Favorite Restaurants in the Lake Tahoe/Truckee/Reno Area
By Pat Roe
Long-time Truckee resident, President of Roe Construction, PTBA Vice-President,
and a professional bridge builder with good taste
There are a ton of great restaurants in the Tahoe/Truckee area. There’s a free weekly paper that circulates around the area that is a wealth of information on area happenings. It’s called the "North Tahoe Truckee This Week" and their website is www.tahoethisweek.com. Click on "dining" for a guide to local restaurants. Below is a brief review of the restaurants that appear in the guide that I have been to and have enjoyed. (I have organized them as they appear in the guide, page by page.)
While many of these restaurants are quite upscale, it is important to note that you really don't have to dress up. People in Tahoe are very casual. You can easily get away with Levi's and a nice shirt or sweater in all of these restaurants.
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Tahoe City and West Shore
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Hacienda del Lago – Located in the upper level of the Boatworks Mall in Tahoe City right on the edge of the lake with a great view. The food is best described as Americanized Mexican, but very good. The place is quite noisy with the college and après ski crowd, but is very fun. The Marg’s and Corona’s are flowin’ here.
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Jake’s on The Lake – Located in the Boatworks, downstairs from the Hacienda. Steak and seafood menu. Extensive wine list. A good choice.
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Lakehouse – Another fun and crowded place. Pizza and beer for dinner. Excellent omelets for breakfast.
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Mi Casa Tahoe – I haven’t been to this one, but I have been to Mi Casa Too in Reno and it has very good authentic Mexican food.
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Rosie’s Cafe – Popular with visitors and locals alike. Nice atmosphere, located in a large barn-like building with an open truss ceiling, complete with a moosehead, ski-town antiques and a roaring fire. Good for lunch and dinner, even better for breakfast.
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Sunnyside – One of my favorite spots. It is an “Old Tahoe” lodge nestled in the forest right on the edge of the lake, complete with their own small marina. Steak and seafood with a great wine list. Highly recommended!
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Swiss Lakewood Lodge – Fine dining, French Continental. Upscale.
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Tahoe House – Similar to Swiss Lakewood, quiet romantic spot. Has a great bakery/deli in the front.
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Truckee to Donner Summit
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Cottonwood – Without question, one of my favorite restaurants in the area. Great atmosphere, great food and a jazz trio on the weekends to boot. Overlooking downtown Truckee in the Hilltop Lodge, one of North America’s oldest ski lodges, the atmosphere is rustic elegance. The Cottonwood features an eclectic menu of seafood, wild game and pasta. If you like Caesar salad, this is a must have here. Good wine list. Go here!
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El Toro Bravo – Good authentic Mexican food.
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Wong’s Garden – Decent Szechwan cuisine, a locals favorite, but there are better places to go for visitors.
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Crystal Bay to Incline Village
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Hacienda de la Sierra – Similar to Hacienda del Lago.
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Soule Domain – A romantic and cozy little log cabin with a good steak and seafood menu. Good wine list.
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Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows
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River Ranch – Setting is an “Old Tahoe” style lodge on the bank of the Truckee River at the entrance to Alpine Meadows. Great California cuisine. Many great specials including wild game. Get a window table next to the bar, the river is just out the window. Highly recommended!
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Kings Beach, Tahoe Vista and Carnelian Bay
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Captain Jon’s – Good seafood in a nice setting, right on the lake.
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Gar Woods – A large restaurant on the lakefront that is kind of noisy. California grill. A very popular place.
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Lanza’s – Excellent Italian food. Extensive Italian wine list. Casual family dining.
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Le Petite Pier – Fine country French dining right on the lake, near Captain Jon’s.
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Reno Area Restauarants (not in the Tahoe/Truckee Guide)
There are a couple of other places that I recommend that are not listed in this guide. All are listed in the Reno phone book.
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The Christmas Tree – Located about 2/3 of the way up the Mt. Rose Highway on the Reno side of the mountain. My parents’ favorite place when they lived in the area in the 50s. Has been around forever. Great mahogany-cooked steaks and seafood. Great view. About a 30-minute drive from downtown Reno.
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Skyline Cafe – Located in the foothills above Reno, southwest of downtown. A nice view of the city. A great escape from the casino scene. Nice neighborhood restaurant.
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Famous Murphys – On South Virginia St. in Reno. Good steak, pasta and seafood menu.
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Restaurants, Businesses and Parks in the Atlantis Vicinity
While both Atlantis and Peppermill have enough restaurants and attractions to make it unnecessary to leave the building, Reno is a real city. If you want to get out and try other restaurants or see the city, we've identified a number of nearby useful places within walking or short driving distance.
