Play soccer, join the Washoe Little League, have a picnic or just play at the playground at the South Valleys Regional Sports Complex Reno Nevada

This playground is suitable for ages 2 years-old and up. My 6 year-old and 3 year-old found a lot to do while we visited. They have various structures of varying ability, a spider dome/bar climbing structure (I had one of these at my elementary school while growning up and it brought up a memory or two on the playground at school), a rock climb/stair climb, swings for toddlers/babies, slides of varying height, speed and incline, tubes for little ones to climb through, spinning match games and more. My son found a little Easter Egg underneath the rock climbing stair structure, a velociraptor skeleton to look like a fossile in rock molded into the rock wall plastic.

When it comes to swings at the South Valleys Regional Sports Complex Reno Nevada, this playground only houses two toddler/infant swings. Swings that are suitable for very young children. Unfortunately, there are no swings for older children here. However, there is a dinosaur rocker nearby that children through the age of 10 years-old can enjoy in lieu of swings for older children. For as much as this playground contains, this is one item necessary for nearly any playground where it is sorely lacking. Perhaps, if there is every an expansion of the playground area, this could be something for City of Reno officials to add to the playground area.

While we were there, we found a couple of broken items on the playground, a wheel that was missing to power a spinning piston engine (it was about 8 pistons in a see-through view with gears that would spin to power the pistons), a platform with caution tape and some other things missing their steering wheels to spin them. With a minimal budget for park maintenance at the City of Reno, according to the Reno-Gazette Journal as recently as December 2015, it is understandable why these items were broken and I imagine that they will remain broken and in disrepair for some time until city parks are a focus in the city budget. Given all of these things, however, the park is maintained when it comes to regularly mowed lawns and no refuse outside of garbage cans and there is no sign of spray paint on anything at the park (sometimes tagging can happen to parks). So, the park is visibly pleasant to attend, overall.

Some of the larger play structures at the South Valleys Regional Sports Complex Reno Nevada playground may require adult supervision for younger children. My youngest is 3 years-old at the time of this article and she had no problem navigating the playground equipment. However, there were some larger items where I wanted to play the role of helicopter parent and hover over her as she scaled things like the rock climb stairs and the spider/bar dome. Not all things here at this playground will let you, as a parent remain carefree as to the safety of your child, but with increased potential hazards, the more likely an older child will find joy and adventure on those items that were difficult to scale when they were younger. So, overall, it is a trade-off, safety for fun in this case. Like I wrote above, however, my child of 3 years-old was able to use everything, it was only in some cases where I wanted to be close by in case she happened to slip off of a bar or stair.

There are also two covered areas that you can reserve with the city for special events and occasions like outdoor picnics, birthday parties or maybe a family reunion. One of these covered areas has a barbecue pit for charcoal briquettes and nearby there is a lot of wide open area covered with grass for a game of catch, Frisbee or toss with a football.

Both above and below the South Valleys Regional Sports Complex Reno Nevada playground area are soccer fields that are used nearly every day of the week for practices with Great Basin Youth Soccer teams or games on most afternoons of the week and on Saturdays. Most of these fields will be reserved, so, they may not be free to play on in any given day, but occasionally you may find an open field to play on if you bring a ball or kite to the park. Just be prepared to be asked to move off the field if it is reserved by a team for practice or a game.

Speaking of Frisbee, down in the canyon adjacent to the South Valleys Regional Sports Complex Reno Nevada playground I found a pole with chains on it that is used for Frisbee disc golf. I imagine this pole is a part of a larger Frisbee golf course that is 1 of 4 courses located in the Reno and Sparks area according to the Reno Disc Golf Association, and I could only see one other pole in the distance in this canyon near the hill that leads up to the I-595 freeway, and there are others poles that constitute an entire course. The area has a lot of vegetation (sagebrush and other desert plants) so if you happen to lose a Frisbee disc you may not be able to find it easily. If you are interested in playing “Disc Golf” at this location, check out the Facebook group for the Reno Disc Golf Association and join with others who enjoy the sport.

Finally, as this location is close to the Washoe Little League fields there is another playground near those fields close by. Please note that you cannot play on the Washoe Little League baseball fields as they are only reserved for the little league, but you can find others in the area where you can play like the fields at Shadow Mountain Sports Complex in Sparks or Idlewild Park.

Overall, my kids were easily entertained at the South Valleys Regional Sports Complex Reno Nevada playground and there no complaints from either of the two kids in the hour that we spent there during my oldest daughter’s soccer practice this past week. We saw another parent bring a picnic for one of the covered areas and then their kids played afterwards. If you’re looking for another park to visit in Reno Nevada, this is a good stop because it is clean, has structures for children of varying abilities and there is a lot of open space for any activities where you might need space like a game of catch or to fly a kite (it’s nearly always windy in Reno, Nevada which makes a day to fly a kite almost every day of the year).

