Corvette505

Just booked a trip out to Reno for the Hot August Nights car event this year. It's my first time attending and I'm wondering what the MUST DO or MUST SEE things are? Also, are there any areas where the Corvettes are grouped together, clubs from the area or whatever? Any exotics here? Appreciate any help you all can lend, thanks!

LV Vette

Corvette505

Good idea

HOXXOH

You picked a good year to go, since HAN wraps up while Bonneville Speed Week starts.
At HAN, the best times are on Friday and Saturday, if you only have a couple days available. You'll never have enough time to see or do everything, so just wander around.
Check here for a list and choose what interests you. https://hotaugustnights.net/event-sc...-88116b85-7284

If you have time left for other things, take a short trip to the Carson City US Mint and museum. It's more than what you think. Go back to Reno through Virginia City.

Speed week opens on Saturday the 11th thru Friday the 17th. If you have time for a day or two there, I can suggest hotels and some cool driving routes.

ByRiver

A bunch of us motorcycle sport bike riders use to ride up there every year to check out the cars and motorcycles from the San Francisco Bay Area. It was less than a two hour drive from my home when I lived there.. There were Harley riders who would somehow buy out a restaurants parking lot just for other HD riders, but other than that, there are far too many vehicles to group them together. The vehicles are either cruising up and down the many streets, or parked in many parking lots where ever they can find a spot. As others have said, just wander around. there is no real organization to the event. It's just a bunch of people cruising around all day and throughout the night in cars, trucks, and motorcycles. And it looks like they are spread out between Reno and Sparks. Not walking distance.

If I was going to suggest a MUST DO, Go visit one of the many Bordello's just outside the city limits of Reno and the other towns in the unincorporated areas. You can be at several in five minutes from downtown Reno. Go during the day for best prices. And negotiate. Have fun!!!

buckmeister2

Absolutely...quite a few. If you have never been to Tahoe, you MUST GO! As for the show, the hottest/largest venues in Reno are Grand Sierra, Atlantis, Peppermill, then Victorian Sq. in Sparks. Every evening they have a cruise-through on Victorian Ave., plus free concerts, tons of food, booths, etc. You can park at John Asquaga;s Nugget for the Victoria fun. You can also watch the 1/16 mi. drags near Victorian Ave. I would hit the Reno hotels first, then take two chairs to Victorian Square for the evening. The whole experience is just too much fun. Check the weather, as there are sometimes Summer showers.

Have fun! Jim

HOXXOH

John Ascuaga doesn't own the Nugget anymore. It was sold in 2013 and again in 2016. John retained the golden rooster as a personal possession, but sold it at auction shortly after selling the casino. The last time I talked to him was in 2008 during a Janome conference in the convention center. He was just an adviser at that time, since he had turned over the management to his family. He was a close and longtime friend of my ex-brother-in-law's third wife. I went to HAN last year and noticed the Nugget has changed quite a bit.

buckmeister2

Thanks for the correction. When I left Carson City in 2010, I knew he was no longer active, but it was still being advertised as "John Asquaga's Nugget". I was always impressed with how well he did with an"off-Broadway" hotel. People loved that place.

Welker1

Have been a few times and it is always a non-stop blast, from checking out the various cars at various locations throughout the day, attending free concerts in the evenings, checking out the cruise-throughs, attending various other events, etc. As buckmeister says, the experience is just too much fun … you can't help but have a great time; last time we went we took my sister and brother-law, neither of which are into cars and even they had a blast and want to go again.

Corvette505

Thanks guys. Was there visiting the auto museum they have there downtown a couple of summers back and the docent there told us all about the Hot August Nights, thus our return to Reno this summer. Looking forward to it!

ptroxx

klwehunt

Went to HAN for a few years and took some cars for sale at the Silvers auction.Allways took my Harley and did some traveling while out there.Rode the PCH from Eureka down to San . .Fran.and back through Sacremento to Reno.Lots of stuff to do and see while HAN is going on.Bought a 57 Ranchero one year out there and drove it back to Ga,2406 miles.Also check out Lake Tahoe.

