| "If your dog is fat," the old saying goes, "you aren't | | | | from its glaciated past. Many of these boulders were |
| getting enough exercise." But walking the dog need not | | | | used by Washo Indians to grind food - look for |
| be just about a little exercise. Here are 10 cool things | | | | smoothed depressions in the granite rocks as an |
| you can see around Reno, Nevada while you hike with | | | | indication it may have been a grinding boulder. One |
| your dog.COLORFUL FISH. | | | | good place to see these stones, and learn their story, |
| Walking the dog down the Stream Profile Chamber | | | | is at the Lam Watah Washo Heritage Site. Pyramid |
| Trail at Taylor Creek Visitors Center leads to a | | | | Lake was named for a triangular-shaped |
| cut-away view of the creek and its underwater | | | | rock that can be seen from trails along its southern |
| denizens. In fall, spawning Kokanee salmon, tinted a | | | | shore. And canine hikers on Peavine Mountain can visit |
| brilliant red, swim past the trail. Another place to view | | | | the boulders that University of Nevada student |
| colorful fish up close is on the Truckee River Bike Path | | | | arranged into a symbolic "N" in 1913 and they continue |
| in Tahoe City. Peer into the water off the side of | | | | to maintain annually.MAGNIFICENT ESTATES. |
| Fanny Bridge and look at rainbow trout in the | | | | Your dog can walk up close and marvel at three |
| headwaters of the Truckee.FAMOUS ROADS. | | | | estates at the Tallac Historic Site - the Pope Estate, |
| In the mid-1800s the Reno area was merely a | | | | the Heller Estate and the Baldwin Estate. Wooded |
| stopover on the way to somewhere else. Many roads | | | | footpaths connect the mansion sites. You can see, but |
| were used by wagon trains, the Pony Express and | | | | not visit with your dog, Vikingsholm in Lake Tahoe at |
| others to reach California including Hawley's Grade, the | | | | Eagle Falls and Bower's Mansion at Davis Creek State |
| detour through Dog Valley and mountain passes such | | | | Park.OLD FORT RUINS. |
| as Roller Pass, Donner Pass and Carson Pass. Today, | | | | Fort Churchill State Park contains the ruins of the 1861 |
| many of these historic routes are public trails hosting | | | | frontier fort built to secure overland migration routes. |
| canine hikers. Keep an eye out for faint rust marks on | | | | Fort Churchill lasted only a decade and has been in a |
| rocks that are souvenirs of the wagon wheels of the | | | | state of arrested decay ever since. The remains of |
| western migration.GEOLOGY. | | | | the adobe buildings can be seen from trails in the state |
| The geologic origins of the region reveal themselves in | | | | park.TV AND MOVIE LOCATIONS. |
| many spots along local trails. At Cascade Creek Falls | | | | Your dog can walk in the footsteps of famous |
| ridges on both sides of Cascade Lake are visible | | | | Hollywood actors at sites in the Reno/Lake Tahoe |
| where rock debris has been pushed by retreating | | | | region used to film television shows and movies. The |
| glaciers. This depression, like other similar pits scraped | | | | Lower Prey Meadows on Tahoe's eastern shore was |
| from the rock, filled with snow melt and rainwater to | | | | a prime location for establishing shots of the great |
| form Tahoe area lakes.GRAVESTONES. | | | | NBC western, "Bonanza." Hoss, Little Joe, Adam and |
| Cemeteries are good destinations for an off-beat | | | | Ben Cartwright could often be seen riding through this |
| canine hike. In Virginia City, the nation's largest federally | | | | lush meadow in the shadow of towering mountains. |
| maintained historic district, are separate cemeteries | | | | Any canine hike to Dayton State Park will bring you in |
| reminiscent of the boomtown's rigidly structured | | | | the vicinity of filming locations for The Misfits, Clark |
| society. Wander among the headstones that are | | | | Gable and Marilyn Monroe's last movie.WATERFALLS. |
| markers from a time when Virginia City was Nevada's | | | | |
| biggest town.HISTORIC BUILDINGS. | | | | The Reno/Lake Tahoe region is certainly not lacking in |
| Area parks are home to some of Reno/Lake | | | | picturesque waterfalls you can visit with your dog. |
| Tahoe's most historic buildings. Relocated to Bartley | | | | Some, like Heath Falls, ask for considerable trail time |
| Ranch is the one-room Huffaker School that predates | | | | but others like Cascade Creek Falls and Eagle Falls, |
| even Reno itself. In Idlewild Park stands the California | | | | the only waterfall emptying directly into Lake Tahoe, |
| Building, built in 1927 and now the home of the Reno | | | | can be enjoyed with very little purchase.I am the |
| Art Center. From that same era, near the Loch | | | | author of over 20 books, including 8 on hiking with your |
| Levens Lake trailhead, is the Rainbow Lodge, | | | | dog, including the widely praised The Canine Hiker's |
| constructed from hand-hewn logs. Even older, dating | | | | Bible. As publisher of Cruden Bay Books, we produce |
| back a century, are rustic farm buildings seen from the | | | | the innovative A Bark In The Park series of canine |
| trails of Wilson Commons Park.INTERESTING | | | | hiking books found at During the warm months I lead |
| BOULDERS. | | | | canine hikes as tour leader for tours, leading packs of |
| The Reno/Lake Tahoe region is rife with souvenirs | | | | dogs and humans on day and overnight trips. |