We hope you can check it out and if you have visited this park/playground at South Valleys Regional Sports Complex Reno Nevada in the past, please, give us your thoughts. How did you feel about it after your visit? Do you enjoy visiting the South Valleys Regional Sports Complex Reno Nevada? We want to know.

As always, thanks for stopping by Windy Pinwheel.

Where: 15650 Wedge Pkwy, Reno, NV 89511.

What: Playground, park, soccer fields, Frisbee disc golf, horseshoe pits (near the little league fields), volleyball courts (near the little league fields), Washoe Little League fields and covered table areas available by reservation with the City of Reno at (775) 823-6501.

Need to know: When visiting the South Valleys Regional Sports Complex Reno Nevada, bring a picnic, bring a kite on a windy day, bring a ball to play catch and if you reserve a covered area with a barbecue pit, bring charcoal briquettes and anything else you need to get a barbecue going.

Extra Extra: Get more information about the South Valleys Regional Sports Complex Reno Nevada park on the Washoe County Parks website at https://www.washoecounty.us/

Website/Contact Information: (775) 823-6501, 15650 Wedge Pkwy, Reno, NV 89511, https://www.washoecounty.us/

Apples, pumpkins, crafts, train rides, food and fun… All a part of the experience at Apple Hill.

This year, my family and I once again returned to Apple Hill. Our experience this year on October 12, 2013, was exceptional as always. During this visit, we visited Cardanini’s Pumpkin Patch (#42), Rainbow Orchards (#10) and El Dorado Orchards (#19). During this trip in particular, my children were finally at a great age to go out in the field and pick out a pumpkin on their own and boy, did they enjoy it.

Cardanini’s Pumpkin Patch (#42)

Cardanini’s Pumpkin Patch is a very quaint pumpkin patch conveniently located near one of Apple Hill’s busiest and well visited stops, High Hill Ranch (#1). It is actually right next door to it and their hay ride passes right through this location. While we were there, as it was our first stop, but also nearly lunch time, we grabbed a quick bite to eat. I had a delicious Tri-Tip sandwich and my wife and kids enjoyed a hot dog each.

When we finished our quick and relatively inexpensive meal, we ventured out into the pumpkin patch. This pumpkin patch still had every pumpkin on the vine and they were all ready to pick off the vine. When you first enter, you can ask for a pair of pruners to cut the pumpkin off of the vine. With our tool to cut the pumpkin off of the vine we found five very ample sized pumpkins to bring home.

While I paid for the pumpkins (a total of $20; I was blown away by the price by the way), the kids ventured through the corn maze (that was free for visitors to navigate through). They had a great time.

If you’re looking for something you haven’t tried yet at Apple Hill or if you’re looking for great people, pumpkins and inexpensive food for Apple Hill, this is the place to stop.

Rainbow Orchards (#10)

Next, we decided to take a drive to Rainbow Orchards. Now that we had our pumpkins in our car and mission the rest of the day was to relax, enjoy the sites and just experience the day. Rainbow Orchards is very well known for their “HOT apple cider DONUTS”. The line for getting some donuts wrapped around their barn/store area. They are very high in demand and well worth the wait. I would highly recommend a stop here just for the donuts.

While we were there, my daughter sat down to get her face painted. She chose a rainbow with a star. It looked very cute on her. She refused to wash her face for the rest of the day and she even made a deal to sleep overnight before she would wash her face paint off. We obliged, being the parents we are, we didn’t want to take away any of her happiness made during that day.

Being in the mid-high 70’s that day, temperature-wise, before we left, we grabbed some mini apple cider cartons. They were the perfect size to quickly quench your thirst as well as the size perfect for a kid to enjoy. It was very tasty.

El Dorado Orchards (#19)

Our final stop of the day was El Dorado Orchards. We stopped because they have a kid-size train to ride and our kids absolutely love train rides. In fact, we took them on The Polar Express last year; that’s how much they love train rides. Once we took a ride on the train, we again grabbed another snack. We had some nachos, a soda and chips to keep the kids’ hunger at bay for the ride home. While we were at this location I spotted something out of the corner of my eye.

It was a Nevada Wolf Pack sign. Richard Hight of Battle Born Metal Works, a Reno, NV resident, was selling some sports signs made out of metal. Each colored to represent the team. He had signs for the Wolf Pack, the Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco 49ers and many more. He practically had every major sports team including the Nevada Wolf Pack. I just had to pick up the vintage Wolfie Nevada Wolf Pack logo sign. From what I hear from my contacts at Silver and Blue Outfitters, Richard is working on getting licensed by the NCAA and University of Nevada to sell them professionally, but for now, they are just a craft item that you can pick up just like many other craft items for sale at just about every location in Apple Hill. I must say that Battle Born Metal Works make quality merchandise and I would gladly buy another one should I run into him again in the future at a local craft show in the area.

