Lodging in Reno, NV/Truckee, CA area

Plans are starting to come together for an early July trip to the Truckee River. Have been researching some lodging options. Finding that lodging in Truckee, CA is a bit on the pricey side. I guess Truckee is a bit more of a "resort town" than I was expecting. On the other hand, it's a fairly short drive to Reno, NV where lodging is quite a bit cheaper (because they want you to spend your money in the casinos, of course).

Looking for suggestions...Should we bite the bullet and pay the high prices in Truckee, save some serious money and stay in Reno, or something else?

We can't get too far off the beaten path as the wives will be looking for things to do while we are fishing. There will be 2 couples. Men fishing, women shopping, sight-seeing, etc. We were looking for reasonably priced cabins or good old-fashioned "drive-up hotels" but those seem to be few and far between. We don't need anything fancy. Just someplace comfortable and not so fancy we'll feel bad about laying the wet waders out to dry.

Has anyone found a decent, reasonably priced place to stay in this area? Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

I've been to Reno several times on business trips for a casino company, so I always stayed at that casino. I've had business meetings at Donner Lake and Lake Tahoe, and driven through Truckee a few times. Based on that, I'd guess the wives would have a far better time in Reno. Most of Reno's casinos are clustered in a small central area that is rather seedy and can get a little spooky at night. I suspect they might enjoy the suburbs a bit more, where there are nice shopping centers, restaurants, etc.

Truckee is a smallish mountain town, Donner Lake offers little to do other than look at the lake. Lake Tahoe has casinos on the south end, but very little else.

I've found tripadvisor.com to be a great way to find lodging gems and bargains. Lots of real people reviews.

Man, Royce, You ain't kidding about high prices. I like using VRBO dot com for finding cabins. Those folks in Truckee are some of the highest I've seen. Reno's not that bad for casino hotels. Also there are several small burgs on the I-80 between the NV state line and Truckee that may have less expensive rentals. Jim

I used to go to Reno several times a year when I was a poker-holic. The wife And I stayed in the various casinos which we found cheaper that the motels. However when Gracie got sick I quit Reno and have not been there for about 3 years so this is obviously not the latest info.

Casinos we really liked. (l) The nugget in Sparks, NV. It was clean and offered easy access to the freeway. There was enough shopping to keep the misses happy around Sparks. (2) The Eldorado and the Silver Legacy. Both located on Virginia Street in the heatr of Reno. (3) The Peppermill. Futher south on Virginia Street.

Casinos we didn't like (1) The Cal-Neva and The Sands. Both downtown on Virginia St.

Casinos so - so: (1) Circus Circuit and (2)Fitzgeralds. Both downtown Reno.

Like I said my observations are somewhat outdated. Hope you have a good trip

Tim

I would have to agree with Panman. I've usually stayed at the Nugget and it is a nice place. Stayed at the Sands once and didn't like it. I have heard good things about the Peppermill and it is closer to fishing and Cabela's.

Beaver