Huffaker Park and Mountain Trail

Really cool trail that you can walk around with your dogs. It was a little windy because storm was rolling in but dogs didn’t mind. Pretty views from the top too!

I really enjoy this park. Its big and maintained. I enjoy the trails. I take the kids i babysit over to play ave they enjoy themselves. The trails are relativly easy, but you have Ru watch your step in some places. I have came close to spraining my ankle!

Very nice and easy trail. I actually caught a dog owner walking away and I called him back. Telling him he dropped something. When he got there I layer into him. It was so gross! He saw is coming and didn’t care to leave the poop there.
The smell was unbearable at some spots. I’m a dog owner and it bothered me. Even the actual park is really nice and shady but again all pooped!
There are signs saying you’ll be arrested for leaving it. Maybe I should’ve done a citizens arrest lol

In the never ending effort to get some weight off of our dog, we have decided to start trying out some of the abundant local trails. The trusty Unilocal app led us to Huffaker Park with a relatively short hike and close proximity to where we live.
There are several entrances to the trail — from the park, from a nearby apartment complex, and from a nearby subdivision. Each puts you on different parts of the trail — each has a station for bags for your pup and has a sign that shows the three paths of the trail that you can take. There are two smaller loops and one large loop that encompasses both smaller loops and works out to be a little over 1.5 miles.
We started out at the park and went to the right, so we immediately hit the gazebo. This offers some great views, plus a good stopping point for the hill you just climbed up. As you continue along this side of the trail, there is an amphitheater (maybe for kids’ field trips?), signs pointing out the vegetation and animals you might see (although these are sort of in disrepair), and picnic tables.
As you continue along the trail, there are no more picnic tables but there are benches occasionally if you need a break. It seems they only placed the picnic tables on the scenic side of the trail.
I mentioned that there are stations for bags at the trail’s entrances. I didn’t check to see if these were stocked. Either they weren’t stocked or people just don’t give a… [insert pun here], or a combination of both. This leads to «surprises» every few feet; although it’s not much of a surprise if you can smell it coming. The signs at the beginning of the trail state there are fines for not picking up after your dog. But let’s be real here — there’s no one out there patrolling the trail. Anyway, if you are bringing your dog on this trail, please plan ahead and bring a bag and USE IT — don’t be «that guy».

Ever notice that little gazebo on the hill just off the S. Virginia Street exit of 395? Well I had many times, and I’d often wonder what it was doing up there. Is it part of someone’s backyard? Is it one of those random structures left in the Nevada backcountry for weary travelers? Did someone get married up there and just leave it? I wanted to know but I’d never really tried that hard to find out.
But then, as fortune would have it, I moved into a new neighborhood and I discovered a really nice park, some short hiking trails, and great views of South Reno and benches to enjoy them from! The gazebo itself is actually pretty cool and a picnic underneath it on a nice day is a great idea! I guess it wasn’t as mysterious as I’d once thought. It’s just a gazebo on a hill for people to enjoy, and that’s enough purpose I suppose.
But In my quest to find the gazebo, I discovered an «amphitheater» that looks to have been there for years. It’s a number of concrete slabs arranged symmetrically in a v-​shape pattern, resting high up on the hill. I have no idea how it got there, or what force of nature might have created it, but my guess is aliens! How else could something that big and heavy get up there?
On each of my walks now I look for clues on the hillside. Someday I’ll crack the case. Someday…

I have been here quite a few times now and it is a really nice park for taking kids to play on the outdoor jungle gym toys. As a matter of fact this park has the only outdoor toys kids can climb on and slide that is in the shade of a big tree that I have found (the play area across the big field right on Huffaker). The mountain trail is great for a gentle very scenic hike on well established trails. As stated before the restrooms (closed in winter months) are good for a public park. Good place to have a kids birthday party or a weekend company BBQ.

This park, nestled amid the suburban sprawl and industrial parks of Southeast Reno, is a great place for active folks. The park, located in the middle of a residential neighborhood, seems to be split into two sections – the front section, a large playing field with a good-​sized playground; and the back section, which includes a picnic shelter, tennis courts, basketball courts, exercise/​stretching equipment, horseshoes, and another playground. The front section is frankly a bit scary and probably prevents a lot of people from enjoying the rest of the park. The playground here is not well maintained – the climbing gyms are covered in graffiti, and the sand is sprinkled liberally with trash and cigarette butts. The back section of the park (off of Offenhauser) is a real gem, though. Lovely shade trees and a running stream make this a very relaxing place, and the playground and other equipment here is in much better repair. There is a rentable shelter here with several tables and a large grill. My recommendation if you visit here is to park your car on Offenhauser Street and totally skip the front section of the park on E. Huffaker.
Starting off the rear section of the park is the Huffaker Desert Preserve Lookout Point Loop Trail. This trail is great for a short hike – it took us less than an hour to walk the whole loop. It is easy and flat for a majority of the loop, with a few short steep sections to get your heart going. Again, poor maintenance is apparent here, with the interpretive signs in great need of repair. Also, despite the fact that there are plenty of signs telling dog walkers to pick up after their pets, you will need to beware the many canine land mines. Because apparently those signs only apply to SOME dog owners and not to those other, SPECIAL people who don’t have to follow the posted rules or the dictates of common courtesy. Other than that unfortunate downside, this is a great trail with lots of nice views.