Can anyone offer any opinions on a 3 night trip to Reno, NV?

19lottie82

My DH and I are going to visit family near San Francisco / Sacramento in April next year.

We are stuck between going to Reno for 3 night (2 hour drive away), or Las Vegas (1.5 hours flight @ £150 pp return).

I'm thinking that obviously, the latter would be better but the former would be easier.

Can anyone offer any opinions if Reno is worth a visit, or would the extra expense to go to Vegas be worth it?

We'd ideally want to stay in a Casino Hotel in amongst the action.

Thanks in advance!

John259

I-80 is relatively uninteresting across California's Central Valley, but very scenic over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. You could include a visit to Lake Tahoe, or maybe even stay there in one of the casino resorts if you wish instead of Reno. With more time, and more of a diversion, a visit to Yosemite Valley is also possible, but the Tioga Pass Road (California State Highway 120 through Yosemite's high country) won't have been re-opened after the winter by April so you won't be able to use that to get over the mountains.

Sorry to only be able to comment on the drive, that's because I've only visited Reno very briefly.

Hope this helps a bit.

19lottie82

Hi John, thanks for your reply. That's some food for thought.

John259

I-80 through the Sierra Nevada Mountains (westbound)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dldcom7qZKM

A drive round Lake Tahoe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoZtTgNYLSc

One Day in Yosemite:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QLVMwyxU_Q

Mr_Wang

Stay in Reno (seriously cheap) and then hit up Lake Tahoe. Or loop down through Yosemite, long drive - But stunning.

19lottie82

Thanks Mr Wang - Thinking of doing a night @ Lake Tahoe then 2 in Reno.

John259

Apologies if this tells you nothing new, but FWIW here's a bit more information about the roads over the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

I-80 (the Donner Pass route), US50 (the Lake Tahoe route) and CA88 (just south of Lake Tahoe) are kept open all year, but are subject to temporary disruptions in mid-winter after heavy snowfalls. I-80 has the highest priority for clearance, then US50, then CA88.

All the other passes over that part of the Sierras, including the Tioga Pass road (CA120 through Yosemite's high country), are closed all winter and don't usually open until May or June. The closure dates in recent years are on this web page (US date format: MM/DD): http://www.caltrans.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/clsdlst.htm

Even when the Tioga Pass road is closed, it's usually possible to access Yosemite Valley from the west via CA120 from Manteca, CA140 from Merced, or CA41 from Fresno.

There's a slight risk of bad weather in mountains in April. You can check road conditions at the time on this page of the CalTrans web site: http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi

Hope this helps.

19lottie82

We will be going at the very tail end of April, so hopefully the weather won't be too bad.

Can anyone advise the best places to eat / drink in Reno, as well as general entertainment? Thanks