Lodging in Reno, NV/Truckee, CA area

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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Hi Royce,
I’m just going to throw some stuff out there and if you want to expand on any of it, I’ll be around off and on.
We stay over in the Truckee, Tahoe, Reno and Carson City area about 60 nights a year, some years more, but rarely less. In fact, I’ll be there again next week as I was last week and no, I don’t gamble.

Things to know going in. If you’re driving a tall or long vehicle, on-site parking at some of the Virginia Street Casino Hotels ( Silver Legacy, Circus Circus, El Dorado, Harrahs ) can be problematic - most offer parking garages with height restraints. While off site parking lots for oversized vehicles are available, if the hotels are hosting a street festival, convention or tournaments during your stay, don’t count on a parking spot in one of them being available when you return from your days outing. If you’re driving even a large p/u, tall SUV or carrying a car top luggage box, it doesn’t hurt to call the hotel directly and ask about parking garage height limits before booking your stay.

If a large vehicle is the case, then I’d look to the Grand Sierra Resort / Casino, the Peppermill or the Atlantis, all are found off of U.S. 395 on the eastern side of town.
Also if you’re flying into Reno and renting a car off site, those hotels are the closet to the airport ( short taxi rides ) and in my experience they all offer shuttles.
By the way, while I dont stay there, I’m pretty sure the Fitzgerald Hotel / Casino went belly up.

Do keep in mind that the highways between Sparks, Reno and Truckee there is almost always summer time highway work in progress. Traffic along those corridors can get royally screwed up for long periods of time. So making your runs up to the river and back to town can be a lot less stressful during the off peak periods.
Don’t overlook fishing the Truckee R. in Nevada.

Are you traveling with pets?

Will the girls have their own car for shopping outings?

Reno’s premium shopping areas are spread over a wide area and include a newer jumbo mall / outlet east of town in the Sparks area. Then there are the funky little shops along Donner Pass Rd in Truckee and the main drag in Tahoe City. Those places also offer some nice restraunts to meet up at after a day of fishing and shopping.

Also, there are still a few of the older style motels in Tahoe City ( at Lake Tahoe ), the “Lake of the Sky Inn” comes to mind. You couldn’t ask for a place to be more centrally located, within walking distance to shopping, pleasant non-corporate restaurants, beaches and a short hop to wade fishing the river. Plus it’s just a nice place to cruise the sidewalks with the wife in the evenings and if you just have to be around a casino. The little clubs of the North shore that once drew in Old Blue Eyes and Marilyn are about a half hour away via hwy 28.

You guys just have to weigh the price you pay per night for lodging, ambience and the convenience of being near the activities you all want to participate in, against the lost travel time, increased fuel consumption and Reno’s night life & street people.

Another idea would be to consider the Tahoma Meadows Inn over on the west shore of Tahoe. It’s not in-expensive, but it exudes the vintage charm of a Tahoe west shore resort and you couldn’t ask for nicer hosts. The owner Dick White is well known amongst the fly fishing community out here and if he felt so inclined, he could point you at some waters that won’t show up in your western trout fishing guide.

As you probably have already ferreted out, there is a new-ish fly shop in Truckee over on West River Street, but no trip to Truckee would be complete without a stop by Mountain Hardware where 89 south and Donner Pass road meet. That hardware store sports a friendly little fly shop and more mountain themed household trappings than any shop-oholic could want.

Unfortunately Reno lost its only dedicated fly shop, but there is a Cabela’s store just west on I - 80 at Boomtown and a Schell’s Sporting Goods east of town just off I-80. There’s also a Sportsman’s Warehouse in Reno off of I-395. So last minute terminal tackle needs shouldn’t be a hurdle to your success.
Before Boomtown ( just west of Reno ) was home to Cabela’s, it was home to Boomtown Hotel, Casino and R.V. park. Which offers yet another place to base your trip out here from.

I’ve gone way astray from your lodging questions.

Have a great trip, Dave