A community takes on a new look

North Valleys Regional Splash Park

The annual Reno Air Races draw huge crowds to northern Nevada. When Washoe County sought to add a summer recreational site, they called upon us to come up with something special. We responded with a novel solution—an aeronautical themed splash park.

We paired the history of local aeronautical events with Nevada’s natural features to develop this collaborative design. The park features a 7,000 square foot wet play area, 60 spray heads, 20 different water features, and is supported by two miles of water pipe. Two planes serve as focal points including ‘Rare Bare,’ modeled after the Grumman Model F8F-2 Bearcat racing plane, and a dual prop seaplane placed on a ‘runway’ at the center of the splash park. A racing flag pattern wraps the dump bucket and an air traffic control tower stands tall on the site.

Balancing the whimsical with the practical, the Park minimizes water loss and maximizes water reuse. The parking lot was designed for low impact development flow into a landscaped bioswale.

This project transformed an existing regional park into a knockout summer recreational destination for the Reno area and celebrates a northern Nevada tradition.