- Nevada County HP: #2
- Difficulty: ⭐️⭐️
- Summit Elevation: 7,868 feet
- Mountain Range: Virginia Range
- Ancestral Lands: Washoe
PLANNING DETAILS
Location: Mt. Davidson sits on a ridge overlooking Virginia City and is located approximately 35 miles southeast of Reno, NV.
When to Visit: Year-round. This CoHP is accessible most of the year due to its close proximity to the town of Virginia City. However, the steep trail can be muddy after heavy rains, and trekking poles are strongly recommended.
Fees/Permits Required: No.
Getting There: Visitors can drive within 2.1 miles of the summit.
Directions from Reno: Follow I-580 south for 10 miles. Take Exit 25B (S. Virginia St) toward Virginia City and follow the road east for 1 mile. Make a left turn onto State Route 341 (NV-341) and drive for 1/4 mile to the traffic circle. Leave the traffic circle at the first exit (Virginia City), and follow NV-341 for 13 miles. When you reach Virginia City, continue through the historic downtown for 0.5 miles. Turn right onto Taylor Street and follow the road uphill for 0.1 mile until it curves right and becomes Stewart Street. Turn left onto the first paved road, Summit Street. There is no street sign for Summit Street; however, there is a red-and-white sign with an arrow that reads “To 130 South Summit Street.” Follow Summit Street uphill as it curves south toward a small dirt parking area.
Directions from Carson City: Follow I-580 to Exit 5 (US-50 E) toward Dayton, NV. Follow US-50 east for 6 miles, then turn left on NV-341. Follow NV-341 for 7 miles to Virginia City. Continue into the historic downtown, then turn left onto Taylor Street and follow the road uphill for 0.1 mile until it curves right and becomes Stewart Street. Turn left onto the first paved road, Summit Street. There is no street sign for Summit Street; however, there is a red-and-white sign with an arrow that reads “To 130 South Summit Street.” Follow Summit Street uphill as it curves south toward a small dirt parking area.
Parking: There is room for roughly 4-5 vehicles on a dirt parking area on Summit Street. There are signs posted reminding hikers to park in the dirt parking area rather than on the pavement near the driveway at 130 South Summit Street. There are no amenities (potable water, vault toilets, or trash cans) at the parking area.
Difficulty Rating: ⭐️⭐️ (Moderate) — This 4.4-mile hike follows steep dirt utility roads and lightly-used trails. The route is not waymarked, so visitors should come prepared with a map or a digital route download on their phone to assist with navigation.
Pets Allowed: Yes.
Kid-friendly: This high point is best suited for ages 12 or older due to the trail’s steep grade.
The Summit: Several narrow metal flagpoles are set into the rocks at the summit, and there is a handwritten memorial dedicated to the lives lost on 9-11 is on a nearby boulder. There is no survey benchmark or summit register.
TRIP SUMMARY
Date Visited: Sept. 18, 2026
Route Used: Ophir Hill and Mt. Davidson Loop from Summit Street TH – 4.4 miles round trip
If you’ve never visited Virginia City, you may be surprised to discover this historic Old West town preserved in the mountains just south of Reno. Virginia City was once a vibrant mining town, established in 1859 in the wake of the Comstock Lode (America’s first major silver discovery).
One of the town’s most famous residents was Samuel Clemens, who worked as a correspondent and editor for Virginia City’s newspaper between 1862 and 1864. He adopted his pen name, Mark Twain, during that period of his life, so visitors are sure to find plenty of Mark Twain references in the town’s kitschy saloons and gift shops.
My visit to Mt. Davidson came during my 600-mile drive south to Bishop, CA, for the 2025 Highpointers Club Convention. I stopped in Reno overnight to break up the trip. And then got up before dawn to drive out to Virginia City to nab a county high point before heading the rest of the way to the convention.
The curvy drive into the Virginia Mountain range at sunrise might have been my favorite part of the journey. It’s wild to realize that this historic town is tucked in the mountains, nearly 3,000 feet above Reno and Carson City. By the time I drove into Virginia City, I felt a world away from Nevada’s stereotypical desert geography.
