The ABA Marketplace Guide to Reno Tahoe

Calling all art aficionados! Reno Tahoe is the place for you. Downtown Reno and MidTown District feature countless murals and public art displays. Take a self guided tour through Reno’s riverwalk district scanning QR codes along the way to learn about each mural, or opt for a guided tour through Travel Pineapple where you can sit back and ride through Reno on a pedicab with an experienced guide to point out all the murals and the history of each one.

In the nearby City of Sparks, independent artists congregate in a local makerspace.The Generator offers guided tours, showing off its various shops including textiles, screen printing, hot and cold metals and Paintlandia. If you time your visit right, you can also catch a preview of that year’s playa art before it heads out to Black Rock Desert for Burning Man, which you can visit too! Black Rock Desert is only a 3-hour drive from Reno and hosts Burning Man each August, a festival where rogue artists gather every year to burn down creations they spent months making and celebrate the spirit of the festival.

Explore Northern Nevada’s arts and culture by visiting https://www.visitrenotahoe.com/things-to-do/arts-and-culture.

Blessed with sparkling natural beauty, Lake Tahoe is considered the Jewel of the Sierra Nevada and is recognized as one of the best adventure vacations, one of the best family vacations, and one of the best ski vacations in the United States. At 6,229 feet above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the highest lake of its size in the United States and is the second deepest lake with a maximum depth of 1,645 feet. Conveniently located just 30 minutes from downtown Reno, Lake Tahoe is just a short drive away, featuring world-class winter activities, local events, outdoor recreation, and unique experiences. Located on the northeast shore lies Incline Village, a quaint mountain town that offers year-round activities for every visitor. Lake Tahoe is where you’ll find the highest concentration of ski resorts in North America. Incline Village is home to Diamond Peak Ski Resort, which offers unforgettable views from nearly every run.

During July and August, the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival at Sand Harbor State Park offers plays set against the backdrop of Lake Tahoe. From Sand Harbor, visitors can walk, bike, and hike on the Tahoe East Shore Trail, an accessible paved trail along the shoreline, to Incline Village.

Did you know golf balls fly 10 percent farther at our elevation? With more than 50 courses within a 90-minute drive to choose from, Reno and Lake Tahoe golf courses are accessible for every level of play, from quick layouts to championship-level challenges. Reno Tahoe is the perfect year-round golf destination with 300 days of sunshine per year.

Lake Tahoe offers a stunning backdrop for unforgettable adventures, and its tours provide the perfect way to immerse visitors in the region’s beauty and history. Departing between Zephyr Cove and Emerald Bay, the historic paddle wheeler, M.S. Dixie II takes visitors on a 2.5-hour-guided tour that includes informative history and a special presentation of Lake Tahoe.

To learn more about what Lake Tahoe has to offer, please visit https://www.visitrenotahoe.com/regions/lake-tahoe.

Did you know Reno is home to the only art museum in Nevada accredited by the American Alliance of Museums? The Nevada Museum of Art in downtown Reno features art inspired by the unique natural landscape surrounding us with permanent collections, visiting exhibitions, guided tours, workshops, and talks from visiting artists. Recently expanded, the museum now includes Charles and Stacie Mathewson Education + Research Center, to increase library collections and galleries while providing a place for academic scholars and Reno’s K-12 students a place to learn.

Named one of the Top 5 auto museums in the nation, The National Automobile Museum is a must for your Reno Tahoe trip. Featuring a collection of over 200 classic cars known as the Harrah Collection, this museum opened in 1989 to honor casino mogul Bill Harrah, founder of Harrah’s Hotels and Casinos. Originally part of a 1,400 car collection, the Harrah Collection is a glimpse at Harrah’s largest and most historically significant automobile collection in the world.

Not only does the museum have a spectacular assortment of vehicles to excite any car enthusiast, the National Automobile Museum also houses rotating specialty exhibits like Cars of the Stars with vehicles on display featured in films or owned by celebrities like Elvis and Frank Sinatra. The National Automobile Museum also offers both guided and self guided tours to ensure you don’t miss a thing at this one-of-a-kind Reno experience.

To plan your visit, find information on current and future exhibits, and the vehicle inventory, visit automuseum.org.

