Outdoors

Best place to get out of the car and walk

Downtown
So you’re rushing to work, carefully following the posted speed limits. You head east down Fourth Street, thanking your lucky stars that the train trench doesn’t go north and south when you hit Sierra, and you realize, “Damn, Street Vibrations or the Cattle Drive or the Terra Cotta Fair or something has the right of way on Virginia shut down.” Quickly you turn south (the only way one-way Sierra goes), are stopped by a train on the shoe-fly, turn right onto West Third Street and encounter another detour forcing you to the north and then east again on West Fourth Street, where you are forced to turn south again because Virginia Street is closed for the Foondocks Festival. Park your car at one of the many nearby on-street parking spots and walk to work. Don’t laugh. It could happen.

Best dry kayak run

Truckee River Whitewater Park, downtown Reno along the Truckee River
Head down to Wingfield Park, and you’ll wonder what took so long for our city to build this whitewater park. While the Century Riverside movie theater, art galleries and boutiques were attracting people to the downtown arts and culture district, the whitewater park appeared to be the missing link to bring the sportspeople to the waiting arms of the casino district. The moment it opened, kayakers and sunbathers dived in to take advantage of Reno’s best natural resource, the Truckee River. On any given day, children could be found wading in the water, while kayakers navigated the park’s 11 drop pools. Although there were some reported conflicts between swimmers and kayakers over space, nobody drowned. Now that fall is here, there aren’t as many people in the water, and water flow has decreased due to the drought. The park, however, was designed to accommodate low-water flows and is open for use.

Best place to do the tube

Truckee River, anywhere from beyond the California border to downtown Reno
With the Truckee River Whitewater Park, sports other than kayaking are also quickly becoming popular pastimes on the river. Wake-boarders were some of the river rats to be seen, their lines tied to rocks while they rode the rapids. Inner tubers also made a resurgence. Many warm summer evenings, teenagers could be found riding their tube from the first rapid at the whitewater park down to the last, then toting their tubes back to the start. Downtown Reno, however, isn’t the only ideal tubing location. Drive into California and drop off in Farad, Floriston or farther upriver, and you’re bound to have the tubing ride of your life. Rapids can be on the slightly fierce side, and rocks are plentiful, so wearing a helmet and a life vest is a good idea.