Although the drive to Virginia City was simple, getting to Mt. Davidson’s unofficial trailhead was a little trickier. This trail isn’t something you are going to accidentally stumble upon during a more touristy visit to Virginia City. There wasn’t even a street sign announcing the turn up to the trailhead. But luckily, one of the residents remedied the issue by posting a sign of their own.
As I drove up the sharply sloped roads above the town, the route seemed to be taking me toward a water tower and the white V perched on the hillside. These mountain monograms have always befuddled me. The trend began in 1905, when UC Berkley students used concrete blocks to build a giant C up on a hill in their effort to end a heated rivalry and create a shared university tradition.
During the next century, other towns and universities followed suit. I’ve hiked up to the infamous Y on a hillside in Provo, UT (built and maintained by BYU students), and driven past countless other hillside letters during my travels around the western US. But I guess my nomadic life hasn’t nurtured enough civic pride to urge me to gather heavy loads of rocks to create one for any of the towns I’ve lived in.
As I reached the end of Summit Street, I had no problem finding a place to park. I was the only hiker out here this morning, so there was plenty of space to park on the makeshift dirt pull-out that serves as an informal trailhead.
There are no signs for the trailhead itself. But the route on my phone showed I needed to begin the hike by heading uphill on the dirt utility road that climbs toward the white V. This was a steady uphill climb, and the loose dirt road was littered with small rocks. I immediately regretted leaving my trekking poles behind in Oregon. What a boneheaded blunder.
After 0.45 miles of hiking, I’d hiked above the V, and the dirt road made a sharp right turn as it continued climbing toward Ophir Hill. About 100 yards beyond this bend in the road, I had a choice to make. I could continue on the main road toward Ophir Hill or turn left onto a steeper utility road directly under the power lines. I chose the steeper, more direct route.
Looking behind me as I continued climbing, Virginia City seemed to have grown impossibly small in the distance. Nonetheless, there were two landmarks that were super easy to pick out: (1) the unnaturally green astroturf on the high school’s football field, and (2) the tall steeple on a distinctive red church in town.
The next 0.4 miles of hiking under the power lines felt ridiculously steep. My calves were burning, and I was quickly out of breath. The climb reminded me of the Appalachian Trail and the trail builders who insisted on going up and over every peak by the most direct route possible. I’ve hiked a lot of trails and dirt roads in my life, and this utility road had to be one of the steeper ones in recent memory.
Luckily, the grade leveled out after 0.4 miles, and I could stop and take a quick breather. Off to my left, I could now see Mt. Davidson’s summit and the ridgeline I’d need to follow to reach its rounded apex.
The hiking route I’d chosen for my ascent was shaped like a giant U. The initial leg of the journey took me west for 1.3 miles as I ascended up to the top of the ridgeline. From there, I’d briefly follow the ridge south before it curved east to head back toward Mt. Davidson.
The trek uphill was slow as I followed the utility road’s telephone poles poking up toward the sky one after another. Once I reached 1.2 miles into my journey, I spotted a blue building with a radio on top of the slope to my left.
The building was on the opposite side of my U-route. So I was briefly tempted to cut the trail and take a shortcut over to the building instead of continuing west. Luckily, my legs overruled my brain and told me to keep following the utility road up to the ridgeline instead.
I’m grateful I made that choice. Not only was the hike physically easier, but when I crested the top of the ridge, I was treated to views of Lake Washoe down below.
I was now officially standing atop the crest of the Virginia Mountains with the Nevada’s Great Basin to my back and the Washoe Valley and Carson Mountains directly in front of me. Just beyond those green mountains sat Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevadas. I could even see all three county high points in the Carson Mountains: Mt. Rose (the Washoe CoHP), Snow Valley Peak (the Carson City CoHP), and East Peak (the Douglas CoHP.)