The table below provides info about and transportation time to the businesses indicated by the yellow circles. Many are within a short walk of Atlantis.
Please note that the map is NOT to scale. Atlantis and Peppermill are much closer to Meadowood Mall than to downtown, and distance from Atlantis to downtown is about 3 miles. Atlantis and Peppermill are about 3900' apart.
For city bus information and schedules along the purple route (Citifare Route 1, South Virginia Street), please see PTBA's city bus info. Both Atlantis and Peppermill have bus stops in front of the hotel. Buses run every 15-30 minutes.
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Key to Yellow Circles on Map
(see also table below)
Restaurants
1 Applebee's
2 Cantina Los Tres Hombres
3 Chevy's
4 Chili's
5 Claim Jumper
6 Deux Gros Nez
7 Famous Murphys
8 Heidi's Family Restaurant
9 Joe's Diner
10 Liberty Belle
11 Macaroni Grill
12 Marie Callender's
13 BrewHouse Pub & Grill
14 Mimi's Café
15 Olive Garden
16 On The Border Mexican Cafe
17 Outback Steakhouse
18 Pneumatic Diner
19 Red Lobster
20 Red Robin Gourmet Burgers
21 Sage Creek Grill & Taproom
22 Skyline Café
23 T.G.I. Friday's
Coffee & Doughnuts
24 Krispy Kreme
Sub Shops
25 Port of Subs
Sports / Outdoor Shops
26 Gart Sports
27 REI
28 Sierra Trading Post
Book Stores
29 Barnes & Noble Booksellers
30 Border's Books & Music
Specialty Markets
31 Trader Joe's Co
32 Wild Oats Market
Supermarkets
33 Albertson's
34 Raley's Superstores
35 Safeway
36 Scolari's Food & Drug
37 Smith's Food & Drug
Shopping Mall
38 Meadowood Mall
Rental Car Agencies
39 Advantage Rent A Car
40 Alamo Rent A Car
41 Dollar Rent A Car
42 Enterprise Rent A Car
43 Hertz Rent A Car
Hotels
44 Truckee River Lodge
45 Circus Circus
46 Sands Regency
Parks and Places to Exercise
47 Virginia Lake Park
48 Truckee River
49 Rancho San Rafael Park
50 Peavine Mountain |
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| Businesses in the Atlantis area (keyed to map above) |
Distance from Atlantis
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5 min. or less walk |
5-20 min. walk |
5-15 min. drive |
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Map #
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Restaurants |
Address |
Phone |
Website |
Comments |
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1
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Applebee's |
4805 Kietzke Ln |
825-2800 |
www.applebees.com |
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2
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Cantina Los Tres Hombres |
7111 S Virginia St |
825-0202 |
www.cantinalth.com |
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3
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Chevy's |
4955 S Virginia St |
829-8008 |
www.chevys.com |
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4
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Chili's |
5090 Smithridge Dr |
829-7775 |
www.chilis.com |
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5
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Claim Jumper |
4905 S Virginia St |
829-0200 |
www.claimjumper.com |
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6
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Deux Gros Nez |
249 California Ave (downtown) |
784-9400 |
www.deuxgrosnez.com |
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Cool bicycling motif, famous in bicycling circles |
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7
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Famous Murphys |
3127 S Virginia St |
827-4111 |
www.famousmurphys.com |
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8
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Heidi's Family Restaurant |
2450 S Virginia St |
826-3336 |
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9
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Joe's Diner |
6350 S Virginia St |
853-3777 |
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10
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Liberty Belle |
4250 S Virginia St |
825-1776 |
www.libertybellereno.com |
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Lots of
Old West memorabilia |
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11
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Macaroni Grill |
5505 S Virginia St |
448-9994 |
www.macaronigrill.com |
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12
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Marie Callender's |
6365 S McCarran Blvd |
823-9000 |
www.mcpies.com |
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13
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BrewHouse Pub & Grill |
6395 S McCarran Blvd |
828-2700 |
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14
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Mimi's Café |
5090 Kietzke Ln |
448-9882 |
www.mimiscafe.com |
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15
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Olive Garden |
4900 S Virginia St |
829-1500 |
www.olivegarden.com |
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16
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On The Border Mexican Cafe |
5525 S Virginia St |
827-5525 |
www.ontheborder.com |
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17
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Outback Steakhouse |
3645 S Virginia St |
827-5050 |
www.outbacksteakhouse.com |
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Next to Trade Show outdoor demo area |
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18
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Pneumatic Diner |
501 W First St (downtown, located in the Truckee River Lodge) |
786-8888 |
www.aci.net/diner/pneumatic/ |
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Bicyling heaven! |
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19
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Red Lobster |
3601 S Virginia St |
829-9292 |
www.redlobster.com |
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20
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Red Robin Gourmet Burgers |
4999 Kietzke Ln |
825-7246 |
www.redrobin.com |
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21
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Sage Creek Grill & Taproom |
5851 S Virginia St |
829-4611 |
meadowwoodcourtyard.com/
sagecreek |
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22
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Skyline Cafe |
3005 Skyline Blvd |
825-5611 |
renodining.com/interest.htm |
