NEVADA STATE PARKS IN LINCOLN COUNTY
By Barbara Rohde
Lincoln County is blessed with some of the greenest scenery in Nevada, and also has one of the largest concentrations of Nevada State Parks within a 50-mile radius of Pioche. Three of the first Nevada State Parks were established in Lincoln County, back in 1935 when the State Legislature created the State Park System. Cathedral Gorge State Park, located 10 miles south of Pioche right along U.S. Highway 93 dated back even further, having been declared a “State Park and Wildlife Refuge” by Governor James Scrugham in 1926. This scenic canyon park had been a favorite among Lincoln County residents from the 1890’s, when its name was changed from “Panaca Gulch” to “Cathedral Gulch” by the wife of Pioche mining engineer William S. Godbe. Mary W. Godbe sometimes accompanied her husband on his trips to Bullionville, and she would ride her horse and buggy just over the hill to explore the eerie rock formations along the base of the eastern-most cliffs of the gorge. She exclaimed “Why, this is like God’s own Cathedral,” and she extolled the scenic qualities of the gorge to anyone who would listen. As it turned out, a lot of people listened, and started visiting the gorge, to explore the slot canyons (nicknamed caves), and enjoy a pleasant Sunday outing in the natural setting. During the 1920’s, many open-air pageants and plays were put on in the Gorge, and in 1964, the Nevada (and Panaca’s) Centennial Pagaent was produced with the backdrop of the Gorge, in the area where the 1930’s C.C.C.-constructed picnic ramada still stands. Over the years, improvements were made, including a 22-unit campground and a nice tree-shaded group area, along with the Regional Information Center at the park’s main entrance. A network of trails provides access to the park’s features, and back-country.
Beaver Dam State Park (35 miles east of Caliente) was also established in 1935, having been “just off the main road” for the earliest years of its use. The little community of Clover Valley (Barclay) was established in 1864, at the same time as Panaca, and families from both of those towns would often go to visit families that lived in Beaver Dam Wash. They would go fishing along the natural stream that was dotted with beaver dams, or just enjoy a picnic under the native cottonwood and willow trees along the stream. The “Acoma-Shem Highway” was the first “all-weather” road from Lincoln County into Utah, and it passed only a few miles from Beaver Dam Wash. It was a “natural” to become a Nevada State Park; although the 1935 Civilian Conservation Corps crews spent a lot of time constructing camping and picnicking facilities at Beaver Dam, the floods in 1937-38 destroyed most of their work. A man-made dam in 1961, Schroder Dam, controlled the floods, and provided a small lake for fishing; but severe floods in 2004-2005 breached the dam and led to its destruction. The area once again is a natural setting for primitive camping; two developed campgrounds with 30 sites are set among the pinyon and juniper forested setting of Beaver Dam canyon, and a network of trails offer exploration opportunities.
Kershaw-Ryan State Park (2 miles south of Caliente) was the third park established in 1935. The Samuel Kershaw family had homesteaded this little canyon in 1870, and had an orchard and garden that was watered by the natural springs that emerge from the base of towering igneous-rock cliffs. After 30 years (and Mr. Kershaw’s demise), the canyon was sold to James and Martha Ryan, who did not actually live in the canyon. During their years, local residents would come to picnic and enjoy the shady canyon, and the Ryans decided to donate Kershaw Canyon to the State of Nevada in 1934, to be made into a public park. The C.C.C. companies developed camping and picnicking sites, a wading pond (from one of the springs), and a caretaker’s cabin. The City of Caliente generously provided a caretaker during the years that Nevada’s State Parks were not funded by the Legislature; and when funds became available in the early 1960’s, a 12-unit campground with modern toilets and showers was built in the area surrounding the wading pond. Floods in 1984 destroyed most of the manmade features of the park, and it was a 13-year struggle to rebuild and reopen the park in 1997. In 2009, the long-awaited new campground opened.
Spring Valley State Park (18 miles east of Pioche) started as a county park, when Eagle Valley Dam was built in 1965. Eagle Valley Reservoir once covered 65 acres, but has shrunk a little over the years. It provides a good trout fishery, with deep and cold waters that fill the canyon at the southern/western end of Spring Valley. Water is released for ranching in Eagle Valley and Rose Valley, for natural irrigation of the pastures. A campground in Horsethief Gulch was built at the same time as the dam, and the campsites are tucked among the pinyon and juniper woodland. In 1969, Lincoln County turned over operation of the park to the Nevada State Park System, and it was renamed as Spring Valley State Park, though locals often just call it “Eagle Valley.” The park now includes the pastures, and several of the homesteaders’ homes in Spring Valley-proper. One of these, the Stone Cabin Living History Museum, is available for tours, having been renovated in 1995 to its original appearance. There is a trailhead at the Stone Cabin for a 2-1/2 mile trail that ends at the “Ranch Campground,” a 6-unit “dry” campground near the park headquarters, the old 7-L (Hollinger) Ranch. The graded gravel road continues beyond the 7-L Ranch to become the “Mt. Wilson Back-country Byway,” which loops back around to Highway 93 about 60 miles later. High-clearance vehicles may enjoy this road in the summer months; it is often snowed in by November.
Echo Canyon State Park (12 miles east of Pioche) also started as a county park, when Echo Canyon Dam was built in 1969. Its campground amenities were identical to those at Spring Valley, except for lacking showers in the restrooms, or power to keep the restrooms heated and open through the winter months. After completion of the dam and campground, the county turned over operation of the park to Nevada State Parks. An ongoing problem since the dam’s first years, is the loss of water through the lakebed (which was not “sealed” when the dam was built). Echo Canyon dam was built in “Dry Valley,” which the pioneers named for the habit of the Meadow Valley Wash (stream) going underground at this point, and re-emerging from springs a few miles further south (by the Delmue Ranch). However, the lower water level of the lake makes it an ideal “warm water” fishery, for bass and crappie, and also a good location for finding “trophy size” bullfrogs (when the Great Blue Herons don’t beat you to the catch). Another feature of this park is that all portions of the shoreline may be reached by vehicle (Spring Valley has only one side of the lake accessible by car, and by scrambling down a hillside). It is also less crowded than Spring Valley, and is the best location near Pioche for seeing ducks and shorebirds.
The newest addition to the State Park System in Lincoln County is the Elgin One-Room Schoolhouse State Historic Site. This original schoolhouse was restored by the family whose member built it in 1922 to educate the schoolchildren of ranchers and railroad workers in lower Rainbow Canyon. At this time, there was no “bus service” as we know today, and the children needed to be educated closer to their homes. By the 1960’s, bus service was increasing, and the number of families living in Rainbow Canyon decreased – so the school closed after the last Bradshaw child finished 8th grade. In 1998, one of the Bradshaw family members decreed in his will the wish to see the schoolhouse restored; and in two short years, it was dedicated by the Bradshaw families and friends that funded the restoration. In 2005, the Bradshaws donated it to the Nevada State Park system for operation and maintenance. The flooding down Rainbow Canyon in January, 2005, has limited access for the present; but State Route 317 is on the list for Nevada Dept. of Transportation to repair as funds become available.
We welcome you to explore and enjoy the Nevada State Parks!
