Tuesday, October 22, 2013

One of the most attractive little villages anywhere in the American West: Genoa, Nevada

Genoa and peaks of the Carson Range seen from Discovery Trail
Genoa in Nevada is a small town that started as a settlement of Mormon pioneers in the 1850s and is today a charming community attracting both new residents and visitors from far and near. David W. Toll intimately describes this historic town as follows:
Genoa (pronounced Juh-NO-uh) IS THE OLDEST permanent settlement within the present state of Nevada, and one of the most attractive little villages anywhere in the American West. Established as a trading post in 1851 to serve the wagon trains as a resting place between the open desert and the granite barricade of the Sierra Nevada, Mormon Station (as it was called then) became a small farming center. It is now a gentrified enclave of the wealthy.
David W. Toll, 2002.

The Genoa Historic District attracts tourists. The surrounding river fork lands arouse bird watchers' interest. And the slopes and canyons of the Carson Range invite outdoor enthusiasts to challenge that granite barricade and its steep drop-offs. Old and young—wealthy or not—explore the scenic sites and tracks of the Genoa Trail System with a multitude of hiking, biking and horseback-riding options. Situated in the biologically-diverse Great Basin/Sierra Nevada transition zone in the Carson Valley, Genoa has a lot to offer to those who enjoy educational and recreational activities. The nearby River Fork Ranch and nature preserve provides interpretive sites and trails through ranch land. To see these plains and the mosaic of Genoa neighborhoods from a higher perspective, hiking and climbing the Genoa Waterfall Trail, Sierra Canyon Trail or Discovery Trail will do. Genoa: a little village with an expansive trail network.

Keywords: history, gentry, traveling, outdoors, recreation.

Reference
David W. Toll: The Complete Nevada Traveler. The Affectionate and Intimately Detailed Guidebook to the most Interesting State in America. Gold Hill Publishing Company, Inc., Virginia City, Nevada, 2002.