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650 Riverside Dr, Reno, NV 89503
Riverside Drive Park
Park Description:
Riverside Drive Park is a 3-acre Reno park without restrooms. The park is located along the Truckee River and offers access to the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail.
Park Amenities:
Pathways, bike path, 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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Riverside Drive Park
Laying not far from Downtown Reno, right alongside the Truckee River, Riverside Drive Park is a green strip of land some seven blocks long. Cut by the Tahoe-Pyramid Bikeway and dotted with trees and greenery along the river, this peaceful patch of Parkland doesn’t seem like anything else with its beautiful scenery being out in the open. But its history is not as well known as it should be. Riverside Drive Park’s history stretches back to the first European Explorers in this corner of Nevada as well as being tied to some of the Native American Tribes that called the Truckee Meadows home long before the California gold rush and start of the Emigrant Trail.
Photo Credit: Michael Misanik
Photo Credit: Michael Misanik
Chief Truckee and John C. Fremont
Chief Truckee also known as Old Winnemucca Wuna Mucca was a medicine chief of the Northern Paiute people and an influential prophet. How he gained the name Truckee is not quite clear, with many different ideas and reasons being tossed out there. However he gained his name, Chief Truckee truly left his mark on history as he led his people through a rapidly changing time in California history. He was a greatly respected chief both by his people and to an extent by the American explorers and settlers who he often aided.
Chief Truckee guided John C. Frémont and Kit Carson as they ascended the Truckee River in January 1844. They had originally called the river they passed the Salmon Trout River, after the huge Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi) that ran up the river from Pyramid Lake to spawn. However, the river was ultimately named after a Paiute chief known as Truckee, who later that same year guided an emigrant party from the headwaters of the Humboldt River to California via the Truckee River, Donner Lake, and Donner Pass. Appreciative of their Native American's guide's services, the party named the river after him.
Image Credit: Truckee-Donner Historical Society
Chief Truckee guided John C. Frémont and Kit Carson as they ascended the Truckee River in January 1844. They had originally called the river they passed the Salmon Trout River, after the huge Lahontan cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi) that ran up the river from Pyramid Lake to spawn. However, the river was ultimately named after a Paiute chief known as Truckee, who later that same year guided an emigrant party from the headwaters of the Humboldt River to California via the Truckee River, Donner Lake, and Donner Pass. Appreciative of their Native American's guide's services, the party named the river after him.
Image Credit: Truckee-Donner Historical Society
Emigrant Trail Through the Meadows
Out of the whole of the route to California, the crossing of the Forty-Mile Desert (today known as Lahontan Valley and Fallon Nevada) was the most dreaded portion of the continent-wide journey. Surrounded by mountains and covering an area of about 200,000 square miles, it formed a massive playa coated in white salt sands and baked clay, the region acted like a massive mirror as it reflected the sun's heat. The viscous Humboldt River, trickled into the depression with it eventually disappeared into a thick sponge of alkali dust.
These harsh desert conditions made the land of the Truckee Meadows appear like a paradise. Back then much of what is today, the vibrant cities of Reno and Sparks, was a mix of lush green meadows, groves of cottonwood trees along the Truckee River and open sagebrush shrubland that stretched to the Sierra in the west. While still in the Forty-Mile Desert many pioneers would unyoke their teams of oxen and mules and leave their wagons along the trail to drive their livestock to the Truckee River for water and feed. After the animals had regained some of their strength, they would return for their wagons. Those that were unfortunate enough to lose their livestock prior to reaching this point were forced to abandon their wagons along the trail.
After getting through the challenge of the Forty-Mile Desert the Truckee Meadows acted as a rest stop for the many trailblazers making their way to California. The lush meadows and cool clear waters seemed like paradise with some ranches, and farms being set up by some of the emigrants moving through the area.
In 1869, part of the old route across Nevada was used for the Central Pacific portion of the Transcontinental Railroad. In the 20th century, the route was used for modern highways, in particular U.S. Highway 40 and later Interstate 80.
Image Credit: California Interpretive Center
These harsh desert conditions made the land of the Truckee Meadows appear like a paradise. Back then much of what is today, the vibrant cities of Reno and Sparks, was a mix of lush green meadows, groves of cottonwood trees along the Truckee River and open sagebrush shrubland that stretched to the Sierra in the west. While still in the Forty-Mile Desert many pioneers would unyoke their teams of oxen and mules and leave their wagons along the trail to drive their livestock to the Truckee River for water and feed. After the animals had regained some of their strength, they would return for their wagons. Those that were unfortunate enough to lose their livestock prior to reaching this point were forced to abandon their wagons along the trail.
After getting through the challenge of the Forty-Mile Desert the Truckee Meadows acted as a rest stop for the many trailblazers making their way to California. The lush meadows and cool clear waters seemed like paradise with some ranches, and farms being set up by some of the emigrants moving through the area.
In 1869, part of the old route across Nevada was used for the Central Pacific portion of the Transcontinental Railroad. In the 20th century, the route was used for modern highways, in particular U.S. Highway 40 and later Interstate 80.
Image Credit: California Interpretive Center