They also like the variety, which ranges from gambling to seasonal sports and a chance to see fabled reminders of the Wild West. In 1859 silver was discovered in the Comstock mines near Virginia City, turning the region into a major mining center. Mark Twain (using his real name, Samuel Clemens, at the time) worked as a journalist in Virginia City and subsequently immortalized these Nevada mining camps in several stories. Television later did its bit to immortalize a piece of western history in the long-running drama “Bonanza.” (For a number of years, the original Ponderosa Ranch near Incline Village on the north shore of Lake Tahoe was open to tourists, but the property has since been sold to a developer.)

Nearby Reno bills itself as “the biggest little city in the world” and became infamous for offering quickie divorces. Visitors can gamble here; the place doesn’t have the Vegas glitz, but it costs less to be a tourist, too. Reno puts on several annual crowd-pleasing events:

• The International Jazz Festival in March
• The Reno Rodeo in June
• The Nevada State Fair in August
• The Great Balloon Race—early September
• The National Championship Air Races—mid-September featuring four classes of racing airplanes, from small individually designed home-builts to souped-up WW II fighters

All this western-style fun is complemented by what many think is the most beautiful resort area in the country, Lake Tahoe. Surrounded by the Sierra Nevada and Carson mountain ranges, with pine trees all the way down slopes that end with clear crystal blue water, Tahoe offers alpine-style natural beauty and about anything a water-sports enthusiast wants. For skiers, the Reno-Tahoe area is a winter-sports paradise. Any time of year, venturers love the area’s high lonesome beauty, its feeling of isolation and the variety of things to do that appeal to energetic personalities. For them, popular choices include — besides skiing — backpacking, boating, hiking, horseback riding and water sports.

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Take a half-day whitewater rafting trip on any of several rivers, or choose a much more ambitious itinerary, lasting several days.

Tour off-road terrain in a Jeep, ATV or Hummer.

The huge, blue expanse of Lake Tahoe offers the active traveler lots of room for waterskiing or boating, or any water-oriented activity.

Even those who don’t fancy museums should like this one. The Nevada Gambling Museum in Virginia City features more than half a million dollars’ worth of gaming memorabilia, including more than 100 antique slot machines, cheating devices and gamblers’ weapons.

Take a full or half-day guided horseback ride through beautiful country. Take riding lessons if necessary. Choose a spirited horse if that is your speed.

In September, take up adventure racing at the Tahoe Big Blue Sprint Adventure Race. Races vary in length and requirements but can include a combination of swimming, running and mountain biking. Some adventure races are designed to last 24 hours.

Participate in the Burning Man Festival, a weeklong art fest held at the end of summer in a temporary community called Black Rock City in the Black Rock Desert, 120 miles north of Reno. It is self-described as “dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance.” You have to bring all supplies to survive at what is essentially a campsite for about 25,000 people, and transportation on site is generally by bicycle.

Take a glider ride over lake waters and the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

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Adopt one of the suggested itineraries prepared by the Virginia City Convention and Tourism Authority for your historic walking tour in that famous mining town. Alternatively, take a tour aboard a horse-drawn carriage, or take the narrated, 20-minute tour by tram.

Visit the Julia C. Bullette Red Light Museum in Virginia City. It tells the story of one Ms. Bullette and her brothel, with what one may call fitting displays. This is not a family excursion.

You can’t beat the hiking in the Sierras. Beautiful vistas, hidden lakes, fantastic troup fishing.

Don’t miss the National Automobile Museum in Reno. It presents more than 200 classic cars, interactive exhibits and a research library.

The Virginia and Truckee Railroad operates a steam-train ride from Virginia City into the Comstock mining region. Get on board for its 35-minute narrated run. On select days, you also can ride a steam train at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City.

Attend the Reno Rodeo in June.

Make this your ski destination, then make fine dining, gambling and/or shows your après-ski activities.

Attend the Virginia City Camel Races in September. Don’t be fooled by the name; the event also includes ostrich and water buffalo races, plus food and daily parades. Also, you can rent a camel from the Nevada Camel Company in a town called Stagecoach for a little riding of your own.

In Virginia City, take the Chollar Mine Tour, featuring the fifth-largest producer in the area’s Comstock Lode. Alternatively, take the Ponderosa Saloon Mine Tour, a guided, 20-minute look at the Best & Belcher mine.

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Look heavenward. In Reno, the Fleischman Planetarium, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, provides shows about the night sky and astronomical events of the past, present and future.

Fittingly, silver crowns the domed Nevada capitol building in Carson City, a city that offers visitors many of the same kinds of western historical and mining exhibits as are found in Virginia City.

Go fishing on Pyramid Lake.

Treat yourself to the self-guided tour called Northern Nevada Heritage Corridor Driving Guide — Boom or Bust, which focuses on the effects on the area of the Comstock silver mines that made many people rich and drew many more to the territory.

Take the scenic drive along U.S. Highway 50, which runs east-west through Carson City. As you travel that route. you are following fairly closely the route of the Pony Express, which was used to carry mail between St. Joseph, Mo., and Sacramento, Calif., from April 1860 to October 1861.

Tour Carson City on foot following the Kit Carson Trail (marked with a blue line and bronze medallions) through a large historical residential district. Through locally available AM radio frequencies, you can tune in for “Talking Houses” tales, 90-second narratives that highlight the stories of 24 houses.

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For more information, consult the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority and Nevada Commission on Tourism at www.travelnevada.com

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