Deadman's Creek in Washoe Valley has taken a beating. Trail signs are uprooted, mud slicks line the pathway, and there are sandbags up and down the creek banks from when it overflowed in January.
Jennifer Dawson, park supervisor at Washoe Lake State Park, says that winter storms have left their mark on Washoe Valley, and hikers need to be conscious of that as they hit the trails for the first weekend of spring weather this year.
“You will see muddy conditions on the trails," she told 2 News on Friday. "Don’t walk around them. That widens the trail, so walk through them.”
Dawson said that even veteran hikers might not recognize some areas with severe damage.
“Trails can change, right. When we have erosion and things like that, trails do change. And also, directional signage could be down," she said.
Along with hiking gear and supplies, outdoorsmen should be prepared with a map to navigate areas that have been impacted by winter weather.
Dawson said that once the weather clears up more, and trails start to dry out, she and her teams will have plenty of maintenance work cut out for them. But in the meantime, hikers need to be careful as they hit the rough terrain.
Some regional trails that are closed and damaged, or open and ready for hikers:
- CLOSED: Waterfall Trail and Kings Canyon Loop. Both are severely damaged from mud slides.
- MUDDY: Carson River corridor trails. Some are washed out from flooding, but are still open. Hikers proceed with caution.
- OPEN: All other Carson City trails are open to the public. Open Space Manager Lindsey Boyer says that the Prison Hill area and trails in North Carson are especially good options.
Washoe County
- MUDDY: Whites Creek, Thomas Creek, Galena Creek, Evans Creek, Keystone Canyon, and Hunter Creek Trail. The county is discouraging people from hiking any of these trails until they have dried out.
- OPEN: Eastern and desert trails, like Hidden Valley Regional Park and Huffaker Hills.
Follow this link to see the status of Nevada State Parks trails.
