Van Sickle Bi-State Park

Cascading towards Lake Tahoe: Van Sickle Waterfall

The Van Sickle Bi-State Park is a California-Nevada Park between South Lake Tahoe, California, and the Tahoe Rim Trail (TRT) section around Kingsbury—a mountain resort in Nevada. The scenic Van Sickle Trail traverses the bi-state park, connecting Stateline with the TRT at Elevation-7777-feet post at the van-Sickle Trail/TRT junction. 

An artist painting water flow over ledges of the Van Sickle Waterfall

Resting for a view at the Van Sickle Trail's granodiorite gate

Sugar pine cones

Van Sickle Bi-State Park is a popular area for loop-trail and uphill hikers. The park is easily accessible and requires no reservation and no entrance fee (not yet). During my visit this May, I started my up-and-down hike at the California Day Use Area. This spot has picnic tables from where you can watch gondolas from the Heavenly Village to the Heavenly Mountain Resort drifting by. Also, there is a kiosk providing information on the park's eponym, Henry Van Sickle, 1822-1894: 

Henry Van Sickle arrived in Carson Valley in 1852, settling near Genoa. Before Nevada became a state in 1864, and when the area was still part of the Utah Territory, Van Sickle began welcoming weary travelers - and Pony Express riders - to his Van Sickle Station, located along the Carson Route of the Overland Emigrant Trail.

Always the entrepreneur, Van Sickle served as the first toll master of the Kingsbury Grade wagon road, built in 1860. This road shortened the travel distance by 15 miles between Sacramento, California and the Comstock Lode's silver mines in Virginia City, Nevada.Saving a day's travel was well worth the $17.50 round trip toll. In 1863, toll receipts netted $190,000. Van Sickle sold the road to Douglas County for $1,000 in 1889.

Julia van Vleck

After surviving "long-haired" Sam Brown's murder attempt in 1861, Van Sickle killed the famous outlaw and became a Carson Valley leader for the next 20 years. In 1894, Van Sickle died at age 72 when his runaway horses hit a heavy gate post at his ranch, crushing him. He is buried in the Genoa Cemetery.

Henry was married twice. He married his second wife, Julia van Vleck, in 1870.  

In 1988, Henry's grandson Jack van Sickle (1916-2003)—said to be a cowboy who knew how to handle a rope—donated 542 acres of land to the Nevada Division of State Parks to honor his grandfather. 20 years later, Van Sickle Bi-State Park was born. 

Park Map

PDF: https://parks.nv.gov/forms/VanSickle_Bi_State_Park_Map.pdf.

Barn at the California-side Day Use Area

Further reading

Van Sickle Bi-State Park. Nevada State Parks. URL: https://parks.nv.gov/parks/lake-tahoe-nevada-state-park-3.