Genoa Discovery Trail (Douglas County, Nevada)

It has been a few months since I was able to get out with Deanna's meetup group just due to schedule conflicts, but with an open day in my calendar and a scheduled hike for the group, it seemed time to get back into the swing of things. The destination for the day was the Genoa Trail System, starting at the Eagle Ridge Trailhead and making our way back down to finish up at the Cowboy Festival currently being celebrated in the small mountain town of Genoa.

The group met at the Sierra Summit Mall and carpooled down to the trail head just below Carson City. While the majority of our group, 18 in all, waited at the northern trail head, a couple of cars were staged in Genoa at the other end to allow us to shuttle back to the starting point. After just a few minutes, the drivers returned and we were off. The trail parallels an old mining road at this end, begging the question why cut a trail instead of just using the abandoned road. In addition, a number of alternative trails have been cut into the mountainside, but it seems all roads lead to the same destination and so we don't worry about the side trails all that much.

I had expected to see a bit of snow still here in the mountains below Lake Tahoe, but we saw very little. It seems the warm spring sun has already melted most of it and started to dry out the hillsides. Overall the trail conditions are pretty good for so early in the season. We are forced to cross a couple of small creeks, which normally wouldn't be a problem, but with all of the precipitation in the Tahoe Basin this year, the water is raging even in these tiny creeks. Luckily, the first creek has had some fallen branches laid across it and the second has a number of regularly spaced stones to hop across. Neither poses much difficulty.

The views from this area are mostly of the populated valley below, but the forest and snow covered mountains in the distance provide a nice contrast to the structures in the town of Genoa far below us. Eventually, we arrive at the small Genoa Falls, which is nothing more than a 10-15 drop on one of this hillsides feeder creeks. Still, it provides a nice break to the trail. 

As usual, our large group has splintered into a number of smaller packs, but we eventually all catch up at the southern trail head. We wait for the stragglers and then walk just a couple of blocks to head into the small town and the festival in progress. Our first stop, the Genoa Saloon, which claims to be the oldest saloon in the state. As a corollary, another bar across the street has a sign above the door indicating that the business within is the 'youngest saloon in Genoa'. It makes for a good laugh. We enjoy some beer, some food, and some good conversation before wandering around the event. After just a little bit of exploring, we decide to head back to Reno. In total, the hike was about 7.7 miles of pretty easy trail. There are a couple of other trails in this system that I might explore in the future, but now, I'll call it a day.