After a little bit of snowfall here and there, we’ve been having fairly warm weather this January, so it seemed like we should get outside for a hike. Given the choice, I prefer a dirt trail to a paved trail, which narrowed some of our local hiking options this time of year. The goal was to figure out a trail that wouldn’t be too far away, but we could still avoid hiking in snow.

We landed on a relatively rural trail that weaves around the Truckee River east of Sparks in the McCarran Ranch Preserve – and to be honest, this was more of a walk than a hike, but it got us outside and moving on a beautiful winter day.

The McCarran Ranch Trail trailhead is in a rather peculiar location amongst the expansive buildings of an industrial park, but if you ignore that and I-80 in the background and focus on the Truckee River, it’s a picturesque area with lots of wild mustangs roaming around and wader-clad anglers fishing the river from the shore, rafts, and while up to their thighs in water.

Once we found the trailhead and parked, we started down the trail that paralleled the river. Initially, the dirt trail was littered with river rocks and some larger boulders along the shore and across the water.

Very early on – a treat! – we spotted three wild mustangs grazing across the river.

With all the wild horses around, we found ourselves dodging enormous piles of horse droppings all along the trail.

In addition to sharing space with I-80, McCarran Ranch Trail is also near the railroad tracks.

Another herd of wild mustangs along the trail.

A couple of miles in, we reached the bridge that spans across the Truckee.

Our friend Chad will make fun of me for saying this, but it was a very sturdy bridge because it’s also a one-lane for vehicles.

Once we started up the gravel road past the bridge to the ranch house and amphitheater, a silver Dodge Ram pick-up truck appeared. We stepped aside to allow the truck to pass, but at the same time, the driver stopped and waved us along. So, we hurried up to get past the truck, but as we approached, the driver leaned out his window and made a wisecrack about how fast I was walking. 😂

We stopped to chat with him for probably 15 minutes, learned his name was Earl and he lives nearby. He was a friendly guy, told us half of his life story, and eventually, we announced that we had to keep moving because it could otherwise start to get dark on us. Earl drove on and we continued our route. Goodbye, Earl!

Upon arriving at the old ranch house and the much newer amphitheater, we made our way down to the water’s edge again.

We followed the trail until it basically looped back, and then we headed on our return route to the trailhead, dodging horse-dropping bombs along the way.

When we returned to the trailhead, a train was stopped on the tracks nearby. A few minutes later, I heard a train whistle in the distance. Shortly after, an Amtrak came speeding through and crossed the railroad trestle in front of us. I’m a huge nerd when it comes to trains.

Some might recall my admitted affinity for trains, so it was fun today to be this close to the tracks on our hike. (I especially nerded out over the Grand Canyon train.)

So, today’s hike wasn’t a big challenge, didn’t have an impressive payoff, but we got outdoors on a beautiful January day, got to see some wild horses and trains, met Earl, and enjoyed the scenic Truckee River, so that’s enough of a win in my book.

McCarran Ranch Trail
Total Distance	7.58 mi
Total Time	2:54:58
Total Ascent	194 ft
Max Elevation	4,339 ft