What to see and do in Reno, Nevada

Visited October 2023

Booking through these agencies from here will help support this site at no extra cost to you.

Save on tours & activities with Viator US Ghost Adventures and Haunted Pub Crawls

Reno, Nevada is best known for its casino and tourism industry

Reno is a city in the northwest section of Nevada, near the Nevada-California border. It is about 22 miles north from Lake Tahoe. Reno is in the the Truckee River valley on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The city is named after Major General Jesse L. Reno, who was killed in action during the Civil War at the Battle of South Mountain on Fox’s Gap in Maryland.

Reno hosts various events and festivals throughout the year such as the Reno Rodeo, the Great Reno Balloon Race, Artown (which is a month-long arts festival), and the National Championship Air Races.

Outdoor activities include hiking, skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, and water sports on the nearby Lake Tahoe. The Truckee River flows out of Lake Tahoe and down into Reno.

We visited Reno on 10/27/2023. While there, we toured the downtown area and saw the numerous casinos and the riverwalk.

Viator offers numerous tours of the Reno area. Click here for details.