Reno hotels

Downtown Reno
As touted by the electric arch on North Virginia Street, Reno is “the Biggest Little City in the World.” Major casinos lie along Virginia, downtown’s main drag that leads to the University of Nevada, Reno. On campus, the planetarium gives a glimpse to the heavens. Other central-area gems include Wingfield Park, National Automobile Museum, National Bowling Stadium, and the Nevada Museum of Art.

Reno Tahoe Int'l Airport
The Reno airport is surrounded by office parks, residential areas, and vast swaths of parkland. Many who land here quickly depart to California and Lake Tahoe for summer boating and winter skiing. The state border and the resort town of South Lake Tahoe are a little more than an hour’s drive from the airport. Near the airport, Meadowood Mall stands as one of Reno’s largest shopping centers.

South Reno
South Reno contains casinos, entertainment venues, and a restaurant row, all of which are concentrated on South Virginia Street. The Reno-Sparks Convention Center is in the area. One of the city’s best views is here at the public LakeRidge Golf Course. The course’s namesake is the 15th hole, which stands 140 feet above Lake Stanley and offers sweeping vistas of Reno and the mountains.

Sparks
Sparks, Reno’s next-door neighbor, was founded in 1905 after the railroad built facilities here. Where Reno is tall, Sparks is low slung, with Victorian Square at its heart. This plaza has casinos, shops, a visitors’ center, and it hosts a farmers’ market. The Sparks Heritage Museum chronicles the city’s locomotive roots. Nearby, the Sparks Marina Park offers a 1-billion-gallon recreational lake.

Verdi
Verdi is forever linked to Wild West lore: here in 1870, bandits boarded a Reno-bound train to loot the cargo of $50,000 in gold and silver coins (or about $800,000 today adjusted for inflation). This brazen act is the first known Western train robbery. Verdi, now, is a quiet suburb that lies along the banks of the Truckee River, surrounded by the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest.