Things to do in Winnemucca
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Winnemucca
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months overall, with green canyons, summit wildflowers in June, the fair in September and aspen colour in October.
Worst for outdoors, with short bitter days and snow risk, except for Ranch Hand Rodeo Weekend in late winter.
Hottest and shadeless on the trails, and late August brings Burning Man room and road pressure.
Ranch Hand Rodeo season and Shooting the West bring the town to life as the weather turns.
What's on
- Winnemucca Ranch Hand Rodeo Late February to early March
Nevada's largest ranch hand rodeo, with 32 working teams, cow dog trials, a trade show and a horse sale.
- Shooting the West March
A long running photography symposium with classes and field sessions in Humboldt County landscapes.
- Run-A-Mucca Motorcycle and Music Festival May, around Memorial Day weekend
Free concerts, a poker run, bike shows and the Burning Bike, staged at the Boulevard casino hotels.
- Burning Man Late August to early September
Held near Gerlach, not in Winnemucca, but the town is a supply stop on the northern route and rooms tighten.
- Tri-County Fair & Stampede Labor Day weekend, early September
Four days of carnival, livestock and the Labor Day Rodeo, billed as Nevada's oldest continuous rodeo.
Best things to do in Winnemucca
Humboldt Museum
A free hilltop museum with a complete mammoth skeleton, historic buildings and the best single introduction to the town.
Buckaroo Hall of Fame
A small hall honouring Great Basin buckaroos, with saddles, chaps, brands and braiding inside the Convention Center.
Winnemucca Self-Guided Historical Tour
A walkable loop of the courthouse, the 1913 Martin Hotel and railroad era blocks that explains how the town grew.
Winners Inn Casino
The biggest casino floor in town, with table games, a steakhouse and the lounge that anchors event weekends.
Winnemucca Events Complex
Home of the Ranch Hand Rodeo and the Tri-County Fair, worth visiting only when an event fills it, then unmissable.
Winnemucca Convention Center
The orientation stop for the Visitor Center, wildlife and mineral displays, events news and road condition advice.
Park Cinemas
The small town cinema is the honest answer for a cold or windy evening when the casino is not your thing.
Where to stay in Winnemucca
Winnemucca Boulevard casino row
first visit, walking to dinner
The town spine, walkable to Basque dinners, casino floors and breakfast, with the deepest choice of rooms.
East Winnemucca Boulevard
quiet sleep and drive through stops
Newer chain hotels set back from I-80 are quieter at night, but every dinner is a drive.
Downtown and Old Town
Basque restaurants and historic core
Closest to The Martin, Ormachea's and the historic blocks, in older smaller properties to check review by review.
Think twice about
- Far west and east ends of Winnemucca Boulevard
The cheapest older motels sit in truck lot settings with thin reviews and a long dark walk to any good dinner. Stay central instead.
- Paradise Valley and Unionville as a base
Neither has a reliable lodging, fuel or food base. Visit both as day trips and sleep in Winnemucca.
Best restaurants in Winnemucca
The Martin Hotel
The essential Basque family style dinner at communal tables, plus a Picon Punch at the historic boarding house bar.
Ormachea's Dinner House
The town splurge, a Basque inspired steakhouse with tongue ravioli pintxos and the priciest lamb chops in town.
The Pig BBQ & Pub
Smoked ribs, pulled pork and tri tip with pigtail fries, plus a full bar and screens for a group dinner.
Chihuahua's Grill & Cantina
The town's best rated Mexican cantina, known for chile rellenos, mole, a big menu and well reviewed margaritas.
The Griddle
A family diner since 1948 and the town's breakfast institution, for crepes, Benedicts and scratch muffins until 2pm.
Sid's Restaurant
An all day diner open from 5:30am, for biscuits and gravy, a praised French dip and liver and onions.
Dos Amigos Restaurante
West end Mexican value, with chips and salsa, fajitas for two and a molcajete near the RV parks.