09Z06pj

As others have said, check out the big clubs (Peppermill, Atlantis, Grand Sierra), as that's where many of the participants stay. It's non-stop awesome cars until 10PM every night. Also hit downtown on Saturday morning. If you're a real car guy, be prepared to be amazed. The whole town is taken over by classics and street rods. There's nothing bigger or better on the west coast; that's for sure. It is simply fantastic!

buckmeister2

You know, the greatest thing about HAN might be that it lasts a whole week, with the last 5 days just being jammed with great cars, and lots to do. You have time to go off and do other things. You can spend a whole day driving the road all the way around Lake Tahoe, and a full day in Virginia City (I spent 4 hours just wandering the graveyards). You can go 135 miles south to Bodie, CA, the largest authentic, best preserved Ghost Town in the entire country. It is operated by the Forest Service...no booths, stands, restaurants...just a huge, actual ghost town you can explore.) Visit Truckee, CA, about 35 minutes west of Reno, and go to the Donner Party Memorial. You cannot begin to see everything up there in even 5 days.

HOXXOH

If you want a real adventure on your way to Reno, take CR 10 (the original US rt 66) out of Kingman through Oatman and back to I-40 to Barstow and backtrack on I-15 to Baker. Then go North on 127 to 178 through Death Valley to 190 to 136 to 395 to 6 to 120 to 395 (South to 120 again if you want to go in Yosemite for a few miles and back to 395) to 270 Bodie & back to 395 to Reno.
You can make a day trip from Reno to the Mint in Carson City to 50 to 341 through Virginia City and return to Reno. Another day trip from Reno on 395 to 431 and circle Lake Tahoe.
The trip back home is more fun if you leave Reno and head to Fallon by whatever road you like. Then go East on US 50 to Ely (The loneliest Road) with long straight stretches and no traffic. Be aware that cruise control only works below 158 MPH.
From Ely you can go North to Wendover and make a stop at the Bonneville Speed week before heading to SLC on I-80 or stay on 50 to connect to I-70 to 191 (boring) or 128 (scenic) into Moab. If you have time to visit Canyonlands NP or Arches NP, it's a plus. Otherwise continue South on 191 through Monument Valley to 160 to 64 to 550 and home.
If you're really adventurous, take 95 South of Blanding to 261 (261 has a 3 mile unpaved section that drops 1100 feet with amazing views you'll never forget).
(and maybe a side trip on 316 to Goosenecks SP) to 163 to 191 to 162/41 and then 64 to 550 to home.
So much to see and so little time.
Sorry to bore you if you're flying round trip to Reno or don't have time to take in anything else but HAN.

AORoads

^^ Those roads HOX mentions above sound great! I went to Reno quite some time ago and had a small window of time to be there. I did get to go to the Auto Museum which has some of Harrah's load of cars and it was a good representation. I think I may have been on tht Route 50 to/from Ely. I enjoyed my short time there.

morepwr

You will love the event! I go almost every year and enjoy it. More cars and trucks than you can possibly see and they are everywhere! Grand Sierra is great and has a large lot set up and so does the Atlantis. Victorian square in Sparks has a ton of cars during the day and so does downtown Reno and then they cruise in the evening. Lots to see for sure! The auction is at the convention center and is a good car show in itself plus its air conditioned so its a good place to check out during the day.

HOXXOH

I've been in lots of places in this country, but nothing compares with the scenery that's found West of Denver.
Here's a look of US 50 on the way to Ely. The wife handles up to 130 just fine, but no more.

ByRiver

No matter what part of the country you are driving through, it's just amazes me how people in the day actually made the journey across the country. It's a very, very long drive in an air conditioned car while driving 80 mph, but I imagine if I had the right stuff to do it on foot or horseback, on a trip that would take weeks or months. It blows me away how they got over those mountains. They are enormous up close.

buckmeister2

And, if you took the pic out the back window....it looks the same. Mile, after mile, after mile.