Ask ten tourists what day-trip they enjoy most when they're at Reno/Tahoe. Chances are, most of them will answer "VirginiaCity."
Why? Because the town that in the mid-1800s was the most important mining center in the world is a fun sort of place – just as it was in its heyday. Sounds of country and Dixieland jazz waft through the swinging doors of C Street saloons. You can walk down the board sidewalks munching a hotdog, licking a slurpee or some sticky pink cotton candy.
You can clamber aboard the motorized cable car that takes sightseers around town, then decide which spots you want to go back and see again. Since it's not a big town (the population is about 1,200) you can easily walk anywhere you care to go).
Featured Attractions
Perhaps you'll want to take a tour of the Castle (129 South D Street, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. daily, $3) , one of the grand old mansions that Comstock silver built -- more than $38,000,000 worth of the precious metal was taken from Virginia City mines in 1876 alone. Built by Empire Mine superintendent Robert N. Graves in 1868, the Castle is remarkably well preserved. Original hand-made Brussels lace curtains hang in the hall windows. The rock crystal chandeliers came from Czechoslovakia; the bathroom fixtures from France, and the fireplaces are of Italian cararra marble. The Mackay (129 S. D Street; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. year round, $3) is also open to visitors.
Going Underground
Maybe you'll want to visit a mine like the Ponderosa or the Chollar. The latter (615 South F Street), fifth largest producer of gold and silver in the Comstock, is open daily April through October 9 a.m.-5 p.m. On display there are old mining tools, ore cars and a stamp mill that's more than 100 years old.
Take the Train
Perhaps you’ll choose to take a train ride. The Virginia and Truckee Railroad, which hauled the millions in treasure from Virginia City, Gold Hill and Silver City mines, offers 35-minute rides along about three miles of track daily from May through October (10:30 a.m. – 4 p.m., $4 for adults). It's not a long ride, but exciting for kids and rail fans.
Virginia City Walk-About
You might decide to meander around town to see Pipers Opera House, the Fourth Ward School & Museum and the historic churches. Whatever you do, save plenty of time to stroll along the board sidewalks of C Street. See the desk where Mark Twain worked as a reporter for the Territorial Enterprise. Have your picture taken wearing costumes from the 1800s and check out the slot machine near the entrance of the Bonanza – truly a one-armed bandit. It's one of less than 100 wooden machines carved by Cowboy Artist of America Frank Polk. And don't miss the valuable collection of Victorian pickle casters displayed on the back bar at the Bucket of Blood Saloon (one of Virginia City’s 72 watering holes in the mid-1800s.
According to the locals "The Way it Was” on the north end of the business district is the most authentic of the town’s museums (10 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily, $3). An interesting 16-minute video, a mineral collection, the scale model of Virginia City's underground mines and the reproduction of a Comstock blacksmith shop are museum highlights. The town's seven cemeteries are fascinating, too.
Virginia City is a 45-minute drive from Reno (take Highway 395 south to State Highway 341. Then proceed up Geiger Grade, once the route of the mule teams that hauled silver from the mines. The drive takes about 45 minutes.
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