List of Nevada state parks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This list of Nevada state parks comprises protected areas managed by the U.S. state of Nevada, which include state parks, state historic sites, and state recreation areas. The system is managed by the Nevada Division of State Parks within the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The Division of State Parks was created by an act of the Nevada Legislature in 1963. The system manages 23 state park units, some of which have multiple units. The Division is headquartered in Carson City and has two management regions statewide: the Northern Region (Fallon Office) and the Southern Region (Las Vegas Office).[1][2]
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Map of Nevada state parks (blue), state recreation areas (green), and state historic sites (red).
Nevada state parks and state recreation areas
| Park name | Image | County | Area[3] | Elevation | Estab- lished[4] |
Remarks[4] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| acres | ha | ft | m | |||||
| Beaver Dam State Park | Lincoln | 2,182 | 883 | 5,395 | 1,644 | 1935 | Preserves a section of Beaver Dam Wash in eastern Nevada's most remote state park. | |
| Berlin–Ichthyosaur State Park |  | Nye | 1,116 | 452 | 6,975 | 2,126 | 1957 | Preserves in situ ichthyosaur fossils and the ghost town of Berlin. |
| Big Bend of the Colorado State Recreation Area | Clark | 2,093 | 847 | 500 | 150 | 1996 | Overlooks the Colorado River within the town limits of Laughlin. | |
| Cathedral Gorge State Park | .jpg) | Lincoln | 1,756 | 711 | 4,819 | 1,469 | 1935 | Showcases a gorge with soft bentonite walls eroded into dramatic spires. |
| Cave Lake State Park |  | White Pine | 4,063 | 1,644 | 7,198 | 2,194 | 1973 | Features a 32-acre (13 ha) reservoir in the northern Schell Creek Range. |
| Dayton State Park | Lyon | 152 | 62 | 4,360 | 1,330 | 1977 | Features a stretch of the Carson River and the site of an 1861 mill built to process silver ore from the Comstock Lode. | |
| Echo Canyon State Park |  | Lincoln | 1,055 | 427 | 5,348 | 1,630 | 1970 | Adjoins a 65-acre (26 ha) reservoir. |
| Ice Age Fossils State Park | Clark | 323 | 131 | 2,340 | 710 | 2017 | Offers trails to fossil beds and archaeological sites. Opened January 2024. | |
| Kershaw–Ryan State Park |  | Lincoln | 1,696 | 686 | 4,805 | 1,465 | 1935 | Features a verdant canyon first homesteaded in 1873. |
| Lahontan State Recreation Area |  | Churchill, Lyon | 28,889 | 11,691 | 4,258 | 1,298 | 1971 | Surrounds the Lahontan Reservoir, a 10,000-acre (4,000 ha) reservoir on the Carson River. |
| Lake Tahoe – Nevada State Park |  | Carson City, Washoe County | 14,301 | 5,787 | 7,880 | 2,400 | 1963 | Comprises six units on the northeastern shore of Lake Tahoe and its backcountry. |
| Rye Patch State Recreation Area |  | Pershing | 2,424 | 981 | 4,137 | 1,261 | 1971 | Adjoins the 11,000-acre (4,500 ha) Rye Patch Reservoir on the Humboldt River. |
| South Fork State Recreation Area |  | Elko | 3,903 | 1,579 | 5,226 | 1,593 | 1983 | Surrounds the 1,650-acre (670 ha) South Fork Reservoir on the South Fork Humboldt River. |
| Spring Mountain Ranch State Park |  | Clark | 539 | 218 | 3,727 | 1,136 | 1974 | Preserves the historic Sandstone Ranch established in 1876. |
| Spring Valley State Park |  | Lincoln | 916 | 371 | 5,869 | 1,789 | 1969 | Adjoins the 65-acre (26 ha) Eagle Valley Reservoir. |
| Valley of Fire State Park |  | Clark | 45,938 | 18,590 | 2,464 | 751 | 1934 | Showcases red sandstone formations in Nevada's oldest and largest state park. |
| Van Sickle Bi-State Park |  | Douglas | 558 | 226 | 6,283 | 1,915 | 2011 | Managed in conjunction with the California Tahoe Conservancy; 575 acres lie within Nevada while 150 are within El Dorado County, California. |
| Walker River State Recreation Area | Lyon | 12,312 | 4,982 | 4,580 | 1,400 | 2018 | Includes five historic ranch units along a thirty-mile stretch of the East Walker River. | |
| Washoe Lake State Park | .jpg) | Washoe | 3,772 | 1,526 | 5,033 | 1,534 | 1977 | Provides recreation opportunities on Washoe Lake, between Carson City and Reno. |
| Wild Horse State Recreation Area | .jpg) | Elko | 120 | 49 | 6,250 | 1,900 | 1979 | Provides water recreation on the northeast shore of 2,830-acre (1,150 ha) Wild Horse Reservoir on the Owyhee River. |
Nevada state historic parks and sites
| Park name | Image | County | Area[3] | Elevation | Estab- lished[4] |
Remarks[4] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| acres | ha | ft | m | |||||
| Elgin Schoolhouse State Historic Site |  | Lincoln | 1.8 | 0.73 | 3,402 | 1,037 | 2005 | Preserves a rural schoolhouse used from 1922 to 1967. |
| Fort Churchill State Historic Park |  | Lyon | 5,170 | 2,090 | 4,255 | 1,297 | 1957 | Encompasses the ruins of a U.S. Army fort staffed 1860–1869, plus a waystation on the Pony Express and Central Overland Routes, and a corridor along the Carson River connecting to Lahontan State Recreation Area. |
| Mormon Station State Historic Park |  | Douglas | 3.6 | 1.5 | 4,783 | 1,458 | 1955 | Interprets Nevada's first permanent nonnative settlement, established in 1851 on the California Trail by Mormon pioneers. |
| Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park | .jpg) | Clark | 3.16 | 1.28 | 1,923 | 586 | 1991 | Interprets a partially reconstructed fort built by Mormon missionaries in 1855, the first nonnative structure in what would become Las Vegas. |
| Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park |  | White Pine | 861 | 348 | 7,054 | 2,150 | 1994 | Preserves six 30-foot-high (9.1 m) charcoal ovens used from 1876–1879 to produce fuel for smelting silver ore. |
Former Nevada state parks
- Floyd Lamb State Park was renamed Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs on July 2, 2007, when ownership was transferred to the City of Las Vegas.
- Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park was operated by Nevada State Parks until June 30, 2011, when ownership was transferred to Douglas County.
- The former Walker Lake State Park became Walker Lake State Recreation Area then ceased to be maintained by the Nevada Division of State Parks.[5]