Just east of downtown is Reno’s unofficial brewery district, where a collection of craft breweries and taprooms call home. The Depot Craft Brewery Distillery offers more than just hand-crafted brews and spirits, they also offer a piece of Reno’s history. The Depot converted the century-old former headquarters for the Nevada-California-Oregon Railway into Reno’s first distillery and brewery in 2014. Pigeon Head Brewery is located right in the heart of Reno’s Brewery District, known for its German-style lagers. Lead Dog Brewing is a short walk from downtown Reno and offers ales that range from being heavily-hopped to fruited sours. Experience something different at Black Rabbit Mead Co., making and pouring meads made from locally-sourced honey. The brewery district is full of many more gems to explore while you’re visiting the Biggest Little City.

Learn more about the land of no last calls by visiting https://www.visitrenotahoe.com/food-and-drink/breweries-and-distilleries.

Back in the 1850s, the Basque people hailing from the region between France and Spain immigrated in masses to Northern Nevada to try their luck at finding gold. Instead, they found a permanent home in Northern Nevada, and the Basque culture has had a lasting impact on the area ever since. Today, you can experience Basque culture for yourself right here in Reno Tahoe!

Get a taste of Basque culture at Louis’ Basque Corner, the longest standing Basque restaurant in Reno Tahoe. Opened in 1967, Louis Basque Corner is still serving up traditional Basque food and drink after over 5 decades including Nevada’s state drink: Picon Punch! Inside Rancho San Rafael Park lies The Basque Sheepherder Monument, a sculpture commemorating Basque culture and the sheepherding industry they spearheaded in Northern Nevada created by Basque sculptor Nestor Basterretxea. Underneath the statue are steel plaques with the names of descendents of Basque settlers. Visit the University of Nevada, Reno, home to one of the only Basque Studies programs in the country to immerse yourself in Basque Culture at the Jon Bilbao Basque Library or take a look at a statue of a Basque sheepherder outside of the Knowledge Center that was originally located at Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks. Travel back to 1850s Northern Nevada when you take part in the Reno Basque Festival, held annually during the third weekend of July featuring traditional dancing, outfits, food, wine, weightlifting and woodchopping.

Celebrate Basque culture and tradition in Reno Tahoe by visiting https://www.visitrenotahoe.com/articles/basque-culture-in-reno.

All year long, Reno Tahoe hosts hundreds of iconic events like no where else you’ve been before. Only here can you find hot air balloons, rodeos, classic cars, and food being celebrated every season. Join us for The Great Reno Balloon Race in September, the world’s largest free hot air balloon festival where early morning dark skies are lit up with the vibrant colors of hundreds of hot air balloons taking off from Rancho San Rafael Park. In August, classic car enthusiasts gather every year for Hot August Nights, a celebration of classic cars across Reno, Sparks and Virginia City, featuring live entertainment, drag races, show-n-shine competitions and an auction to culminate the celebration. The Reno Rodeo returns every June and takes the Biggest Little City by storm, transforming the city into cowboy country. The festivities begin with a cattle drive and a kick-off concert and continues all week long with rodeo events and a nightly carnival.

Food festivals are plentiful in Reno Tahoe, because we know how important good food is to any trip. Each October, the Great Italian Festival celebrates Italian culture with dancing, music, a grape-stomping competition, and most importantly: food. The BBQ, Brews, and Blues Festival celebrates exactly what it says: beers from breweries in Reno and beyond with a Beer Olympics contest, tasty barbecue, and blues music to enjoy. Perhaps the most well-loved of these iconic celebrations of good food is the Nugget Casino Resort’s Best in the West Rib Cook-Off, where 24 BBQ experts across the country gather to compete for $20,000 in prizes while attendees eat over 250,000 pounds of ribs every year.

Experience events like never before and learn more about Reno Tahoe’s iconic events at https://www.visitrenotahoe.com/iconic-events.

The National Bowling Stadium (NBS), the only facility of its kind in the world, is dedicated to the sport of bowling. The National Bowling Stadium features 88 lanes and was designed with the tournament bowler in mind, but the versatility of the venue allows it to be transformed into several configurations to suit any event and is available for private parties, business meetings and bowling functions. NBS welcomes the largest bowling tournaments in the world, including the United States Bowling Congress Open Championships and Women’s Championships, and the Professional Bowlers Association. Kingpin Club by Brunswick features 10 professional lanes, a full bar and multiple flat screens on the first-floor lobby. Located on the fourth floor, Stadium Club is a private bar and lounge area that accommodates over 60 guests.

