United States · Nevada
Where to Stay in Reno, Nevada
The lit Reno Arch spans the downtown street beside the Truckee River in Reno, a city in Nevada below the Sierra Nevada, settled in 1868.
Find your area →
Where to stay in Reno
Each area has its own feel; here's who each one suits.
Where to stay in Reno centers on the downtown casino core and the riverside blocks along the Truckee River. Downtown holds the tall casino hotels and sits under the Reno Arch, with the National Automobile Museum and the National Bowling Stadium within easy reach. It suits a first visit built around the gaming floors and shows.
The core is compact, and the river path runs right through it. The riverwalk stretch offers a quieter base. Blocks near the Nevada Museum of Art and the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum trade the casino noise for galleries and a walkable stretch of the Truckee River, and Greater Nevada Field draws ballgame crowds a short walk east.
For a mountain-facing trip, rooms toward the western edge sit closer to the Sierra Nevada and the road up to Lake Tahoe. The choice comes down to whether you want the casino downtown, the museum-lined riverwalk, or a base pointed at the mountains.
About Reno
What is Reno known for?
Reno is known for its downtown casinos and for the Reno Arch that frames the old core with its nickname. Gaming built the downtown. Beyond the tables, the city keeps a strong museum and sport draw: the National Automobile Museum holds a large historic car collection, the Nevada Museum of Art anchors the visual arts, and Greater Nevada Field brings baseball to a riverside ground along the Truckee River.
What are the main landmarks in Reno?
The main landmarks in Reno range from the casino era to a set of museums along the river. Best known is the Reno Arch. It spans the downtown street with the city's old nickname in lights, and the National Automobile Museum holds hundreds of historic cars a short walk away.
The Nevada Museum of Art and the Terry Lee Wells Nevada Discovery Museum cover art and science, while Greater Nevada Field and the National Bowling Stadium anchor the sporting side near the Truckee River.
What is the history of Reno?
Reno was founded in 1868 as a railroad crossing on the Truckee River in Nevada, where the line met a bridge over the water. The town grew as a supply point for the mining country and the ranches of the Sierra Nevada foothills, and it became the seat of Washoe County. Rail set the grid.
The river ran through the center, and the early commercial blocks rose along both banks near the crossing. Gaming and quick-divorce law reshaped the town in the last century, drawing visitors and building the downtown that the Reno Arch came to advertise. The Original Reno Arch and its later replacement carried the slogan that fixed the city's name.
Historic houses across the older neighborhoods, and the cars gathered in the National Automobile Museum, record the decades of growth that followed. The Truckee River still divides the center it created, so downtown reads as a railroad town that turned into a casino resort without leaving the water behind.
Where is Reno?
Reno sits in the Truckee River valley at the eastern foot of the Sierra Nevada, in northwestern Nevada near the California line. The river runs down from the mountains through the center of town before crossing the dry basin to the east. Lake Tahoe lies above.
High foothills rise sharply to the west, so the city faces snow-capped peaks on one side and open high desert on the other, with the Truckee River threading the two together.
What is the climate of Reno?
Reno has a high-desert climate softened by its perch at the foot of the Sierra Nevada. The mountains shape the weather. Summers are warm and dry, with cool nights once the mountain air settles over the Truckee River valley.
Reno's winters bring a real chill. Snow falls on the city and piles deep on the range above, feeding the river that runs through downtown. Rain stays light through the year, since the Sierra Nevada catches most of the storms before they reach the eastern side.
How do you get to Reno?
Reno is the main travel hub of northwestern Nevada, reached by air, interstate, and the historic rail line along the Truckee River. An airport sits just southeast of downtown, a short drive from the casino core under the Reno Arch. The interstate crosses the valley east to west.
Mountain roads climb from the city into the Sierra Nevada toward Lake Tahoe, so many visitors pair a stay under the Arch with a trip up to the lake.
Good for
More cities in Nevada
Updated July 2026