College Visit Guides

Fly-in guide · 1 day, 1 campus

Nevada in 1 Day: A Fly-In Visit to the University of Nevada, Reno

A parent-first plan for flying in to see the University of Nevada, Reno: how to register for a 90-minute campus tour or a full-day Nevada Bound, where the Welcome Center is, paid visitor parking, four hotels from budget to upscale (two of them on UNR's own visitor list), times from Reno-Tahoe International Airport, Pack Tracks and Wolf Pack games for siblings, and Reno weather by season, every fact sourced and checked Oct 29, 2026.

The three-story brick Morrill Hall with a mansard roof, columned porches and a small cupola, seen across a snow-covered quad framed by bare winter trees
Morrill Hall, the university's first building (1885), University of Nevada, Reno (December 2008). Photo: Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped

Last checked Oct 29, 2026. Every fact comes from the pages listed in Sources at the bottom. Some hotel and tour links are affiliate links (disclosure).

The short version

Trip at a glance

School
University of Nevada, Reno (Reno, NV)
Days
1 on campus, plus travel. Arrive the day before a morning tour.
Fly into
Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO), about 14 minutes from campus by car with no traffic.
Best base
J Resort in downtown Reno, which UNR lists for visiting families; it's about 6 minutes by car from the Welcome Center.
Car or no car
A rental car or rideshare works; campus visitor parking is paid ($2 an hour, four-hour maximum, in most visitor areas).
Registration
Register for a 90-minute campus tour or a full-day Nevada Bound on UNR's admissions pages.

1. Who this guide is for

This plan is for parents flying in with a high schooler, and maybe younger siblings, to see the University of Nevada, Reno, home of the Wolf Pack.

Tours check in at the Welcome Center on the first floor of the Joe Crowley Student Union. Morrill Hall, shown in this guide's photo, was the university's first building, built in 1885, and still stands at the south end of the Old Quad.

Why this order

  • Fly into Reno the day before: the airport is only about 10–15 minutes from downtown hotels and campus.
  • Visit day: a guided 90-minute campus tour covers campus, student life and Wolf Pack history, or a full-day Nevada Bound adds admissions, financial aid, majors, housing and lunch.
  • Afterward, try UNR's Pack Tracks student hot spots around Reno, or catch a Wolf Pack game.
Pick the right visit
  • Campus tours: a guided 90-minute walk with a student guide covering campus, student life and Wolf Pack history. Register through UNR's tour calendar.
  • Nevada Bound: a full-day program (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) where families learn how to apply, hear about financial aid and scholarships, explore majors and meet faculty, hear from residential life, take a guided tour and get lunch. Registration closes 24 hours ahead unless it fills sooner.
  • Students from southern Nevada can also look at UNR's chaperoned Las Vegas fly-up visit.
  • Groups of 10 or more should use UNR's separate group request instead of the regular calendar.
  • UNR says it provides visitors a Nevada T-shirt at the Welcome Center.
Tour availability varies by season.
  • Reno winters are cold but fairly dry: January averages about 48°F highs and 26°F lows, with about 5 inches of snow at the airport station.
  • Summers are hot and very dry, with July highs around 94°F.
  • UNR pairs visits with Wolf Pack games; check the athletics calendar for home games on your dates.

2. The suggested 1-day plan

  • Drive times are no-traffic estimates from OpenStreetMap routing, and walking times use OpenStreetMap foot routing, with addresses geocoded by OpenStreetMap Nominatim. Times to campus are to the Joe Crowley Student Union, home of the Welcome Center.

Arrival day: fly into Reno and check in

  1. Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) → J Resort

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~13 min, 5.9 mi
    Driving and walking
    Rental car, rideshare or taxi

  2. Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) → Howard Johnson by Wyndham Reno Downtown

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~11 min, 5.4 mi
    Driving and walking
    Rental car, rideshare or taxi

  3. Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) → Best Western Plus Sparks-Reno Hotel

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~12 min, 6.3 mi
    Driving and walking
    Rental car, rideshare or taxi

  4. Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) → Renaissance Reno Downtown Hotel & Spa

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~10 min, 3.8 mi
    Driving and walking
    Rental car, rideshare or taxi
  • UNR's visitor resources page also links Visit Reno Tahoe's events calendar if you want to see what's on that evening.

