According to many sources, Paradise Valley was named in the 1860s when a new arrival to the valley looked around and declared, âThis is paradise.â Located about 22 miles northeast of Winnemucca, the valley certainly is one of the stateâs more picturesque places. With its grassy meadows and snowmelt-fed creeks, the valley is a virtual oasis in the Nevada desert. The first non-Native American visitor to the region is believed to have been Peter Skene Ogden, an explorer and trapper, who traveled through the area in 1828 while searching for beaver. The initial settlers in the valley, however, didnât arrive until about 1863, when miners prospecting for ore in