Introduction to Reno

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Downtown Reno with the Sierra Nevada Range in the Background

Reno is a city in the state of Nevada, located along the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada mountains. A destination in its own right and a gateway for many outdoor activities, Reno is also the second largest gaming destination in Nevada, featuring quite an array of resort hotel-casinos, although the number doesn't begin to approach the scale of Las Vegas.

Reno began with a toll bridge on the Truckee River, which served traveling goldrush migrants. Apparently, the city did not emerge from diligent community planning but rather was more the offspring of men driven to make a buck. When the railroad arrived in 1868, a proper town was platted and named Reno, after a Civil War general.

Since its beginning, Reno has spread across much of the Truckee Meadows. Reno and Sparks (a smaller adjacent city) now spread across this small valley separating the Sierra Nevada mountains to the West and Nevada's expansive desert areas to the East.

The profiteering characteristic of the founders may have occasionally plagued the course of Reno's subsequent generations. Some Renoites claim Nevadans are simply of a freer nature. Others think the city has repeated the steps of the goldrush era founders. Certainly, the choices made today are what will determine the true nature of the community. Regardless, Reno enjoys a pretty decent quality of life with 4 seasons, winter and summer fun, a major university, and plenty of other entertainment.