Visit day: Nevada campus tour, then Pack Tracks or a Wolf Pack game

  1. J Resort → Joe Crowley Student Union (Welcome Center)

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~6 min, 1.7 mi
    Driving and walking
    ~33 min walk, 1.5 mi

  2. Howard Johnson by Wyndham Reno Downtown → Joe Crowley Student Union

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~4 min, 1.2 mi
    Driving and walking
    ~21 min walk, 1.0 mi

  3. Best Western Plus Sparks-Reno Hotel → Joe Crowley Student Union

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~10 min, 5.0 mi
    Driving and walking
    Drive

  4. Renaissance Reno Downtown Hotel & Spa → Joe Crowley Student Union

    Driving (no traffic)
    ~7 min, 2.0 mi
    Driving and walking
    ~35 min walk, 1.6 mi

  5. Brian J. Whalen Parking Complex (Level 1 visitor parking) → Joe Crowley Student Union

    Driving (no traffic)
    —
    Driving and walking
    ~6 min walk, 0.3 mi
  • Driving? Level 1 of the Brian J. Whalen Parking Complex has paid visitor parking at $2 an hour with a four-hour maximum; enter from northbound North Virginia Street, just south of 15th Street.
  • Pay at a permit kiosk, meter or with the PayByPhone app.
  • Heading home: the Joe Crowley Student Union is about 12 minutes from RNO with no traffic.

3. Campus by campus

The three-story brick Morrill Hall with a mansard roof, columned porches and a small cupola, seen across a snow-covered quad framed by bare winter trees
Morrill Hall, the university's first building (1885), University of Nevada, Reno (December 2008). Photo: Ken Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized and cropped

Campus

University of Nevada, Reno (Reno, NV)

Where visits start
  • Check in at the Welcome Center, on the first floor of the Joe Crowley Student Union.
  • Plan for 90 minutes with a student ambassador; tours run year-round across the 290-acre campus.
  • Pick a date on UNR's tour calendar; a list view is available if the calendar is hard to use.
Visitor parking
  • Visitor parking is paid. Areas at $2 an hour with a four-hour maximum include Level 1 of the Brian J. Whalen and Gateway parking complexes, east of the Lombardi Recreation Center and south of the Center for Molecular Medicine.
  • The top level of the West Stadium Parking Complex is $7 a day; enter from northbound North Virginia Street at 16th Street.
  • Hourly parking is enforced Monday–Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Fridays 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; pay at meters, permit dispensers or with PayByPhone. Overnight campus parking isn't allowed.
Getting there
  • Campus is about 14 minutes from RNO by car, so a rental car or rideshare both work.
  • From downtown hotels, campus is about 4–7 minutes by car or a 20–35-minute walk.
What to know
  • Morrill Hall, shown in this guide's photo, is the university's first building (1885) and stands at the south end of the Old Quad.
  • UNR's virtual tour covers 43 campus locations if you want a preview before you go.
Contact
Campus visits: visitcampus@unr.edu, (775) 784-4700. Nevada Bound questions: (775) 784-6166.

Last checked Oct 29, 2026. Tour and admissions details change often, so confirm them on the school's official visit page before you go.

Official pages: University of Nevada, Reno: Nevada Bound (full-day visit) registration · University of Nevada, Reno: Campus Tours and University Visits · University of Nevada, Reno: Visitor Resources · University of Nevada, Reno: Visitor Parking · University of Nevada, Reno: Parking Maps

4. Where to stay: downtown Reno or Sparks

Price tiers (Budget, Mid-range, Upscale) follow each hotel's star class on Expedia. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.

Hotel · Our pickMid-range

J Resort

345 N. Arlington Ave., Reno, NV 89501

Why here

  • UNR's visitor resources page lists the J Resort, about 2 miles from campus, with group and individual rates for families of prospective students; contact the hotel as UNR describes to ask about them.
  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 3.5-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.

