The $1.5 million Truckee River Whitewater Park is both Nevada’s and the region’s first whitewater park and kayak slalom racing course. The park is designed for kayaks, canoes, rafts or inner tubes and is accessible for all level of water enthusiasts. Located in the heart of a downtown Reno, within walking distance from the 24-hour hotels and casinos, the Truckee River Whitewater Park is the only whitewater park in the United States that offers all of the following attributes:
- Open year-round
- Constant flow of clean, fresh water
- Large size –11 drop-pools
- Great variety of whitewater activities for different skill levels
- Easy public and spectator access
Favorable year-round climate
Designed to accommodate low water flows to ensure usability during dry spells
Situated in mountain adventure area that also offers skiing, golf, mountain biking and more
Located in close proximity to Reno/Tahoe International Airport and Interstate 80
Special Features:
- 2,600 feet of combined access that includes a 1,400 foot north channel and a 1,200 foot south channel; the north and south channels are divided by Wingfield Park, an island in the river that creates the channels and directs the flow
- Class 2 to 3 course (on a scale of 1 to 6; one being a lake, six being a waterfall)
- Five drop pools in the north channel and six in the south channel; drop pools are round pools designed for kayaking maneuvers that decrease slightly in elevation with each successive pool and allow for a constant flow of fresh water
- South channel designed as a kayak slalom course
- 7,000 tons of smooth flat-top rocks and boulders installed along the river banks and in-stream for easy public access, spectators and kayaking maneuvers
- Deep pools with continual fresh water provide good habitat for fish, particularly Lahontan cutthroat trout
- Forked river surrounds grassy park with amphitheater and facilities for concerts, festivals, picnics, outdoor sports and recreation
- Boating can start anywhere upstream
- Pedestrian walkway beneath street level bridge at Arlington Avenue for convenient mobility between east and west ends of terrestrial park
- Takes approximately 2 to 2 1/2 minutes to "run" the new whitewater park straight through but several kayakers take hours, enjoying playboating and other maneuvers in each of the pools
- Water temperature ranges between 50 and 70 degrees
Background: Kayaking and whitewater rafting have been enjoyed on the Truckee River since about the 1960’s but it lacked an improved environment, proper public access and navigability. In January 1999, Ferenc Szony, president and CEO of the Sands Regency Hotel-Casino and a commissioner for the Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCOT), recommended that the NCOT staff explore the feasibility of building a whitewater park on the Truckee River in Reno to provide a compelling new recreation and adventure attraction.
The Nevada Commission on Tourism met with the city councils and parks and recreation commissions of Reno and Sparks, the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority, Nevada Division of State Lands, Nevada Division of Wildlife, Sierra Pacific Power Company, Washoe County Board of Commissioners, Reno, Sparks and Washoe County Parks and Recreation Director and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discuss the project. A feasibility study was later conducted and a plan for the project was completed and distributed.
In 2002, the Truckee Meadows Water Authority Board of Directors agreed to pay $1.5 million to build the whitewater park and kayak course as its mitigation for restricting recreational boating as a result of rebuilding Farad Dam on the Truckee River, just over the border in California. It was later decided not to wait for the dam construction to be completed. Nevada voters passed a $200 million statewide ballot measure that authorized funding for improvement projects around the state, including $10 million for the Truckee River. In 2002, design work began for the Truckee River Whitewater Park at Wingfield as steering committee members explored potential sources of funding to construct the park.
In June 2003, two Reno hoteliers, Don Carano of the Eldorado Hotel-Casino and Phil Satre of Harrah’s Reno, offered to loan the city $500,000 a piece to “bridge” the cost of construction until bond funding would be available. City of Reno also agreed to loan $500,000 toward the project, for a total of $1.5 million needed to cover costs until the bond funds arrived. On July 16, 2003, the Reno City Council awarded a construction contract to build the Truckee River Park at Wingfield to low-bidder Cruz Excavating, Inc., of Incline Village, Nev.
On Aug. 7, 2003, state and local officials and community leaders held an official groundbreaking ceremony for the Truckee River Park at Wingfield. In September, construction was completed ahead of schedule in the north channel of the park and the water began to flow opening up the park to kayakers immediately. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held in November and the official grand opening of the park will be celebrated with the inaugural Reno River Festival, May 14-16, 2004.
Park Credits:
Owner: City of Reno
Management of river bottom and banks to high water level: State of Nevada
Architect: Gary Lacy, Recreation Engineering & Planning, Boulder, Colo.
Design team: Kennedy Jenks Consultants, Reno, Nev., Resource Concepts, Inc., Carson City, Nev.
Contractor: Cruz Excavating, Inc., Incline Village, Nev.
Website: For more information about the Truckee River Whitewater Park, visit: www.visitrenotahoe.com, www.renoriverfestival.com