Reno offers gaming, shopping, golfing and much more
The American Legion National Convention returns to Reno — “The Biggest Little City in the World” — this year for the first time since 2007.
Legion Family members traveling to Reno in August for the 99th convention will see high-rise casinos dotting the landscape. But Reno and surrounding communities offer much more than gaming. Eclectic stores, antique shops and unique museums are scattered throughout the city.
“Reno-Tahoe USA is the biggest little city in the world,” said Robyn Nichols Matta, director of national accounts for the Reno convention bureau. “We are undergoing a renaissance mode right now. We have over 100 new restaurants since the Legion was here last in 2007. The restaurants have all kinds of different foods. We also have all kinds of breweries and distilleries. The Riverwalk has transformed the whole downtown from antique shops to movie theaters to restaurants. It’s really an exciting time to be in downtown Reno-Tahoe.”
Like many mid-size cities in the 1990s, Reno recognized that suburban flight and the shuttering of multiple casinos had left its downtown empty and rundown. The Reno City Council began a massive renovation and revitalization effort that, over the past 15 years, has transformed the downtown to a vibrant destination that sparkles with art, culture, nightlife and nature. The convention parade route will travel along Virginia Street, and bring most convention attendees downtown, but several other attractions make this part of Reno a must-see destination.
Many convention-goers will stay at the two hotels nearest the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa and The Peppermill Casino Resort. Others will stay three miles away at the Grand Sierra Resort near the airport, and still others will stay downtown at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino and Circus Circus Reno hotels. A quick 10-minute shuttle ride will give attendees easy access to all locations.
Here are some ideas on how to spend your time in Reno before, during or after the convention that runs Aug. 18-24.
EAT, DRINK AND BE MERRY
Basque food. Originating in the region near France and Spain, Basque food has taken hold in Reno. It’s family-style dining, where guests order their entrées and then share the sides — French fries, salad, beans and a scoop of ice cream for dessert — with others at a long table. Louis’ Basque Corner, 301 E 4th St., specializes in Basque food and a Picon punch drink.
Breweries, distilleries. Reno has a growing number of craft brews and distilleries, some of which offer tours. Check www.RenoBrewMap.com for an interactive map with detailed information about the options, hours of service, locations and more.
PLACES TO EXPLORE
Downtown Riverwalk District: In the 1800s the city of Reno blossomed up around the first bridge built to cross the Truckee River. For years it was a focal point of the community and many of Reno’s historical treasures were established along the riverbanks nearby — particularly when the area was awash in the riches gained from the Comstock Lode in nearby Virginia City. In the 1930s and 40s when the town became more known for gambling and quickie divorces, the city lost focus on the natural areas around the river. The first phase of the 1990s Reno redevelopment process was to bring the Riverwalk back to life. The area now boasts of a coalition of local merchants offering boutique shopping, entertainment venues, museums and dining experiences that celebrate the history and culture of Reno, and has brought vibrancy back to the heart of the downtown area. The Raymond I. Smith Truckee Riverwalk was recently named one of America’s Top 10 Riverwalks by Travel & Leisure Magazine.
National Automobile Museum: The museum displays more than 200 cars, including those previously owned by entertainment legends such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and John Wayne.
Since the National Automobile Museum opened its doors in 1989, it has been widely acclaimed as one America’s Five Greatest Automobile Museums by Autoweek. Vehicles on display include the 1907 Thomas Flyer, the American car that won the 1908 New York to Paris race; a 1973 Cadillac Eldorado Custom Coupe given to Elvis as a birthday gift from his father; and Indy 500 cars driven by Tom Sneva and Dan Gurney. Other celebrity-owned cars include James Dean's 1949 Lincoln Mercury, Wayne's 1953 Chevy Corvette, Sammy Davis Jr.'s 1935 Duesenberg Roadster and Sinatra's Ghia L 6.4, the first of only 26 ever built.
The museum also had a section dedicated to space vehicles, including Mars rover models and simulators ($5 per ride).
Join the millions who visit the museum each year. The museum is open 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
National Bowling Stadium: In Reno, bowling is a really big deal. Known as “The Taj Mahal of Tenpins,” the National Bowling Stadium is a state-of-the-art, 89-lane, championship bowling facility. The Bowling Stadium serves as a tournament facility for multiple bowling leagues, and the stadium seating, multiple food vendors and a 440-foot video screen — the longest in the world — provides a premium spectator experience during tournament play. The movie "Kingpin" was filmed there.
In addition to tournament play, the Bowling Stadium also doubles as a unique event venue and offers some features for the public. Individuals cannot walk in and bowl a game; however, groups may contact the facility and make reservations.
On the Bowling Stadium’s first floor is the International Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame, which is open to the public. This exhibit of Hall of Fame portraits and other bowling memorabilia is a satellite to the International Bowling Museum & Hall of Fame that is housed on the International Bowling Campus in Arlington, Texas.
On the tournament level, the Lane 81 Pro Shop offers top-of-the-line bowling equipment, and a Computer Aided Tracking System Lane lets bowlers take their game to a new level with computer evaluation and recommendations.
Golf courses: There are more than 50 courses within a 90-minute drive of Reno. Those include the Washoe County Golf Course, which dates back to 1934, and newer courses such as ArrowCreek and RedHawk, all of which are in Reno.
In the state’s capital city of Carson City, a 30-minute drive, the Divine Nine courses total about 70,000 yards of greens and roughs, including Dayton Valley Country Club, Empire Ranch and the Golf Club at Genoa Lakes.
Sixty minutes from Reno is Lake Tahoe with a dozen championship courses, including Edgewood Tahoe, which is rated among the top 25 public golf courses in the U.S. by Golf Digest. Click here to find about tee times, course descriptions and more.