Good to know

  • Expedia lists free covered self-parking, a seasonal outdoor pool, a nightly resort fee and a minimum check-in age of 21. It's about 6 minutes by car from the Welcome Center. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Hotel · AlternateBudget

Howard Johnson by Wyndham Reno Downtown

660 N. Virginia St., Reno, NV 89501

Why here

  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 2.5-star property, so we place it in the Budget tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
  • It's the closest of these hotels to campus: about 4 minutes by car or a 21-minute walk to the Joe Crowley Student Union.

Good to know

  • Expedia lists free WiFi and a minimum check-in age of 18. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Hotel · AlternateMid-range

Best Western Plus Sparks-Reno Hotel

55 E. Nugget Ave., Sparks, NV 89431

Why here

  • UNR's visitor resources page lists this hotel and says it offers University of Nevada rates through the front desk.
  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 3-star property, so we place it in the Mid-range tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.

Good to know

  • Expedia lists free self-parking, a seasonal outdoor pool and a minimum check-in age of 18. It's in Sparks, about 10 minutes by car from campus. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Hotel · AlternateUpscale

Renaissance Reno Downtown Hotel & Spa

1 S. Lake St., Reno, NV 89501

Why here

  • Expedia lists this hotel as a 4-star property, so we place it in the Upscale tier. Rates vary by date, so check your dates on Expedia.
  • It's downtown, about 10 minutes from RNO and about 7 minutes by car from the Welcome Center.

Good to know

  • Expedia lists a seasonal outdoor pool, paid self-parking and a minimum check-in age of 21. Confirm details on the Expedia listing before you book.

Check rates on Expedia →

Expedia link is an affiliate link

Downtown Reno puts you about 4–7 minutes from campus by car. The J Resort and the Best Western in Sparks are both on UNR's own visitor list, so ask about university rates when you book.

5. Meals between tours

Hours change, so check before you go.

On campus

UNR's visitor resources page points to the 15th Street Food Court in the Joe Crowley Student Union, the same building as the Welcome Center.

Around campus

UNR also lists student favorites near campus, including the Little Waldorf Saloon and Archie's Giant Hamburgers & Breakfast.

Nevada Bound lunch

Nevada Bound includes lunch on UNR.

6. Things for siblings along the route

With siblings

Pack Tracks

Reno, NV

UNR's Pack Tracks pass sends visitors to student hot spots around Reno; check in at locations to earn points toward Wolf Pack swag, from stickers to T-shirts.

Official page →

With siblings

A Wolf Pack game

Reno, NV

Check the Nevada athletics calendar for a home game on your dates; UNR's tour page links ticket options for visiting families.

Official page →

With siblings

Reno-Tahoe events

Reno, NV

UNR's visitor resources page links the Visit Reno Tahoe events calendar for things to do during your visit.

Official page →

7. Practical tips

Getting to campus

  • Check in at the Welcome Center, first floor of the Joe Crowley Student Union; Level 1 of the Brian J. Whalen Parking Complex is about a 6-minute walk away.
  • Bring a card or phone for parking: visitor areas are paid, and PayByPhone works across campus.

Flying in and out

  • Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) is about 10–14 minutes from downtown hotels and campus with no traffic.

Weather by season (1991–2020 NOAA normals: Reno Tahoe Intl AP station)

  • Spring: April averages about 65°F highs and 39°F lows, with about 0.4 inches of precipitation.
  • Summer: July averages about 94°F/60°F, with about 0.2 inches of precipitation.
  • Fall: October averages about 70°F/40°F, with about 0.5 inches of precipitation.
  • Winter: January averages about 48°F/26°F, with about 1.3 inches of precipitation and about 5 inches of snow.

Parent checklist

  • Register for a campus tour or a Nevada Bound on UNR's admissions pages.
  • Book flights into Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO).
  • Book a hotel in downtown Reno or Sparks, and ask the UNR-listed hotels about university rates.
  • Plan to pay for campus visitor parking ($2 an hour in most visitor areas).
  • Pack sun protection in summer and layers in winter; Reno is dry year-round.
  • After the visit, take five minutes to jot down what stood out to your student.

8. Student-athlete recruiting visits

For families whose student hopes to play a college sport. Rules below are the NCAA's; each school's links were checked Oct 26, 2026.

