Jumbo Grade offers great views, hiking

The mining camp of Jumbo, above Washoe Valley, never got very big. Which is kind of a shame with that name and all.

The camp was developed by extremely optimistic prospectors who thought it might one day rival the nearby Comstock Lode in terms of mining production.

But Jumbo turned out to kind of puny.

Jumbo was founded on the Ophir Grade between Washoe Valley and Virginia City in about 1907. For a few years, a small community of miners managed to eke out a living working the area’s mines.

By 1908, the camp grew to include a mill, saloons, hotels, shops and a post office, although the latter was closed in November 1910, indicating the transient nature of the community.

In 1915, miners continued to work the area and a ten-stamp mill was built near the settlement. By 1921, however, any valuable ore had run out and Jumbo disappeared like so many other Nevada mining camps.

In fact, the real riches of Jumbo are found on the road to the former camp, which offers marvelous views of the surrounding region. The site of Jumbo is located two miles east of State Route 428 (East Lake Blvd.), above New Washoe City, via a rugged dirt road marked Jumbo Grade.

Jumbo Grade Road, also known as Ophir Grade, rises above Washoe Valley and climbs deep into the Virginia Range before dropping into Virginia City.

The first half-mile of the road is paved, as it passes several houses. At about that point, you’ll encounter a dirt parking area that serves as the trailhead for hikers, bikers, ATVers and others heading up the grade.

If you don’t have a high-clearance four-wheel drive vehicle, the dirt lot is a good place to ditch your vehicle and hike. The trek continues uphill on a dirt road that parallels Jumbo Creek.

About a mile and a half from the start of the road, the dirt track crisscrosses the creek, which is lined with thick vegetation.

At about the two-mile point, the road becomes rockier and, at one spot, you’ll be forced to cross the creek, which has carved a fairly deep channel (hence the need for a really high-clearance vehicle if you’re driving).

Continuing on, you’ll be able to spot some interesting rocks, including some red jasper (I think that’s what it was). In the spring, a fair amount of water runs down the creek, which you’ll continue to parallel.

About another half-mile or so you’ll begin to see mining tailing piles on the surrounding hillsides and a bit farther, you can spot the large foundations of a mill site. Two large chalky-gray hunks of concrete and scattered pieces of metal and wood are just about all that remain of the Jumbo mines.

From here, the views, looking west to Washoe Valley, are spectacular. Slide Mountain stands high, directly across the valley, and you can catch glimpses of the sun dancing on the surface of Washoe Lake.

At the four-mile point, the road completes its climb over the Virginia range. Here, you can look both west to Washoe Valley or east to the Dayton Valley. To the north is a smaller valley tucked into the mountain range.

The road winds around the summit and, about a half-mile ahead, you can see the former site of American Flat, just below. All of the views are beautiful and make the journey worthwhile.

At the six and a half-mile point, you can see the community of Gold Hill below, with the taller buildings of Virginia City peeking over the mountains to the north.

From there, the road skirts a large open pit mine that has long been abandoned before gradually descending to meet Nevada Route 341 at the Virginia City-Gold Hill boundary.

While the total mileage has been only eight miles, it seems a world away.

Rich Moreno covers the places and people that make Nevada special.