Carson City
Nestled underneath the snow covered Sierra Nevada mountains, Carson City is the state capitol of Nevada. Carson City, taking its name from the explorer Kit Carson, was a way station on the Pony Express. In the 1860's and 1870's, the Virginia & Truckee Railroad connected Carson City with the bonanza mines in Virginia City, and the Carson City mint churned out gold and silver coins.
Tip: If you're staying in Lake Tahoe, Carson City is an easy day trip.
Nevada State Railroad Museum - This museum has beautifully restored steam locomotives and cars. Kids can check out the 1875 Baldwin Virgina & Truckee Railroad No. 22, peer inside a elegant coach car where passengers traveled in style, and see how a tender carried cordwood. Toddlers can play with wooden trains and tracks or climb into a locomotive cab to push and pull the levers. Any who loves model trains will want to check out the model train layout.
In the Annex are unrestored box and coach cars, including No. 17 coach, which might have been the original car that carried the Golden Spike to Promontory Utah in 1869 (holes in the side are woodpecker holes, not bullet holes). Outside the museum is grass, picnic tables and restrooms.
Steam train rides - Ride a puffing steam train around a loop, bells clanging, wheels clacking down the track. Board the train at a classic station depot, next to the water tank to fill the steam engine. Rides are on weekends, May to Sept.Nevada State Museum - The Nevada State Museum is housed in the building that was originally the mint.
Walk through a Nevada ghost town with a boarding house, general store, newspaper and assay office, complete with the wind howling and an old prospector who has tales to tell. Go down into a replica of an underground mine, exploring tunnels with miners at work, ore carts on the track. The weapons gallery is full of weapons of the American frontier, rifles and pistols, flintlocks, muskets and knives. Check out the giant bullion scales, Coin Press No. 1 that minted gold and silver coins, and collections of gold “eagles” and silver dollars. Find out about Native Americans who lived in Nevada, early people left stone artifacts from 10,000 years ago. Upstairs are exhibits of wildlife, minerals, and a giant Imperial Mammoth skeleton and Ice Age horse!
Mills Park (Highway 50) - Mills Park is a large community park with grass, picnic tables, playground with climbing structures, indoor and outdoor pools, children's pool, and a miniature train.
Carson Hot Springs (Old Hot Springs Rd.) - Spend the afternoon at the hot springs, a large outdoor swimming pool with naturally heated mineral water. Snack bar on site, towels available (fee).
