By james art 
A blanket of snow blanketed the Reno area Saturday night, and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department thought there was no better time to hit the slippery slopes of Huffaker Park.
“We did a little bit and offered a sledding cause for this beautiful weather,” said Kayla Snow, Reno’s recreation program coordinator. “Personally, today I don’t see a person without a smile.”
Sunday marked the first of 12 meetings for Reno’s 2025 Junior Ranger program. The inaugural series offers local kids of all ages the chance to connect with the great outdoors and learn new skills at various parks around the city.
After a quick introduction to the program and some hot chocolate, some of the group headed to the originally planned interpretive hike while kids like Austin and Julian headed back to the shading hills.
“There’s this huge ramp that we’re going on, it’s great and we’ve been going really fast,” Austin said.
These two, along with all the other kids at Sunday’s event, collected their first Junior Ranger sticker, and if they get five more at events throughout the year, they will receive a Junior Ranger badge.
“The idea of kids here, active recreation and just the community it’s built for is what Reno Parks and Recreation is all about.”
The Junior Ranger Program’s next event will be at Mira Loma Park on February 8, covering the topic of bicycle safety. For a complete list of events, visit the City of Reno website.