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Great city views |
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23
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T.G.I. Friday's |
6410 S Virginia St |
853-7070 |
www.tgifridays.com |
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Distance from Atlantis
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5 min. or less walk |
5-20 min. walk |
5-15 min. drive |
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Map #
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Coffee & Doughnuts |
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24
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Krispy Kreme |
5050 Kietzke Ln |
828-4344 |
www.krispykreme.com |
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| Sub Shops |
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25
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Port of Subs |
5000 Smithridge Dr |
827-0770 |
www.portofsubs.com |
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Good! Fast! |
| Sports / Outdoor Shops |
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26
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Gart Sports |
4813 Kietzke Ln |
828-1234 |
www.gartsports.com |
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27
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REI |
2225 Harvard Way |
828-9090 |
www.rei.com |
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28
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Sierra Trading Post |
6865 Sierra Center Pkwy |
828-8050 |
www.sierratradingpost.com |
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| Bookstores |
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29
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Barnes & Noble Booksellers |
5555 S Virginia St |
826-8882 |
www.barnesandnoble.com |
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30
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Border's Books & Music |
4995 S Virginia St |
448-9999 |
www.borders.com |
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| Specialty Food Markets |
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31
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Trader Joe's Co |
5035 S McCarran Blvd |
826-1621 |
www.traderjoes.com |
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32
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Wild Oats Market |
5695 S Virginia St |
829-8666 |
www.wildoats.com |
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| Supermarkets |
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33
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Albertson's |
4995 Kietzke Ln |
827-5350 |
www.albertsons.com |
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34
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Raley's Superstores |
4047 S Virginia St |
825-2151 |
www.raleys.com |
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35
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Safeway |
4823 Kietzke Ln |
823-2300 |
www.safeway.com |
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36
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Scolari's Food & Drug |
3308 Lakeside Ct |
826-7018 |
www.scolaristores.com |
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37
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Smith's Food & Drug |
3600 S Virginia St |
829-1190 |
www.smithsfoodanddrug.com |
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| Meadowood Mall (Macy's, Sears, Eddie Bauer, Copeland Sports, etc.) |
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38
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Meadowood Mall |
5000 Meadowood Mall Cir |
827-8450 |
www.shopmeadowood.com |
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| Rental Car Agencies (outside the airport is much cheaper than renting at the airport) |
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39
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Advantage Rent A Car |
2105 Kietzke Ln |
322-3003 |
www.arac.com |
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40
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Alamo Rent A Car |
2001 E Plumb Lane |
323-7940 |
www.alamo.com |
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41
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Dollar Rent A Car |
1670 National Guard Way |
348-2800 |
www.dollar.com |
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42
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Enterprise Rent A Car |
2802 Kietzke Ln |
826-2442 |
www.enterprise.com |
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43
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Hertz Rent A Car |
1561 Vassar St |
785-2650 |
www.hertz.com |
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| Downtown Alternate Hotels |
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44
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Truckee River Lodge |
501 W First St |
(800) 635-8950 |
www.truckeeriverlodge.com |
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45
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Circus Circus |
500 North Sierra St |
(800) 648-5010
In Nevada, (775) 329-0711 |
www.circusreno.com |
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46
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Sands Regency |
345 N Arlington |
1-866-FUNSTAY (866-386-7829) |
www.sandsregency.com |
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| Places to Exercise |
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47
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Virginia Lake Park |
Located just north and west of the Peppermill (see map above). Path around lake about one mile in length. |
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48
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Truckee River |
Paved bike path for several miles along the river and several places to park and ride, run or walk. See downtown Reno map. |
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49
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Rancho San Rafael Park |
Trails and wide open high desert spaces for walking, running, etc. N McCarran Blvd. (Reno/Sparks beltway) and N Virginia St. |
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50
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Peavine Mountain |
The prominent mountain northwest of town. Extensive trail network. Trailhead just north of Rancho San Rafael Park |
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