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 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.

V&T Railraod

The Virginia and Truckee Railroad (V&T) had a station near Huffaker Park. The V&T began work to extend the railway from Carson City to Reno in 1871 (and finished a year later), with stations at Lakeview, Mill Station, Franktown (north end of Washoe Lake), Washoe City, Steamboat Springs, Browns, and finally Huffaker.

The V&T railway met with the Central Pacific Railroad at the Depot Hotel. The Huffaker area became even more prominent when the V&T established its terminus station here. This station and a large warehouse built here were important for shipping farm produce and wood for use in the silver mines of Virginia City. Huffaker was said to have been a good manager, and as a result had a nice stone house and a well-run farm.

Skiiing On Rattlesnake Mountain?

The first artificial snowmaking in the Reno area was done not at the ski resorts of Lake Tahoe, but on nearby Rattlesnake Mountain in 1958 by the owners of Sky Tavern: Bud Schoenfeld, Hal Codding and Jerry Wetzel.

These three pioneers led the way for artificial snow making in the area when they decided to use a car to power the snow making lines. Unfortunately, the car engine was destroyed from this use, and because nobody else wanted to volunteer their car for the endeavor, skiing on Rattlesnake Mountain lasted only a mere three weeks. Artificial snowmaking in the region, however, has stood the test of time as it is still employed on Tahoe ski slopes to this day.

Nearby Trails

Huffaker Mountain Trail is an easy 1.8 mile loop with 265 feet of elevation gain. The best time of year to hike this trail is from April through November.

Huffaker Park Lookout Trail is a moderate hike with a 1.9 mile loop and 242 feet of elevation gain. At the right time of year in spring, colorful wildflowers can be enjoyed. This trail is composed of packed decomposed granite which makes it ADA accessible, though there is a moderately steep incline.

Dogs are permitted on both trails but must be kept on a leash.

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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:

April 20, 2021, 4:34:56 AM

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