Oasis in the desert outside Caliente

Kershaw-Ryan State Park, located just outside of Caliente in neighboring Lincoln County, makes a great summer destination for a day trip or to camp. This oasis in the desert, with elevations ranging from 4,312 to 5,080, offers temperatures 10-15 degrees cooler than in Las Vegas and features lush vegetation, hiking trails and even a spring-fed wading pool.

The park was named for homesteaders Samuel and Hannah Kershaw, who settled here in the 1870s. They sold their property in 1904 to cattle rancher James Ryan, who owned "Kershaw Gardens" until donating it as a public park in 1926.

In 1934-35 the Civilian Conservation Corps improved the property by adding picnic spots, campsite, a cabin, toilets and a spring-fed pond. When Nevada created the state park system in 1935 it became a state park along with Valley of Fire, Beaver Dam and Cathedral Gorge.

Today a visit here feels like you are visiting a friend's estate rather than a public park. There are manicured lawns, rose bushes and canyon grapes, all in lush condition thanks to the park's natural springs. The surrounding cliffs were carved by the natural channeling of water in the volcanic rock. In the main area of the park you'll also find cottonwoods, willows, dogwoods, Gambel's oaks and a variety of fruit trees including apples, pears and plums.

The natural plant communities include desert scrub, mountain brush, riparian and pinyon-juniper. Because of these different plant communities, a variety of wildlife call the park home such as foxes, bobcats, coyotes and mountain lions. Birds include canyon wrens, warblers, lazuli buntings, hummingbirds, Bulloch's orioles, canyon jays, hawks and eagles.

There are a couple of good interconnecting hiking trails. There are the one-and-one-quarter-mile Canyon Overlook Trail, and the Rattlesnake Canyon Trail, less than one-half-mile long. The park also has a sand volleyball court and horseshoe pits.

If you have children along they will love the spring-fed swimming pool. It's shallow, only a couple of feet deep, and about the size of a backyard pool. The dimensions are too small for real swimming but an ideal place to simply relax and cool off, either sitting neck-deep in the water or along the edge, dipping your feet in. It is flanked by deciduous trees for shade.

The campground is located near the entrance to the park and has 15 RV/tent sites, each with a shade ramada, picnic table, fire pit and grill. There is also a restroom and there are coin-operated showers. Maximum RV size is 30 feet and there are no RV hook-ups but there is a dump station for RV's. Spaces cost $10 nightly and can be reserved at (775) 726-3564 or www.parks.nv.gov.

At least three nearby sites are worth including in a trip to Kershaw-Ryan. Caliente itself was built as a railroad town serving the same railroad that also created Las Vegas, and some of the architecture once common to both cities, that was bulldozed in Las Vegas to make room for one boom or another, has been better preserved in Caliente. There's an interesting old railroad station which now serves as municipal offices, and some houses, originally built for railroad workers, are still occupied today.

It's only 25 miles from Caliente to Pioche, a colorful mining town rich in history and interesting buildings. Both towns have small museums worth a little of your time, and at least one restaurant and at least one friendly saloon. Also, 10 miles before reaching Pioche, near Panaca, you'll pass by Cathedral Gorge State Park, where erosion of a clay cliff has carved out a number of miniature slot canyons.

Deborah Wall is the author of "Base Camp Las Vegas, Hiking the Southwestern States," "Great Hikes, A Cerca Country Guide," and co-author of "Access For All, Touring the Southwest with Limited Mobility." Wall can be reached at Deborabus@aol.com.