Located in the entertainment center of downtown Reno, Reno Events Center (REC) offers 118,000 square feet of space for events that range from top entertainment to a variety of conventions and conferences. Groups can also experience an abundance of affordable accommodations, dining, shopping and entertainment within walking distance of this venue. Adjacent to REC, The Reno Ballroom adds 28,000 square feet of supplementary space with banquet service.

The 600,000 sq. ft. Reno-Sparks Convention Center (RSCC) will host the 2026 ABA Marketplace, just 10 minutes from Reno-Tahoe International Airport. The RSCC has earned the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR accreditation, and continues to make major investments in improving the customer experience with upgraded technology and award-winning service. By providing the amenities of a first-tier city with small town hospitality, groups can enjoy built-in cost savings with food and beverage pricing being 20% less than the national average. The premier event venue in Northern Nevada is also home to the Reno Tahoe Indoor Track, one of just a few indoor competition tracks in the western United States. Designed to meet World Athletics certification, the indoor track makes Reno a premier destination for Track and Field hosting NCAA, USA Track & Field, AAU and youth meets.

Situated on 43 acres of land a few minutes from downtown Reno, the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center (RSLEC) is a fitting venue for a variety of events, not just events featuring four-legged creatures! RSLEC is home base for a list of prestigious equine and rodeo events, including the “Wildest, Richest Rodeo in the West” - the Reno Rodeo. The RSLEC welcomes youth and collegiate sporting competitions, national motocross and monster truck events, and a variety of consumer-based shows. Groups can enhance their visit to this venue at Doc Bar, the VIP lounge overlooking the main arena. Doc Bar holds 250 people and offers partial or full catering service.

To inquire about booking your groups at Reno Tahoe event venues, please visit https://www.visitrenotahoe.com/event-venues.

Welcome to the wild, wild west. While visiting Northern Nevada, visitors can prepare to see and experience a variety of cultures that make up Reno Tahoe’s history, from our Native American and Basque cultures, to evidence of our silver mining background and Western traditions.

Approximately 20 miles southeast of Reno lies Virginia City, a historic town most famous for the Comstock Lode in the 1800s, where miners and prospectors in the western Great Basin discovered gold and silver ore. The silver discovered in Virginia City was used to fund the North during the Civil War, leading President Abraham Lincoln to give Nevada statehood. Journey back in time by taking a stroll down the wooden sidewalks and quench your thirst at one of the unique saloons. Take a 35-minute excursion back into the Old West with a steam engine ride on the Virginia & Truckee (V&T) Railroad from Virginia City to Gold Hill, Nevada. Completed in 1869, the V&T Railroad hauled millions of dollars of gold and silver ore from the rich mines. For more than 150 years, Virginia City has attracted visitors to the area with arts and culture. Built in 1885, the historic Piper’s Opera House is recognized as one of the nation’s most famous performance venues and one of the most significant vintage theatres in the United States. The Fourth Ward School Museum, built as a state-of-the-art school in 1876, serves as a museum to commemorate the American West with permanent exhibits and historic memorabilia.

Situated at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains, just 25 minutes east of Lake Tahoe and one hour south of Reno, Genoa is filled with history and heritage. Recognized as the oldest permanent settlement in Nevada, Genoa is a quaint community rich with historical charm. The Genoa Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, filled with Victorian buildings. Established in 1853, Genoa Bar & Saloon is recognized as Nevada’s oldest thirst parlor.

Stewart Indian School was operated by the federal government from 1890-1980 as a boarding school for Great Basin Native students, located south of Carson City, Nevada. Created and funded by the State of Nevada, Stewart Indian School Cultural Center & Museum tells the stories of the students’ experiences and serves as a gathering place for their ancestors. The museum includes a contemporary art space called Great Basin Native Artists Gallery, a storytelling room, a research room, and a permanent exhibit about Stewart Indian School’s 90-year history.

Groups can take a short drive from Reno to Carson City, the capital of the State of Nevada, to visit the Nevada State Museum. The museum celebrates the state’s natural and cultural history and features the historic Carson City Mint.

Honor and experience Northern Nevada’s heritage and history by visiting https://www.visitrenotahoe.com/things-to-do/arts-and-culture/heritage.