Big improvements are coming to Spooner Lake State Park this Spring. The Tahoe Fund, a nonprofit focused on improving the Tahoe area, raised $300,000 in donations for upgrades there, leveraging $2.9 million in public funding for Nevada State Parks.
"We had a great outpouring of support; there's just so much love for Spooner Lake State Park and for state parks in general," said Amy Berry, CEO of the Tahoe fund. "So when we put the call out to our donor base to say hey, we have a huge opportunity here - we can help state parks secure over $2 million- in funding people stepped up right away.
"We really call Spooner Lake the gateway to the backcountry," said Park Supervisor Allen Wooldridge. "From Spooner Lake you have access to almost 13,000 acres of untouched terrain. "There is no motorized vehicles in the backcountry; there's Marlette Lake and Hobart Lake, so it's kind of an untouched, pristine area for tourists."
Here, you'll find a unique piece of Nevada history. It's the site of the Gold Hill Water System.
"Hobart and Marlette are the water source for Virginia City currently," Wooldridge said. "That system was set up in the 1800s and a lot of that same technology is still in use today."
Soon, visitors will have the chance to learn more of the history here. Construction on a new amphitheater and visitor center is slated to start this Spring.
"It's important for places that we love, for us to love them back," Berry said. "And so getting an upgrade like this to Spooner Lake is going to mean so much to everyone. For future generations, for school kids that are going to be able to come out here and learn. There is no better way to learn about Tahoe and Nevada's history than being right here absorbing it."
Construction should take about two years; the park will remain open year round. It's a project several years in the making.
"We always start with these beautiful renderings," Berry said. "And you think, this is gorgeous, I would love to see this happen, and then when it comes to fruition and gets built, it's so exciting to see it go from paper to real life."