Coaches arrange the recruiting part of a visit, not the admissions office. The tour sign-ups in this guide are for the regular family visit. An official (school-paid) visit is offered by the school, and contact with coaches follows NCAA rules that vary by division, sport and grade level.

Start with your sport's questionnaire, then email the coaches. The NCAA suggests emailing coaches with your achievements, highlight videos and interest in their program, including your name, position, NCAA ID and graduation year.

1 Division I

NCAA basics for parents

  • Unofficial visit: any campus visit you or your family pay for. You can take as many as you like; in Divisions I and II each one has to come after the first permissible date for your sport.
  • Official visit: a visit paid for by the school. Each school can offer your student only one. Before a Division I official visit, your student must be registered with the NCAA Eligibility Center, be on the school's institutional request list, and the school must have their high school transcripts.
  • Division I (University of Nevada, Reno): on an official visit the school can pay for travel for the student and up to two family members, lodging, up to three meals a day for the student and up to four family members, and up to $60 a person in entertainment, including five home-game tickets. On an unofficial visit there are no free meals, but the school can give up to three home-game tickets. Division I uses recruiting calendars with contact, evaluation, quiet and dead periods; in a dead period, no in-person contact and no visits.
  • Rules change. Confirm with the coach, or check the NCAA's recruiting page and recruiting calendars, before you plan dates.

Planning around the season

  • Check each school's athletics schedule (linked above) before you pick dates, so a coach meeting doesn't land on a road trip or game day for your sport.
  • Our recommendation, not a school rule: ask the coach whether they can line up an admissions session or tour around your meeting. If not, book the regular family tour yourself through the official sign-up links in this guide, and leave time between the two.

Student-athlete sources

All checked Oct 26, 2026.

  1. NCAA, 2026-27 Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete (pp. 3, 21–25)
  2. NCAA.org: NCAA Recruiting
  3. NCAA: Division I and II Recruiting Calendars and Guides
  4. NCAA Directory: University of Nevada, Reno
  5. University of Nevada, Reno Athletics (official site)
  6. University of Nevada, Reno Athletics: Staff Directory
  7. University of Nevada, Reno Athletics: schedule of events

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Sources

All checked Oct 29, 2026. Tour schedules change constantly, so always confirm on each school's official sign-up page. Photo credits are under each photo and on our About page.

  1. University of Nevada, Reno: Campus Tours and University Visits
  2. University of Nevada, Reno Admissions: Campus Tours (official sign-up)
  3. University of Nevada, Reno Admissions: Nevada Bound (official sign-up)
  4. University of Nevada, Reno Admissions: Visitor Resources
  5. University of Nevada, Reno: Office for Prospective Students
  6. University of Nevada, Reno Parking Services: Visitor Parking
  7. University of Nevada, Reno Parking Services: Parking Maps
  8. Expedia listing: J Resort (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-29 via same-id Hotwire listing) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Reno-Hotels-J-Resort.h18990.Hotel-Information)
  9. Expedia listing: Howard Johnson by Wyndham Reno Downtown (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-29 via same-id Hotwire listing) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Reno-Hotels-Howard-Johnson-By-Wyndham-Reno-Downtown.h918980.Hotel-Information)
  10. Expedia listing: Best Western Plus Sparks-Reno Hotel (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-29 via same-id Hotwire listing) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Reno-Hotels-Best-Western-Plus-Sparks-Reno-Hotel.h27160.Hotel-Information)
  11. Expedia listing: Renaissance Reno Downtown Hotel & Spa (star class and amenities, checked 2026-10-29 via same-id Hotwire listing) (not linked: https://www.expedia.com/Reno-Hotels-Renaissance-Reno-Downtown-Hotel-Spa.h17067927.Hotel-Information)
  12. OSRM routing (OpenStreetMap), driving profile
  13. OSRM routing (OpenStreetMap), foot profile
  14. OpenStreetMap Nominatim geocoder
  15. NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 Monthly Normals, Reno Tahoe Intl AP, NV (USW00023185)
  16. Nevada Wolf Pack Athletics: Calendar
  17. University of Nevada, Reno: Pack Tracks