 25 non-native people living in the Truckee Meadows.

Pioneer Stage Line

In the early 1860’s, Wells Fargo had a Pioneer Stage Line which took passengers and mail between Virginia City and California. An office of the Pioneer Express was built in this area in 1860, and in 1862 a post office was built in Huffaker Hills with Granville Huffaker as its postmaster. Because of the stage station, this area was one of the most popular gathering places in the Truckee Meadows.

Many of the area’s ranchers, mostly young men, gathered here for entertaining music, dancing, racing horses, and squabbling over land. Washoe County had only a few schools in the 1860’s, and one of the first was Huffaker School.

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iNaturalist:

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Curious what's been seen in this park? Click the link below to see what species other have spotted!

Huffaker Park on iNaturalist

Contact:

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Want To Learn More?

References & Further Info:

City of Reno Parks & Facilities Directory - Huffaker Park
Huffaker Lookout Trail Map: http://www.reno.gov/home/showdocument?id=24086
http://visitreno.com/evanoff/sep-08.php
Ingall, Major G.W. (1968) History of Washoe County, Nevada.
Davis, S. P. (1913). History of Nevada, Vol 1. Reno.
Fockler, M. (2007). Plumbing the Truckee: Water, Diversion and the Creation of Community along the Truckee River, Nevada. Reno: UMI Dissertation Services.
Wells Fargo Website: https://www.wellsfargo.com/about/corporate/stagecoach/
Channel 4 News story on making snow on Rattlesnake Mountain: Knowing Nevada: Tahoe's first snowmaking operation was in Reno. http://mynews4.com/news/knowing-nevada/knowing-nevada-tahoes-first-snowmaking-operation-was-in-reno
http://www.kunr.org/post/reno-and-sparks-there-was-huffakers#stream/0
http://visitreno.com/evanoff/sep-08.php
http://www.axeleratio.com/ip/travel/RenoTahoeNature/HuffakerHillsAnimalsPlants.htm

Contributor(s):

Jill Richardson (history)

Haley McGuire

Alex Shahbaiz

Last Updated:

August 26, 2022 at 6:32:50 PM

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