Before we left, we were going to make an obligatory stop at Boa Vista Orchards (#3), but as luck would have it, El Dorado Orchards was selling Boa Vista Orchards Apple Cider right there on the premises. That just made my day. That Apple Hill growers were working together to make it convenient for the consumer, is just one example of the high quality, friendliness and experience you can expect during a trip at Apple Hill.

Even though we could only make one trip this year to Apple Hill, it was, like always a trip to remember. Our kids really enjoyed the day away from Reno and my eyes, sprit and demeanor always perk up when I get to visit one of my favorite places on Earth.

If you haven’t been to Apple Hill yet, you should definitely make the trip anytime from September through December. It is an experience to remember.

Let us know what you think

What’s your favorite stop at Apple Hill and why? We would love to hear your thoughts.

Gobble, gobble, strike! Wild Island’s Coconut Bowl offers everything that a kid could ask for to keep them busy for a couple of hours… parents too!

Christine’s Take

Reno, Nevada is home to the National Bowling Stadium and is known for its connection to the sport of bowling through movies like Kingpin. In the late 1990’s, King Skate Country closed the Ice Skating Rink just off Sparks Boulevard of what is now across from the Outlets at Legends. It was an ice skating rink that tried and failed to take over the space on the other side of the already existing miniature golf course owned and operated by Wild Island water park – a locally owned and operated company. Finally, Wild Island took over the facility and turned it into a bowling alley. Since then, they have expanded the bowling alley to include an arcade, 32 bowling lanes, a three story climbing structure, and laser tag. Named Coconut Bowl, the Wild Island bowling alley also has birthday party/private bowling lanes that can be rented, a snack bar, an adult beverage bar and pool table area. What more could you ask for, right?

Coconut Bowl and the Wild Island Park are a family fun adventure park; there is something for nearly all ages. Coconut bowl is also open year round.

For families with small children, you can set your scoreboard to automatically put the bumpers up for the little ones and go down for the adults or older children in your group.

We took our kids, A & N, to bowl for the first time and they absolutely loved it, we had to help them a little bit, but the thrill of the pins going down was enough to keep them engaged for nearly an entire game (for two toddlers, that is quite a feat).

Shortly after our first visit there with our children since moving back to the area, we were invited to a birthday party at Coconut Bowl by one of A’s friends at her preschool. I have to say, it was a well-run party. The staff made sure the drinks were topped off and that the kids enjoyed the pizza. The private area for the party was great to keep the kids in our sights without chasing them all over the place and that made this mommy who always ends up chasing one little one or another when out in public quite happy.

Some things to keep in mind. If you think your children might want to do more than bowling, consider buying a package instead of just one game at a time, which is a much more economical way to go. Also, the majority of the building is a little dark, so if you want to take pictures, make sure you have either a good camera that can take pictures in darker lighting or one with good flash. The pictures here of our kids were taken with our iPhone 4S’s. They turned out okay after we processed them with Adobe Lightroom.

Will’s Take

Growing up, I didn’t know how to score the game of bowling. I just relied on the computer screens or my parents to help me out. That all changed when I was in college and took at class at the University of Nevada, Reno in bowling as a single credit elective. Since then, I have been hooked on the game. It is just too much fun. Not to mention the days in my 20’s when I could go “White Trash” bowling with trucker caps and a white tank top. Those days are over, at least when the kids are around, but that doesn’t mean that we still can’t have our fun watching the pins tumble to the ground.

I think watching the kids bowl for the first time was more fun than actually playing the game. N and A both were mesmerized watching the big heavy ball collide with the bowling pins down the lane (that is, if they reached the pins and occasionally they didn’t).

Bowling at Coconut Bowl with the kids was great because I like to bowl the old fashioned way, without bumpers. However, with each kid’s turn, the bumpers would rise mechanically. There is a setting at the beginning of the game that allows you to set bumpers for a given player. Too cool. Now dad can still have his game and the kids can too. It made for the best time.

My daughter, A, loved all of the bright colors of the balls as well. She also favored the music playing in the building. She loved the experience and I know what I am going to do when I am all out of ideas to do with my daddy-daughter time, take her to Coconut Bowl.

Coconut Bowl isn’t the only place in town that you can go bowling with your kids (as Reno is seriously the capitol of the bowling world), but it is the best place to take your kids because of the arcade, mini golf, climbing structure and much more. I really enjoy every visit. In my younger years and more so now that I have kids.

Seriously, Coconut Bowl is the place to be.

Where: East of I-80 and Sparks Blvd. Across the street from the Outlets at Legends Mall

What: Bowling Alley and family fun zone

Need to know:  Don’t forget socks if you plan to bowl as you must wear rental shoes.

Extra Extra: Check out their birthday party options

Website/Contact Information:  http://www.wildisland.com/bowl-play/