Carson City, Nevada

1. Enjoy breathtaking natural scenery at Lake Tahoe

Located a short drive from downtown Carson City, Lake Tahoe is one of nature’s glorious wonders and a popular weekend getaway. Boasting breathtaking natural scenery, crystal-clear waters, and spectacular views of the rugged Sierra Nevada Mountains, Lake Tahoe is one of the most famous and sought-after destination locations in the world. Surrounded by dense pine forests, majestic mountains, and miles of white sandy beaches, Lake Tahoe is a favorite spot for both summer and winter vacations, offering a plethora of activities and recreational pursuits. Visitors in the summer can enjoy camping, fishing, boating, kayaking, swimming, canoeing, horseback riding, hiking, golf, and mountain biking, while the winter months offer many world-class ski resorts, skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, and more, in addition to the many year-round activities such as gaming and gambling, sightseeing, scenic drives, and cruise dining.

2. Learn about local history at the Nevada State Museum

Located at the Springs Reserve, the Nevada State Museum is one of seven Nevada State Museums that focus on the natural history of the region and the development of Las Vegas. Established as the Nevada State Museum and Historical Society in 2008 and later renamed the Nevada State Museum, the institution boasts 11,000 square feet of permanent exhibit space housing displays of variety of artifacts and items relating to the regional and natural history of the area, including an in-depth treatment of Las Vegas history and a 13-foot articulated mammoth skeleton.

The Nevada State Museum offers a variety of educational programs, workshops, classes, family days, and other events throughout the year.

Address: 600 N. Carson Street, Carson City, NV 89701, Phone: 775-687-4810

3. See an exhibit at the Nevada State Railroad Museum

The Nevada State Railroad Museum is dedicated to preserving and showcasing the railroad heritage of Nevada. The museum features a collection of locomotives and railroad cars from the renowned Virginia and Truckee Railroad as well as exhibits and displays of railroad equipment, rail-related artifacts and objects, and more. The museum offers fun activities such as handcar and train rides, lectures and workshops, an annual railroad history symposium, and a variety of special events throughout the year. The museum also has an ongoing research and restoration program and is home to the Wabuska Railroad Station, which was recently relocated to the museum’s grounds and is still used as a working railroad station, where tickets for the museum train rides can be bought.

Address: 2180 S Carson St, Carson City, NV 89701, Phone: 775-687-6953

4. Explore Bowers Mansion Regional Park

Located between Carson City and Reno on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada, Bowers Mansion Regional Park is a beautifully maintained green space that features expansive sunny lawns, tall shade trees, and the Bowers Mansion. Built in 1863 by Lemuel Bowers, the mansion is an exquisite example of the type of homes built by the wealthy during the Comstock Lode mining boom. The villa is filled with luxurious antiques and period furnishings and is open for guided tours on weekends during the summer and autumn months. Bowers Mansion Park also offers picnic facilities for individuals and groups, a spring-fed swimming pool, and a children’s playground.

Address: 4005 Bowers Mansion Rd, New Washoe City, NV 89704, Phone: 775-849-1825

5. Admire works by local artists at the Brewery Arts Center

The Brewery Arts Center is a multi-generational and multi-cultural community arts and culture center that was established to enrich the quality of life for everyone through the arts.

Located on King Street in the heart of Carson City, the campus of the Brewery Arts Center spans two city blocks and features three performance venues, an artisan shop, artists studios and workshops, classrooms and the offices of the Nevada Artist Association.

In addition to showcasing works from local and regional artists in a variety of mediums and materials, the Brewery Arts Center also offers classes and workshops for visitors of all ages, from painting and pottery classes to ceramic sculpting, photography workshops, and more.

Address: 449 W King St, Carson City, NV 89703, Phone: 775-883-1976

6. Take the kids to The Children's Museum of Northern Nevada

The Children's Museum of Northern Nevada is a long-standing festive museum that focuses on the importance of play and how children can explore, imagine, create, and learn through play.

The museum offers a play-based learning environment that features a variety of exhibits and displays that are dedicated to teaching children about the wonders of art, science, and skills used in everyday life as they explore, discover, and play with other children. Significant exhibits at the Children's Museum of Northern Nevada include a train simulation, Jamieson’s Country Café and Grocery Store, a schoolhouse, the Capitol Building, a wildlife exhibit, a pre-school dinosaur play area, climbing tubes, a rotating climbing wall, Carson City Jail, a hospital room, and an airplane teeter-totter.

Address: 813 N Carson St, Carson City, NV 89701, Phone: 775-884-2226

7. Go for a hike in Dayton State Park

Located at the foot of the Virginia Range on the banks of the Carson River, Dayton State Park is a 152-acre state park and public recreation area in the town of Dayton, 12 miles east of Carson City, that offers a variety of recreational activities and outdoor pursuits.

The park is divided into two sections by U.S. Route 50, namely the lower and upper sections, each with their own character and features. The lower part offers excellent walking and hiking trails along the banks of the ever-changing Carson River, dense woodlands that teem with birds and wildlife, a campground, and group picnic areas. The upper section is home to the site and the remains of the Rock Point Stamp Mill, a remnant of Dayton’s mining glory days, which was built in 1861 to process silver ore mined from the Comstock Lode in Silver City and Virginia City.

Address: US-50, Dayton, NV 89403, Phone: 775-687-5678

8. Go on a guided hang gliding tour with Hang Gliding Tahoe

Experience Nevada and breathtaking Lake Tahoe from the air on an exhilarating and adrenalin-rushing powered hang gliding trip. Hang Gliding Tahoe offers guided hang gliding tours over Lake Tahoe and the rugged Sierra Nevada mountains with spectacular bird’s eye views from a powered hang glider trike.

The company provides an interactive flight lesson in a powered FAA approved light-sport hang glider, also known as a weight-shift control trike, with modern hang gliding wings and powered by a reliable Rotax aircraft engine. A fully qualified professional instructor is present on all flights, and there is full radio communication between the passenger and flight instructor throughout the flight. FLY TOGETHER has two weight-shift control trikes and two instructors, and all safety equipment, including helmets, is provided.

9. Join a Night Star Party at the Jack C. Davis Observatory

The Jack C. Davis Observatory is an observatory and astrology center based at the Western Nevada College in Carson City that boasts three telescopes, two of which are reflecting telescopes and one with a spectrograph.

All three of the telescopes are equipped with cameras and connected to the Internet so the public can access images taken with the telescopes. The observatory also has an outdoor robotic dome for studying sunspots as well as a Campbell Scientific solar-powered research-grade weather station. The Jack C. Davis Observatory is connected to the main campus of the Western Nevada College by the Planetary Walkway, which is lined with massive sandstone carved images of the planets created by artistic inmates from the Nevada State Prison.

Address: 2269 Vanpatten Ave, Carson City, NV 89703, Phone: 775-445-3000