The Outlets at Legends in Sparks: In a city adjacent to Reno, the outdoor shopping complex is home to dozens of major brands in apparel, sporting goods and entertainment, as well as restaurants and an Imax theater. Among the highlights is Scheels, a sporting goods store large enough for an indoor Ferris wheel and two-lane rollerball (miniature bowling) alley.
The mall is open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays, though some restaurants and stores hours may vary.
Nearby is the Sparks Marina, a peaceful setting for a walk, picnic or dip in the water. “It was created years ago when we had a flood and suddenly a construction pit filled up with water and there was the Sparks Marina,” Matta said. It’s about a mile walk around the marina.
Greater Nevada Field and Freight House District: A 9,100-capacity stadium set on the banks of the Truckee River, Greater Nevada Field is the current home to the Triple-A Reno Aces, the minor-league baseball affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The Aces will now share the facility with the United Soccer League minor league team, Reno 1868 FC. The regular seasons for both teams runs well into September, so availability of tickets for August home games are likely. Because of the flexibility of general admission areas, party zones with picnic seating and luxury suite options, it is not uncommon for the venue to be filled beyond its stated capacity.
The attached Freight House District is a year-round entertainment complex that works both in conjunction with events at Greater Nevada Field, as well as independently. Festivals, concerts and other events happen year-round, and the complex also offers nearly a dozen options for private events.
The Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum: For families with children, the Discovery Museum is a great way to spend a day in Reno. Originally designed as a children’s museum in 2011, the museum has made its mark as a hands-on museum dedicated to inspiring lifelong learning in science, technology, engineering, art, math and the natural world. Among the permanent exhibits, the two-story Cloud Climber jungle-gym allows visitors to scramble into the stratosphere while learning about the water cycle; the Smithsonian Spark!Lab teaches about the history and process of invention and inspires visitors to create new inventions; and the hand-on experiments in the Da Vinci’s Corner gallery gives insight into what fascinated and inspired Leonardo da Vinci. The museum is open at 10 a.m. Tuesday to Saturday and at noon on Sunday. It closes at 5 p.m. each day except Wednesday, when it is open until 8 p.m. The Discovery Museum is closed Mondays.
Midtown District: In the two-mile stretch that connects the convention center and downtown, an urban renewal project to help counteract suburban flight in the 1990s has blossomed into an eclectic art community of like-minded entrepreneurs who celebrate the unique and the local. Engaging graffiti murals decorate the alleyways and tattoo artists make equally beautiful personal art. Clothing boutiques, theme dress shops, consignment shops and other independent retailers offer a culturally diverse and dynamic shopping experience. Spas, salons, vintage record shops, and exercise studios offer beauty and wellness options, and locally owned restaurants, bars and nightclubs round out the offerings.
One such place is Junkee Clothing Exchange, where hipster meets antique collectibles in the forms of vintage clothing, beer signs, books and other novelties.
Nevada Museum of Art. The museum is the only accredited art museum in the state of Nevada. The four-floor museum offers an interesting collection of paintings, photography, sculptures and other artwork. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with extended hours on Thursday until 8 p.m.
The Reno Arch: Undoubtedly the most iconic symbol in Reno, the storied arch that welcomes visitors along Commercial Row has a history as colorful as the neon that glimmers across Virginia Street. It is a story of three arches — all of which still stand in different locations today.
The original arch was built in 1926 to promote the 1927 Nevada Transcontinental Highway Exposition. It was a steel structure topped with the word RENO, bracketed by two blazing torches. More incandescent lights illuminated letters announcing the exposition, which was a celebration of the completion of the Lincoln and Victory highways. Once the exposition was over, the Reno City Council voted to keep the arch, and initiated a contest to come up with a slogan to replace the exposition lettering. G. A. Burns of Sacramento claimed the $100 prize for the now-famous motto: “Reno, The Biggest Little City in the World.”
In 1934, the incandescent lighting gave way to the newest trend, neon. The sign was remodeled to the single word, RENO, in bright green neon. There was public outcry over the removal of the slogan, and so the city council added it back to the sign in new art deco neon lettering. The sign remained unaltered on Virginia Street for the next 30 years.
In 1963, Reno launched a campaign to build a new sign for Nevada’s centennial. A new, futuristic model was unveiled during New Year’s Eve celebrations that year and the original sign was moved to Idlewild Park. Six years later, a 1969 street widening project forced the original 1926 arch to be moved to Paradise Park. And in 1988, it was placed into storage because the cost of necessary repairs did not fit into the city’s budget. In 1994, a movie production company finally resurrected the sign, repairing it and erecting it over 4th Street for four days of filming for the movie “Cobb.” The community rallied around the resurrected sign and after a year-long grass-roots effort, the original arch was placed on Lake Street near the National Automobile Museum where it stands today.
During this mid-80s, the city decided that the mod-design arch unveiled in 1963 was losing some of its shine. So in 1987, the 1963 sign was donated to the town of Willits, Calif., 250 miles west, where it spans Highway 101 and welcomes visitors to Mendocino County as the “Gateway to the Redwoods.” Meanwhile, a third arch was built over Virginia Street — incorporating both the 1963 starburst motif as well as the 1930s art-deco lettering. While there is a new wave of local debate about a next generation sign and the relevance of the 87-year-old motto, this latest sign serves as a gateway into the revived Riverwalk District.
For even more options of how to spend your time in Reno, visit the convention and visitors bureau’s website, www.visitrenotahoe.com.
“Reno has the big-town amenities and the small-town feel,” Matta said. “What’s most important to us is when the American Legion Family comes they are welcomed in this destination. We are so glad to have you returning back to Reno.”