Carson Valley Ranch Tours, Emigrant Trail Tour & More

Carson Valley Ranch Tour with Lunch at JT Restaurant

Welcome to the tour of historic Carson Valley ranches — some working and some preserved.

Included in the tour are the Klauber Ranch — the first ranch settled in the center of the valley, circa 1856; the H. F. Dangberg Home Ranch settled in 1857; Sheep Camp featuring the stock shipping site of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad; Buckeye Ranch with its sheep operation and farming center; the historic Gansberg Ranch famous for its stock horses and cattle business; Bently Ranch where new and innovative agriculture strives to make the most of sustainable forage and crops while promoting new and innovative cattle management techniques to update traditional ranching practices.

Ranch principal managers or owners will compare details of similarities and differences of historic and modern ranch operations. Plus, an 'inside the walls' tour of the Historic Dangberg Home Ranch.

Part of the ticket price includes lunch at the JT Basque Restaurant and entertainment by Nevada singer, Richard Elloyan.

Dr. Michael E. Fischer, Chautauquan and historian, will lead the tour with funny and informative tales of ranch life in the Carson Valley. You will be entertained by stories of generation's long family feuds, business intrigue, the Minden-Gardnerville rivalry and the constant fight over water, plus learn some of "Cousin" Valley's secrets and tour great ranches to which the general public usually has no access.

Please park at the Genoa Cemetery where the coach bus will be located for the tour.

Friday, May 3rd
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tickets: $125 — Lunch at the JT Restaurant. Coach bus transportation included. The historic ranch tour will take the better part of the day on May 3rd, so wear layers of warm, comfortable clothes and sturdy, comfortable shoes you can walk in for hours.

COWBOY SPECIAL: Ranch Tour with Lunch at the JT, Chuck Wagon Dinner and the Friday night concert
(concert is at 7 p.m. featuring Hot Club of Cowtown, Waddie Mitchell and Dave Stamey in the Mormon Station main concert tent)
TICKETS: $150 per person — Save $25 per person!

April 30 was the last day to purchase tickets online, but tickets are still available from the Town Office.
To purchase tickets BEFORE FRIDAY, please contact the Town of Genoa, (775) 782-8696

Carson Emigrant Trail Bus Tour

The tour begins at 9 a.m. at the Mormon Station State Historic Park in Genoa where ticket holders will board a bus and travel roughly the same route of the 1850's emigrants heading to the California gold fields.

The tour includes stops at trail markers near the original 1850s supply and stagecoach stations: The first Mormon Station (site of Beatie's original lean-to), second Mormon Station (downtown Genoa), Walley's Hot Springs, Van Sickle Station, Mottsville Station, Sheridan Station, Fairview Station, Fredericksburg Station and Woodfords Station.

Additionally, Chautauqua characters will lead excursions into local cemeteries including Genoa Cemetery, Mottsville Cemetery and Fredericksburg Cemetery. Also, at the Mormon Station State Historic Park, Margaret Ormsby's Chatauquan will be there to begin the tour and answer questions about the story of Col. John Reese and the founding of the Mormon Station in Genoa.

The last stop will be at Snowshoe Thompson's cave in Carson Canyon (not far from Woodfords Station), with the final leg of the tour returning to Mormon Station State Historic Park by 1 p.m.

Saturday, May 4th
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Tickets: $40 — includes transportation and a snack. Wear comfortable walking shoes, weather appropriate clothing and bring a camera or video recorder.

Parking with shuttle bus pick up and transport is at the Genoa Cemetery.

April 30 was the last day to purchase tickets online, but tickets may still available from the Town Office.
To purchase tickets, please contact the Town of Genoa, (775) 782-8696

Historic Dangberg Home Ranch Tours

The Dangberg Home Ranch began in 1857 when German immigrant Heinrich Friedrich Dangberg started a new life in Nevada. He built a log cabin and cleared and irrigated the land. He also married, and the cabin grew into a large house as he and his wife, Maggie, raised five children. Dangberg prospered, and his success as a rancher, businessman and politician established the Dangbergs as one of the most influential families in Carson Valley history.

In 1902, the family founded the Dangberg Land and Livestock Co. and over the next few decades expanded their holdings to almost 50,000 acres supporting cattle and sheep production, along with vegetable crops and other products. In 1906, the family founded the town of Minden and there, in partnership with other ranchers, established several businesses focused on agriculture, banking and a hotel.

Today, the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park preserves this essential chapter in Nevada’s history. Nevada’s elite once passed through the doors of the Dangberg Home Ranch, and now you’re invited to visit, too.

READ MORE about the Historic Dangberg Home Ranch on their website: DangbergHomeRanch.org

The Historic Dangberg Home Ranch Tours are part of the Day Pass Events. You must have a Day Pass to be allowed in the gate/on the tour. Tours are about 90 minutes in length not including travel time from Genoa to the Dangberg Home Ranch and are available on Saturday and Sunday only.

MAP to Dangberg Ranch: CLICK HERE to download a MAP to the Historic Dangberg Home Ranch Park. Tour are usually scheduled by invitation only at this time. Please click on the Facebook link below to contact the park manager for details on tours or to book a tour.

Find Us on Facebook

Genoa Cemetery Tour

The Genoa Cemetery Tour explores the history of Genoa through the grave makers of past residents, including one of our most famous residents, John 'Snowshoe' Thompson.

Some of the oldest graves in Carson Valley can be found in the Genoa Cemetery — men and women, fathers, mothers and children, who lived and died here since the founding of Genoa, site of the original Mormon Station built in 1850.

Genoa Cemetery contains many ancestors of currently living Genoa residents as well as beautiful grave stones and monuments to those who came before.

Kim Copél hosts the tour and relates haunting tales of love and loss for all to hear and learn.

Sunday, May 5th
10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Day Pass required to attend the tour. The Genoa Cemetery has all dirt streets and walkways: Please wear comfortable, sturdy walking shoes. (The cemetery is located on an alluvial fan which is fairly well sloped and may be difficult for some people to traverse.)

Trail Trial Event

Welcome to the Genoa Cowboy Festival's Trail Trial Event at the River Fork Ranch.

This event is open to all riders from novice to advanced experience and the rider fee includes a Day Pass to the Genoa Cowboy Poetry Event with an option to purchase passes for friends and family. The Trail Trial Event will also benefit the Nature Conservancy's Whit Hall Interpretive Center with a raffle and prizes consisting of Genoa GCF merchandise and other prizes.

Riders need to contact S. Groenendyke at (775) 265-5557 or [email protected] if you need an Entry Form emailed, faxed or sent via 1st Class Mail.

Entry Fee: $55 for Adults, $50 for Juniors (17 years and under), $35 for Schooling/Companion. Other options are a $10 lunch and additional Day Passes. Entry Fee includes a single Day Pass to the Genoa Cowboy Festival for each rider (choice of Friday or Saturday Day Pass). 

Riders must fill out the Entry Form and mail it with a check or money order to the Town of Genoa prior to the Cowboy Festival dates. Participants may also visit the Genoa Town Office to drop off their Entry Form and payment. (Download Trail Trial Entry Form PDF below for more details.) 

To register for the Trail Trial Event, click on the Trail Trial Registration Form link below to download a PDF copy, then fill it out and mail it to:

Town of Genoa
c/o GCF Trail Trial Event
P.O. Box 14
Genoa, NV 89411-0014

River Fork Ranch • 381 Genoa Lane

Minden, NV 89423
Check-in: 9 a.m. • First Riders out at 9:30 a.m.
Call the Genoa Town Office for more details,
(775) 782-8696.

CLICK HERE to download a copy of the
Trail Trial Event Registration Form