From this viewpoint, I made my U-turn and began following the ridge back east again toward Mt. Davidson on a simple dirt trail. This was super easy hiking, and my GPS watch read 1.55 miles when I reached the blue outbuilding I’d briefly considered taking a shortcut to.
As I looked down the slope to the dirt utility road below, I was glad I’d overridden my impulse to try to shorten the journey. The hillside below from the building was much steeper than it appeared from a distance.
I had only 0.5 miles left to the summit of Mt. Davidson. The rounded peak at the end of this dirt trail had several narrow metal poles protruding from it, reminding me of slender birthday candles poking out from the top of a cupcake.
Once I reached the summit, I had panoramic views of the rolling hills below, which tapered off toward the Great Basin’s vast desert expanse. Virginia City looked like a tiny miniature town from this vantage point, but I could still make out the green astroturf of the football field and the distinctive red church in town.
I’m not sure what purpose the metal posts on the summit served. One of them had guy lines tethered down, but none of them looked like antennas. They seemed more like flagpoles. And perhaps that’s exactly what they were, since there was a handwritten memorial for the lives lost to 9-11 on the rocks at the base of the tallest post.
I didn’t stay long on the summit. I still had my drive to Bishop, CA, to get back to once I was done with this hike. So, I retraced my steps to the blue building, then back to the ridgeline with its views of the Washoe Valley.
I could have continued back along the same steep utility route I’d hiked up, but I spontaneously decided to turn this adventure into a loop with a short trip over to the rocky, antenna-covered Ophir Hill. This minor detour would only add 0.5 miles to my return journey, and I was hoping I’d get to follow a gentler grade on a dirt road during my descent instead of tackling the ridiculously steep utility road I’d just hiked up.
Unfortunately, the road’s grade wasn’t much gentler on the way down Ophir Hill. The biggest problem, though, was that the road’s tread seemed to form a steep V from erosion, and there were tons of loose rocks and dirt as fine as talcum powder to slip on. Descending without trekking poles was just as difficult as the utility road, and I felt like I was moving at a glacial pace to avoid a spill.
By the time I reached my car, I’d felt I had one final piece of unfinished business to tackle before leaving Virginia City. I’d been staring at the prominent red church so long that I wanted to drive over to check it out in person.
The ornate church turned out to be St. Mary of the Mountains, the oldest active Catholic church in Nevada. And much to my relief, the church wasn’t painted a garishly bright red. It was that color because of all the red-brick masonry on the building’s facade. And now that my curiosity was satisfied, it was time to head to Bishop, CA, and meet up with my fellow highpointers,
Bonus Material
Public camping nearby:
- Dayton State Park is located along the Carson River, about 20 miles south of Virginia City. This small state park campground is open year-round and offers 10 campsites, flush toilets, picnic areas, and hiking trails. Cost: $15/night for Nevada residents, $20/night for non-NV vehicles.
- Washoe Lake Campground is located 8 miles from Carson City and is nestled on the southeast shores of Washoe Lake. This state park campground is open year-round and offers 49 campsites, picnic tables, fire rings, flush toilets, showers, a disc golf course, hiking trails, and boat ramp. Cost: $15/night for Nevada residents, $20/night for non-NV vehicles.
Resources:
- Overview of Mount Davidson (Summit Post)
- Mt. Davidson – Ophir Hill Loop (All Trails)
- Virginia City’s Historic District (National Park Service)
- Mark Twain & Virginia City (Travel Nevada)
- Storey County (official website)
A quick note on my difficulty ratings:
- ⭐️ = Easy hike (0-5 miles long, on trail, flat or limited vertical gain, good for all ages)
- ⭐️⭐️ = Moderate hike (<5 miles roundtrip, on trail, more vertical gain)
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️ = Challenging (5-15 miles roundtrip, possible off-trail navigation, steep climbs, or bouldering)
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = Hard (10+ miles roundtrip, with off-trail navigation or very steep climbs)
- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ = Very Hard (20+ miles, and/or technical skills or equipment required)