Schoolchildren walk alongside the Kit Carson Trail, aka 'blue line trail', in front of Bordewich-Bray Elementary School Friday in Carson City.
The historic Carson City Kit Carson Blue Line Trail got a facelift last week.
The Blue Line Trail, which runs through part of the historic Westside District, highlights the old buildings and homes present in Carson City in the 1800s when the city was first founded. The trail provides tourists with an easy walking tour of some of Carson City’s most preserved history. Ronni Hannaman, executive director of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce said the houses and buildings along the trail used to belong to important figures such as the governor and Carson City founders.
“We are finding that it is the number one attraction in Carson City,” Hannaman said. “People come here just for the Blue Line Trail and they love it.”
An actual blue line resides on the sidewalk in the Westside District to give travelers a visual map of where to go to look at the buildings. It was originally created in the 1990s, and the last time it was restored was in 2007 when the Chamber of Commerce Leadership class scraped it off and repainted it for their class project.
The Carson City Public Works took about seven hours last week to repaint the 2.5 mile long trail.
“It has been about 12 years since it was last done and it was done with a thermal traffic tape that was great at the time but didn’t hold up,” said Curtis Horton, Public Works Operations Chief. “We refreshed it with paint and are looking for ideas to make it even better for the future. There is great value in the trail to enjoy for all and we want to do the best job to do maintenance.”
Along the tour, travelers can walk or bike to see sites such as the Nevada State Museum, the Governor’s Mansion, the Robinson House and many more. The tour runs through Robinson Street, King Street, Carson Street and more. There’s no official start or stop of the tour, travelers can begin wherever they want.