Exploring areas outside the casinos brings numerous kid-friendly and family activities. Reno is a great place for kids, and there are many places they will enjoy visiting that are both fun and educational. The city offers arcades, mini golf, go-karts, museums, skating, zoos and parks.

Minutes from downtown Reno, Rancho San Rafael Park offers family-friendly entertainment. It is a large recreation area that has over 500 acres where families can have picnics, play games or explore the Great Basin Adventure Park, which is a 12-acre Arboretum. The Wilbur D. May Museum is also close by.

The park features manicured turf, natural desert and is a wetland habitat. It is open year-round, and has three picnic shelters and 12 separate sites. There is also a restored ranch house that can be rented by visitors for group events.

A one-mile nature trail twists throughout the park, and there are interpretative signs along its path explaining some of the attributes on the trail. Walkers will see a wide variety of plants and birds, and sometimes other types of wildlife, such as owls and coyotes.

Special events are also held at the park for many occasions each year. Every Fourth of July Skyfire provides a display of fireworks, along with live music and entertainment throughout the park. In the month of September, the Great Reno Balloon Race occurs at the park.

There is a replica of a hard rock mine that has two indoor slides, for kids to play on. Wax figures are on display illustrating what miners used to do during a normal day on the job. Just outside, kids and families can pan for gold. Additionally, there is a mineral exhibit inside the "Lil' Miners Room."

A petting zoo and pony rides are available at Wilbur's Barn. There are miniature ponies at the barn, as well as pigs, goats, chickens and calves.

There is also a Discovery Room, which is an area that kids can explore using all of their senses. They can put on puppet shows, see clothes from history or examine a variety of other artifacts taken from Nevada and the Great Basin. This room has information on everything from anatomy and botany to insects and animals.

The log flume offers a unique view of the Great Basin's lumber industry. Riders sit in logs that have been hollowed out and travel down a stream, under a bridge and around several turns before climbing to the top of the flume. The log then soars down a huge slide, splashing water at the bottom.