Park History
Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs has been a work in progress for literally thousands of years. With signs of life dating to prehistoric times, the park has become a true oasis in the desert within the city of Las Vegas.
Fossil remains of early mammoths, bison, horses, camels and other Pleistocene fauna have been found documenting creatures that roamed the area long before humans. Early human habitation has been documented to have been in the park as many as 11,000 years ago. The Paiute Indians were known to have lived in the area hunting, fishing, planting and using the land for their survival in this dry climate. Tule Springs was the source of water supplying their daily needs. Prospectors, travelers and the stage coach line stopped here as they traveled across the desert because of the water.
In the early 1900s, 10 acres in the area were purchased and cultivated by a man name John Herbert (Bert) Nay. He sold his property in 1929 and the property remained vacant until 1941 when Prosper Jacob Goumond began to transform this desert into a working ranch. The working ranch became self-supportive, raising livestock and growing all types of vegetables for the ranch hands who worked at Tule Springs. Gradually, it became a guest ranch accommodating several visitors who sometimes participated in the daily chores of the ranch. Over the years the property grew to 880 acres.
A group of businessmen purchased the property from Mr. Goumond’s granddaughter in 1959 and leased it as a working cattle ranch until the city of Las Vegas purchased the property in 1964 for use as a city park and renamed it in honor of State Senator Floyd Lamb. The park was acquired by the state of Nevada by legislative action in 1977. On July 2, 2007, it was officially transferred back to the city of Las Vegas at which time the park was renamed Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs.
What To Look For At Floyd Lloyd Park At Tule Springs
Tule Springs Lake
Take a stroll around Tule Springs Lake. Look at the tall Tule reed in the lake. This tall plant grows in freshwater marshes like the lake here in the park. A Tule duck was a decoy for fishing and hunting made from the reed. You can look for fish in the lake.
Rainbow Trout: This species of fish is native to the Pacific Ocean and especially the western United States. Genetic studies have shown that these trout are genetically close to Pacific salmon. The life span of a Rainbow Trout is between one and two and a half years. They are predators eating any smaller fish. Rainbow Trout are popular in Western cuisine. Don’t forget to see the other lakes in the park: Cottonwood, Willow and Mulberry. You can also fish in the lake but remember a license is needed.
Additional things to look for at the lake:
Bass: A name shared by many different species of popular game fish sometimes known as perch type fish. They are usually found in fresh water. They come in different colors including black and white and striped varieties.
Blue Gill: A freshwater fish and a member of the sunfish family native to North America down to Mexico. It gets its name from the bright blue edging on its gills. The largest is about sixteen inches long.
Green Sunfish: Another species of freshwater fish from the sunfish family popular in North America down to the Gulf of Mexico. The maximum length is about twelve inches. Some people keep them in their aquariums.
Red Ear Sunfish: Although native to the waters in southeastern United States, it has been introduced everywhere in North America. It is about ten inches in length. It gets its name from the red or orange color of the bony covering of the gills on the side of the fish. It loves snails and hence this is good bait for catching this fish.
Carp: This is a common name for a freshwater fish originally from Europe and Asia. They are usually quite large although a variety of this fish is the goldfish and the larger type is known as koi fish. They can survive the cold weather and at low oxygen levels.
Blue Head Catfish: This fish is a popular sport fish and looks a lot like its relative, the channel catfish. They get their name from the color of their bodies usually varying from bright blue to gray. They differ from their relative, the channel catfish, in that their bodies are bigger as well as their heads. They prefer large rivers for their habitat although they are also found in streams and some natural lakes and ponds.
Channel or Bullhead Catfish: They are approximately 30 million years old. They are natively distributed along the North American Continental Divide. They are distinguished in that their tailfins are squared rather than forked.
Cottonwood Tree: The cottonwood species, very popular in Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs, is known as populus and ranges from 20 to 45 feet in height. They have thick bark and contain triangular to diamond shaped leaves green on both sides. They are especially tolerant of flooding, erosion and flood deposits filling around their trunks. Cottonwoods are grown for timber production having coarse wood used for pallet boxes and shipping crates.
