The whitewater park on the sparkling Truckee River is open year-round and situated within an easy walk of Reno hotel-casinos. It features 11 "drop pools" and boulders for kayaking maneuvers, a slalom racing course, and 7,000 tons of smooth flat rocks along the shores for easy river access and spectator seating.
"Nevada now has an exciting whitewater park that already is attracting a lot of enthusiastic kayakers and spectators," Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt, chair of the Truckee River Whitewater Steering Committee and Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCOT), said. "This wonderful new attraction boosts Nevada's worldwide reputation for creating enjoyable experiences for everyone. The entire state will benefit from the beauty and vitality this whitewater park provides."
Mayor Bob Cashell described the whitewater park as a great milestone for the city of Reno and the northern Nevada region, which includes Sparks and Lake Tahoe.
"Reno long has been known as ‘The Biggest Little City in the World,' and now, with a whitewater park and kayak slalom racing course in the heart of downtown, it also truly is ‘America's Adventure Place,'" Cashell said. "This unique attraction already has brought a vibrant new spirit to our city and a promise of great enjoyment in the years to come for citizens and visitors of all ages."
The whitewater course is a total of 2,600 feet long, rated a class 2 to 3 for difficulty, on a scale of 1 to 6, and includes north and south channels that surround a city park on an island in the river that is the site of festivals, concerts and other outdoor activities, and now also will host competitive kayaking events.
Bruce Bommarito, executive director of NCOT, which began to promote a whitewater park for Reno in 1999, said the park is the jewel in a 24-mile long whitewater course on the Truckee River, which the state is marketing worldwide as a new attraction.
"Today's highly competitive tourism business demands that Nevada expand our visitor attractions, and the whitewater park provides an excellent new dimension for our state's No. 1 industry," Bommarito said. "The value of Reno's new whitewater park extends far beyond the city limits. It is an attraction that NCOT will promote around the world to underscore Nevada's image as an exciting outdoor adventure destination."
The whitewater park, formally named Truckee River Park at Wingfield, is Nevada's first, and is unique in the nation because of its large size, variety of features, year-round use, fresh water supply, and location in the center of a 24-hour resort city that also offers casinos, skiing and 40 golf courses nearby.
Construction of the whitewater park began in August and was completed a week earlier than the Nov. 1 deadline. Some work still to be finished on land includes planting vegetation and installing irrigation, lighting and drinking fountains. Construction activities are expected to be completed by Thanksgiving, Nov. 27, although some planting must await spring.
The new park cost $1.5 million to build, including a $1.2 million for construction and $300,000 for on-site contract management. The architect is Gary Lacy of Boulder, Co., who has designed nearly 30 whitewater parks. The park is the first project in Washoe County to be financed under a 2002 statewide voter-approved bond that allocated $10 million for Truckee River improvements.
Its accessibility is a big plus, being situated near Interstate 80 and only a 10-minute drive from Reno-Tahoe International Airport. The park is about an hour's drive from the Sierra Nevada skiing and mountain sports mecca Lake Tahoe, where the Truckee River originates.
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