Walk your way through Carson City’s fascinating past on the Kit Carson Trail
With historic buildings, Victorian architecture, and the former U.S. Mint, the 2.5-mile Kit Carson Trail is a self-guided trip back in time.
Named Nevada’s most charming small town by HGTV earlier this year, Carson City was once a mere stopover for gold seekers and farmers settling the Western frontier.
The city began to flourish after the 1859 discovery of the Comstock Lode, 15 miles away in historic Virginia City. When Nevada’s statehood was granted on Oct. 31, 1864, Carson City was named the official state capital.
Visitors and locals alike can learn more about Carson City’s rich history on a self-guided Kit Carson Trail walking tour. Formerly called the Carson City Blue Line Trail, the 2.5-mile trail traverses several blocks of the city’s West Side Historic District, offering insight into Carson City and the people who built it.
Interested in learning more? Here are some things you might not know about the self-guided Kit Carson Trail tour.
It isn’t the same as the trail Kit Carson scouted through the Carson Valley.
The Kit Carson walking trail visits 48 stops in downtown Carson City, like Victorian-style homes, museums, churches, and the Governor’s Mansion. This tour of historic downtown Carson City is a wink to Kit Carson (Christopher Houston Carson).
Carson was a wilderness guide who, in 1842, blazed a trail through uncharted portions of Carson Valley en route to California. Also known as the Kit Carson Trail, and sometimes referred to as the Carson Route, the trail was epic at the time because it allowed easier and safer passage for pioneers.
It’s not the same as the walking trail.
Speaking of easy passage …
You can locate the stops along the walking tour and learn about each location thanks to an interactive online audio map from Visit Carson City, accessible on any smartphone or device. If this is too high-tech for your liking, Visit Carson City lets you download a non-interactive map, featuring all 48 stops with short descriptions.
Better yet, pop into the tourism bureau’s Visitor Center, 716 N. Carson Street, and pick up a traditional paper map.
Tour stops, including houses, businesses, churches, and government buildings, are denoted by signage and sandstone brick markers.
It’s a choose-your-own adventure tour.
While the map lists the stops by number, going in order is not required. Begin where you want. Skip whatever you want. Stop whenever you want. Go home and come back later.
No matter where you go on this quaint tour, you’ll learn something new about the history and people of Carson City. For instance:
- Some of the buildings, such as the St. Charles-Muller’s Hotel (Stop 40) and St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (Stop 22), are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- The first stop, the Nevada State Museum, was formerly the US Mint, which minted $49 million worth of silver and gold coins in its heyday.
- Stop 39, the Bank Saloon (formerly Jack’s Saloon), is a working bar serving handcrafted cocktails, wine, and beer.
You’ll also find out:
The Nevada State Capitol building holds a record.
Once standing all by its lonesome, the Nevada State Capitol building, located at 101 N. Carson St. (Stop 42), is now part of a campus that also includes the Legislative Building, Supreme Court, and State Library and Archives. Constructed of native sandstone, it’s the second-oldest Capitol building west of the Mississippi River. If you stop by on a Saturday, you may be able to take a tour of the building.
It took 30 years to build a Governor’s Mansion in Carson City.
Nevada was proclaimed a territory in 1861 and a state in 1864, but the Carson City Governor’s Mansion, located at 606 N. Mountain St. (Stop 9), was not built until 1909. State Assembly Bill 10, the “Mansion Bill,” secured a permanent site and residence for Nevada’s First Families in 1907.
Acting Governor Denver Dickerson and his family were the first residents in 1909. A Classical Revival building with Georgian and Jeffersonian motifs, it was designed by a Reno architect, George A. Ferris.
No, not that Ferris, but close.
Horticulturalist George Ferris raised his son, George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr., in a house at 311 W. 3rd St. (Stop 28) in Carson City. Junior became an engineer in Pennsylvania and went on to invent a 250-foot Ferris Wheel for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. It is said that he was fascinated with waterwheels and turbines as a child in Nevada.
Speaking of famous people from history …
Famous author Samuel Clemens (pen name Mark Twain) had a brother. He was a big deal, too. Orion Clemens was Nevada’s first Territorial Secretary. His house, located at 502 N. Division St., is Stop 20 on the tour.
Carson City is so historic that it’s haunted.
While the Kit Carson Trail is typically best enjoyed during daylight hours, the fall brings the Carson City Ghost Walk. On this family-friendly flashlight tour, you’ll explore haunted places and spaces in Carson City like the ghost-filled Governor’s Mansion with the fictional Madame Curry, widow of Carson City founder Abraham Curry, as your guide.
The Carson City Ghost Walk takes place on select Saturdays around Halloween.
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