Travel Guides > Reno, NV

Reno Travel

The city of Reno, Nevada has a lot of positive traits as far as tourist destinations are concerned. It boasts excellent weather, with about 300 sunny days each year and minimal precipitation. The nightlife here is fun and exciting and the days bring the opportunity to participate to lots of outdoor activities, from horseback riding to skiing.

Reno is a large city -82.5 square miles - with a small town feel. That's perhaps why it earned the name "The Biggest Little City in the World."

Though it boasts casinos, it lacks the glitz preferred by its sister city of Las Vegas and thanks to its location - just 45 minutes from Tahoe - adventure activities are just around the corner.

But Reno is also surprisingly artsy. The town boasts the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra, Reno Chamber Orchestra, Nevada Opera, Broadway Comes to Reno, and at least a dozen additional theater companies.

The new Nevada Museum of Art, a unique contemporary-style building designed to resemble the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, attracts some of the country's best traveling exhibits and has its own fine permanent collection. The city is also full of art galleries, many touting local and regional artists, so visitors could spend an entire day or more just hopping from one to the other.

A visit to the National Automobile Museum is lots of fun. View celebrity autos like Frank Sinatra's 1961 Carmen Ghia as well as a fine display of antique cars and other interesting period memorabilia.

The Nevada Historical Society also sponsors a museum that's full of local and state history, including the colorful past of Reno, which was once a haven in the 1920s and 1930s for those seeking a quick divorce. (It took only 6 weeks of residence here to obtain one.)

Reno is home to about two dozen casinos, and while its "strip" resembles the Vegas of old, you won't find the same sort of mega-resorts here. They are, nonetheless, wonderful places for the gaming enthusiast to visit and it's much more affordable to stay and play in Reno.

However, if you've come to Northern Nevada for its vast selection of outdoor activities, you won't be disappointed. In the summer, guests can enjoy wild whitewater rafting on the Truckee River; bike, hike, or take a backcountry horseback riding trip; or, in the winter, ski or snowboard on the mountains surrounding Lake Tahoe, just a short drive from the center of Reno. The possibilities are endless!

Reno is also home to a number of annual festivals and special events. Enjoy the "Wildest, Richest Rodeo in the West" during the month of June, "Hot August Nights" classic car show in August or the "Spirit of Artown" Holiday Festival from mid-November through mid-December, just to name a few.

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