This area is part of the proposed Tule Springs Ice Age Park, a 23,000-acre (9,300 ha) conservation area and a proposed national park
Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs has been a work in progress for literally thousands of years. With signs of life dating to prehistoric times, the park has become a true oasis in the desert within the city of Las Vegas.
Fossil remains of early mammoths, bison, horses, camels and other Pleistocene fauna have been found documenting creatures that roamed the area long before humans. Early human habitation has been documented to have been in the park as many as 11,000 years ago. The Paiute Indians were known to have lived in the area hunting, fishing, planting and using the land for their survival in this dry climate. Tule Springs was the source of water supplying their daily needs. Prospectors, travelers and the stage coach line stopped here as they traveled across the desert because of the water.
In the early 1900s, 10 acres in the area were purchased and cultivated by a man name John Herbert (Bert) Nay. He sold his property in 1929 and the property remained vacant until 1941 when Prosper Jacob Goumond began to transform this desert into a working ranch. The working ranch became self-supportive, raising livestock and growing all types of vegetables for the ranch hands who worked at Tule Springs. Gradually, it became a guest ranch accommodating several visitors who sometimes participated in the daily chores of the ranch. Over the years the property grew to 880 acres.
A group of businessmen purchased the property from Mr. Goumond’s granddaughter in 1959 and leased it as a working cattle ranch until the city of Las Vegas purchased the property in 1964 for use as a city park and renamed it in honor of State Senator Floyd Lamb. The park was acquired by the state of Nevada by legislative action in 1977. On July 2, 2007, it was officially transferred back to the city of Las Vegas at which time the park was renamed Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs.
What To Look For At Floyd Lloyd Park At Tule Springs
Tule Springs Lake
Take a stroll around Tule Springs Lake. Look at the tall Tule reed in the lake. This tall plant grows in freshwater marshes like the lake here in the park. A Tule duck was a decoy for fishing and hunting made from the reed. You can look for fish in the lake. Rainbow Trout: This species of fish is native to the Pacific Ocean and especially the western United States. Genetic studies have shown that these trout are genetically close to Pacific salmon. The life span of a Rainbow Trout is between one and two and a half years. They are predators eating any smaller fish. Rainbow Trout are popular in Western cuisine. Don’t forget to see the other lakes in the park: Cottonwood, Willow and Mulberry. You can also fish in the lake but remember a license is needed.
Additional things to look for at the lake:
Bass: A name shared by many different species of popular game fish sometimes known as perch type fish. They are usually found in fresh water. They come in different colors including black and white and striped varieties.
Blue Gill: A freshwater fish and a member of the sunfish family native to North America down to Mexico. It gets its name from the bright blue edging on its gills. The largest is about sixteen inches long.
Green Sunfish: Another species of freshwater fish from the sunfish family popular in North America down to the Gulf of Mexico. The maximum length is about twelve inches. Some people keep them in their aquariums.
Red Ear Sunfish: Although native to the waters in southeastern United States, it has been introduced everywhere in North America. It is about ten inches in length. It gets its name from the red or orange color of the bony covering of the gills on the side of the fish. It loves snails and hence this is good bait for catching this fish.
Carp: This is a common name for a freshwater fish originally from Europe and Asia. They are usually quite large although a variety of this fish is the goldfish and the larger type is known as koi fish. They can survive the cold weather and at low oxygen levels.
Blue Head Catfish: This fish is a popular sport fish and looks a lot like its relative, the channel catfish. They get their name from the color of their bodies usually varying from bright blue to gray. They differ from their relative, the channel catfish, in that their bodies are bigger as well as their heads. They prefer large rivers for their habitat although they are also found in streams and some natural lakes and ponds.
Channel or Bullhead Catfish: They are approximately 30 million years old. They are natively distributed along the North American Continental Divide. They are distinguished in that their tailfins are squared rather than forked.
Cottonwood Tree: The cottonwood species, very popular in Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs, is known as populus and ranges from 20 to 45 feet in height. They have thick bark and contain triangular to diamond shaped leaves green on both sides. They are especially tolerant of flooding, erosion and flood deposits filling around their trunks. Cottonwoods are grown for timber production having coarse wood used for pallet boxes and shipping crates.
This area is part of the proposed Tule Springs Ice Age Park, a 23,000-acre (9,300 ha) conservation area and a proposed national park