Winnemucca Pizzeria
Pizza, pasta and salads with outdoor dining, the reliable group and family fallback on a third night.
Outdoor things to do in Winnemucca
Winnemucca Golf Course
A walkable nine hole championship muni in town, with mountain views, a clubhouse bar and easy tee times.
Water Canyon Recreation Area
A free creekside canyon five miles from town, with aspen groves, picnic sites, camping and hiking up the canyon.
Bloody Shins Trail
Sandy singletrack at the edge of town, seven to seventeen miles of loops that earn the name on your shins.
Winnemucca Sand Dunes
Nevada's largest dune field, ten minutes from town, for riding, photography and sunrise walks on near 100 foot crests.
Hinkey Summit
A steep gravel drive to high country wildflowers, granite and aspen in the Santa Rosa-Paradise Peak Wilderness.
Paradise Valley
A living 1885 ranching town 40 miles north, with a historic saloon and a select Saturday ribeye cookout.
Rye Patch State Recreation Area
A desert reservoir for boating, swimming, shore fishing and camping, the water day that balances the dust.
Unionville
A quiet mining ghost town with ruins up Buena Vista Canyon, best paired with Star City and Rye Patch.
Best hotels in Winnemucca
Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Winnemucca
The newest and quietest sleep in town, set back from I-80 on the east side, with a pool.
Best Western Plus Gold Country Inn
The consensus stay, top rated for value on the Boulevard, with breakfast, a pool and the deepest review base.
Candlewood Suites Winnemucca by IHG
The extended stay pick, with full kitchens and larger suites for multi night outdoors or work bases.
Winnemucca Inn
A casino hotel with a heated pool, jacuzzi, restaurant and shuttle, the best price to amenity ratio in town.
Holiday Motel Winnemucca
A beloved motor court with a pool and grab and go breakfast, the budget pick travellers return to by name.
Town House Motel
The cheapest credible downtown sleep, a short walk from the Basque restaurants, with a large but mixed review base.
Holiday Inn Express Winnemucca by IHG
A big brand option with mixed recent reviews, a step below the Best Western, so inspect the room first.
Is Winnemucca expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $55 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $110 a person |
| Splurge | $190 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- The Martin Hotel: a few days ahead
- Winnemucca Events Complex: a few days ahead
- Winnemucca Golf Course: a few days ahead
- Winnemucca Sand Dunes: a few days ahead
- Ormachea's Dinner House: a few days ahead
- Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Winnemucca: weeks ahead
- Best Western Plus Gold Country Inn: weeks ahead
- Book weeks ahead for Ranch Hand Rodeo Weekend, the Tri-County Fair and the Burning Man weeks in late August.
- On event weekends call ahead or arrive early for The Martin and Ormachea's, because the whole town eats Basque.
- Rent dune machines from Reno before arriving, because there is no walk up rental fleet at the dunes.
Is Winnemucca safe?
- Carry a gallon of water per person for a half day out, start early, and expect patchy cell service off the highways.
- Santa Rosa summit roads can be snow blocked from November to June, so check conditions in town before driving up.
- Watch for open range livestock and deer on valley and forest roads, and keep to 25 mph on gravel.
Winnemucca travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Judging the town by its interstate gas stations and driving on, when everything good is ten minutes from the exits.
- Wasting a dinner on a casino coffee shop in a town with two Basque institutions.
- Looking at the sand dunes from the highway instead of walking or riding into them at sunrise.
- Expecting any nightlife after 9pm outside casino floors and event weekends.
Getting around Winnemucca: public transport and more
- You need a car for every outdoor pick, though downtown dinners and casinos are walkable from Boulevard hotels.
- Reno is about 165 miles west on I-80 and Salt Lake City about 350 miles east, and US-95 runs north to Oregon.
- Fuel up in town before excursions and download offline maps, because coverage fades within miles of the interstate.
Who Winnemucca suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Winnemucca your trip
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