2 S Arlington Ave, Reno, NV 89501

Truckee River Whitewater Park

Park Description:

The Truckee River Whitewater Park at Wingfield is a Reno park offering access to 2,600 feet of Truckee River whitewater. The park is located at Wingfield Park in downtown Reno and features Class 2 and 3 rapids accessible to kayaks, canoes, rafts, and inner tubes.

Park Amenities:

Whitewater rapids.

Park Contact Information:

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

Park Highlights

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Park History

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Truckee River Whitewater Park

Situated in the heart of Downtown Reno with parks such as Wingfield, Barbara Bennett and West Street Plaza, a series of concrete and boulder studded rapids can be found. Many locals like to cool off here whether wading, swimming, or rafting along the half mile stretch of Truckee River. Newcomers or younger residents of the Reno-Sparks area may think that Truckee River Whitewater Park has been around forever. However the white waters were constructed back in the 90s and opened in 2003 with a price tag of $1.5 million. It became Nevada’s first whitewater park and kayak slalom racing course. The history of this patch of the Truckee goes back to the days of the pioneers.

Jurisdiction: City of Reno
Date Opened: May 14 2004
Image Credit: Michael Misanik

The Early Truckee River

Humans have lived across the dynamic land of the Great Basin for at least 10,000 years with rivers starting in the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, such as the Truckee, Carson and Walker Rivers, playing a key role to those early residents. Paleo-Indians were the first inhabitants followed by the two primary tribes that lived in the Truckee Meadows in the frontier days and still do today with them being the Washoe and Northern Paiute.

The Washoe have inhabited the region for at least 9,000 years, with the tribe being the original inhabitants of the lands that surround da ow, the Washoe name for Tahoe (sadly mispronounced by early settlers). Each year, tribal members still gather at Lake Tahoe’s edge to bless the water and themselves, and one of their most sacred sites is Cave Rock or De-ek Wadapush (rocks standing gray) on the southwestern shore today the area is protected as a State Park.

Also living in the Truckee Meadows area, the Northern Paiute roamed across much of Nevada, Eastern Oregon, and Southern Idaho. The Northern Paiutes have a deep connection to the lands and environment they inhabited with this being evident in the names of different bands. The Pyramid Lake Paiutes are known as the Kuyuidokado (Cui-ui eaters), after the Cui-ui fish, found in Pyramid Lake and nowhere else in the world.

As European settlers began making their way to the rich gold fields and fertile lands of California as well as the nearby Comstock Lode, tensions between the settlers and the Native American tribes grew with the Pyramid Lake War (also known as the Paiute War) be waged in 1860s with the conflict being triggered do to lack of food and raid on both side before the conflict. By 1874 President Ulysses S. Grant had officially established the Pyramid Lake Reservation with the Reno-Spark Indian Colony established in 1900.

Image Credit: Legends of America

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iNaturalist:

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Truckee River Whitewater Park on iNaturalist

Contact:

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References & Further Info:

Contributor(s):

Michael Misanik (History & Content)

Erin Larsen (Editor)

Last Updated:

July 27, 2023 at 7:35:00 PM

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Biodiversity

2 S Arlington Ave, Reno, NV 89501

Truckee River Whitewater Park

Park Description:

The Truckee River Whitewater Park at Wingfield is a Reno park offering access to 2,600 feet of Truckee River whitewater. The park is located at Wingfield Park in downtown Reno and features Class 2 and 3 rapids accessible to kayaks, canoes, rafts, and inner tubes.

Park Amenities:

Whitewater rapids.

Park Contact Information:

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

Park Highlights

Park History

Click the image to read each topic's full text!

Get Involved!

Donate:

Make a donation to support the Parks Project or your favorite Parks Foundation program, project, or wherever its needed! Click here to donate today.

Volunteer:

Support our parks by volunteering with the Parks Foundation! Attend a volunteer event or choose an ongoing role. Click here to explore opportunities.

iNaturalist:

Out in our parks or open spaces? Try cataloguing the biodiversity around you with iNaturalist! All it takes is downloading the iNaturalist app onto your phone to get started.

​

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

Contact:

Have a question about our parks or the Parks Project? Email us at parksproject@tmparksfoundation.org!

Want To Learn More?

References & Further Info:

Contributor(s):

Last Updated:

July 27, 2023 at 7:35:00 PM