On the south bank of the Truckee River near Mogul, people have long reached the water and the Forest Service land beyond it by pulling into an informal dirt lot or onto the shoulder of the road. As of this month, that same stretch has a paved address. The Canepa Ranch Trailhead at 3550 Mario Road opened with a ribbon cutting on Saturday, November 7. Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill, Washoe County Parks and Open Space staff and members of the Canepa family were on hand, and a guided ranger hike followed. 2 News covered the celebration that weekend.
The trailhead is new, but the land isn't. Washoe County has owned part of Canepa Ranch since the late 1990s. What opened this month is the first organized way in.
The Land Went Public in 1997
The open space at Canepa Ranch was put together over more than a decade of purchases. News 4 laid out the history in August as construction was getting underway.
| Year | What changed hands | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | About 42 acres, bought jointly by Washoe County and the Nevada Department of Wildlife, which still co-own the parcel | $50,000 |
| 2002 | About 121 more acres of the former ranch, plus water rights, bought by the County with Regional Parks, Open Space and Trails bond funds | Nearly $2.2 million |
| 2009 | About 111 acres sold by the County to the U.S. Forest Service, with the County keeping the water rights | $1.53 million |
| Today | The County keeps about 53 acres of the former ranch |
The 2009 sale explains why the new trailhead leads toward so much more than 53 acres. Much of the former ranch is now Forest Service land, and the trailhead gives public access to the Truckee River and to the adjacent public lands and trails the Forest Service manages. When the County presented its access plan in 2022, it credited the Canepa family with wanting the land kept open for the public while holding on to its ranching character.
So the public has owned the ground, the river frontage and the connection to federal land for decades. The trailhead added the parking, the restroom and the marked loop.
What $1.05 Million Bought Is a Front Door
Washoe County puts the total project cost at about $1.05 million, counting design, planning and permitting. In August 2024, county commissioners accepted a $748,497 state conservation grant that required a $187,125 county match. In June 2026, Pokrajac Corporation won the construction contract at $845,957.29. The County names the Conserve Nevada Program, run by the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, as a partial funder.
The money went to structure:
- 19 parking spaces, including two accessible spaces, plus room for horse trailers
- A permanent restroom building and wayfinding signs
- Information kiosks, bike racks and a picnic area
- A river access path and a singletrack loop trail
- A paved access road, fencing and gates, with an ADA fishing access platform included in the construction scope
Washoe County parks superintendent Stephanie D'Arcy explained the reasoning to News 4 before construction started:
"The reality is that people are using this area anyway, and we're looking to provide some structure around it. When you have permanent restroom buildings, it helps encourage appropriate use. When we have specific parking spots, it helps encourage appropriate use as well."
She also told News 4 that park attendance had risen 65% over the previous 10 years. County officials described the project as a way to organize existing use rather than create an entirely new outdoor destination.
The Route In Still Runs Through Boomtown
There's no bridge across the Truckee at Mogul. To reach the south bank, you cross at the Boomtown exit, and the County's own opening notice says so. The directions for this month's volunteer event are more specific. Drivers heading west on I-80 should take Exit 4 toward Boomtown and Garson Road instead of the Mogul exit.
For anyone living on the Mogul side, the trailhead sits just across the water from home, yet reaching it by car means a loop out through Boomtown. The last stretch runs on a quiet neighborhood street. During the public process before the plan was approved in June 2022, more than 75% of survey respondents supported the Canepa Ranch concept. The same process also surfaced concerns about added traffic, trash and effects on the surrounding ecosystem. A neighbor of 25 years told News 4 she remembered her grandchildren learning to ride bikes on the street that now leads to the trailhead. Her hope was that the County would "keep an eye on the traffic." The County's answer is the same structure D'Arcy described: designated parking, permanent facilities and signs that encourage responsible use.
The 2022 plan considered a crossing too. It named a preferred bridge that would connect County land with Forest Service land. That bridge isn't part of what opened this month. Until it exists, the Boomtown exit is the way in.
The First Winter on the New Loop
The trailhead opened in November, so its first full season is winter. The calendar is already filling in.
- Saturday, November 14, 10 a.m. to noon. Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful, W.O.L.F. and Washoe County Parks host the Canepa Ranch Autumn Stewardship event at 3550 Mario Road. Volunteers are asked to wear sturdy shoes and warm clothes, and the organizers supply the equipment and materials. Parking is by the grass field, and access roads need to stay clear.
- December 1 through March 30. The 2022 access plan recommended keeping dogs leashed on these public lands during the winter deer migration, and this is the first season that window falls after the trailhead opened.
- All winter. The Nevada Department of Wildlife's 2026 and 2027 fishing regulations keep the Truckee River in Washoe County open year-round, at any hour of the day or night, with a daily limit of three game fish. The same regulations list closed waters, including the 1,000 feet of the Truckee River directly downstream of Derby Dam. NDOW also keeps a Truckee River page linking its angler guide. Treat this as general information. NDOW's documents are the place to confirm the rules for your own trip.
The stewardship morning falls two days after this post goes up. It's also the first organized work day on the new loop since the ribbon cutting, and it starts from the same lot the County spent this year building.
Carcione Is the Next Front Door
The County calls Canepa Ranch Phase 1 of the 2022 Carcione and Canepa Ranch Recreation Access Plan. The rest of the plan reads like a list of front doors still to come. It includes day-use loop trails and interpretive features, plus non-motorized connections for hikers, runners, cyclists and equestrians to new or future Forest Service backcountry trails. It also covers ADA river access, informal fishing access and a possible put-in and take-out for non-motorized watercraft at both the Carcione and Canepa properties.
The Carcione property has its own future trailhead, and News 4 reported in August that no date had been set. According to the 2022 staff report, the plan is to be built as funding opportunities come up, and any development on Forest Service land needs further NEPA review. Canepa Ranch followed that pattern. The plan was approved in 2022, the grant was accepted in 2024, construction ran from summer into fall 2026, and the ribbon was cut on November 7.
For Verdi and Mogul, the map on Mario Road now matches what people were already doing there. The river, the Forest Service land and the old ranch ground were public long before the parking lot. As of this month, there are 19 marked spaces, a restroom and a singletrack loop where the dirt lot used to be.
If you're spending more time on this side of the river and wondering how a new trailhead, a future one at Carcione or the next phase of the plan might shape the streets around them, I'm glad to talk it through, quietly and on your schedule. Tiffany Billman is here when you're ready. Let's Connect.
