What Are Your Nevada Bests?

Do you have a favorite hotel, restaurant, show, or event in Nevada? How about a museum, ski resort, state park, or place to take the kids? You can cast your vote in these categories and more in Nevada Magazine's 2013 Best of Nevada survey now through Friday, April 19.

Not only is it a great opportunity to support your favorite attractions and businesses, one lucky voter will win a Reno travel package, including two nights accommodations at Eldorado Hotel Casino Reno, dinner at Roxy, show tickets at Eldorado Showroom, plus a round of golf at Wildcreek Golf Course in Sparks (all prize packages are for two people). Vote now at NevadaMagazine.com!

See past Best of Nevada winners here.

In Nevada Magazine's March/April 2013 issue

Photo by Skip Reeves
State Route 722

Nevada Magazine's current issue features two centennial celebrations — the Lincoln Highway in Nevada and the Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings, about 40 miles southwest of Las Vegas. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln Highway, and you can still drive on original sections of it in the Silver State. Also, towns along U.S. Highway 50 will be celebrating the centennial during select dates in June.

The Pioneer Saloon, the subject of this issue's History story, was built by Clark County commissioner George Fayle in 1913, when the mill town was enjoying its boom years. One hundred years later, the Pioneer Saloon is still standing…and still serving. It contains a Memorial Room in honor of actress Carole Lombard, who died in 1942 as a result of a plane crash on nearby Mount Potosi. Her husband, actor Clark Gable, spent time at the saloon while awaiting news of Lombard's fate. 

The issue also features Nevada’s array of professional and collegiate sporting events that promise to keep residents and tourists entertained without breaking the bank — whether you’re root-root-rooting for the home team at a Las Vegas 51s or Reno Aces Triple-A baseball game, hitting the hardwood with the Reno Bighorns basketball team, or annoying everyone in earshot with your vuvuzela at a Las Vegas Legends soccer match. The story also covers hockey, bowling, collegiate sports, golf, and motorsports.

Also in the issue are stories about prospecting for gold and other minerals in Nevada, Thunder Mountain Indian Monument in Imlay, Las Vegas Distillery, Boyz II Men's new headliner show at The Mirage, and a Q&A with Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority President and CEO Chris Baum about Reno's new slogan, "All Seasons—1,000 Reasons."

Nevada Magazine is offering a free trial version of the digital edition of its current March/April 2013 issue, available here.

Sparks resident wins Nevada Magazine’s 2010 Great Nevada Picture Hunt

A year after a Texas man won the grand prize in Nevada Magazine’s annual photo contest, a Sparks resident has delivered the gold back to the Silver State.

Sean Kukowski, who captured a thrilling 2009 summer lightning storm over the Reno area, is the Grand Prize winner of Nevada Magazine’s 33rd annual Great Nevada Picture Hunt—the feature story in the publication’s September/October 2010 issue.

The winning image (above), titled “Reno Lightning,” was taken from a hillside off of State Route 445, known as Pyramid Highway. “This storm took me by surprise,” Kukowski says. “It had some of the most impressive lightning I have ever seen.”

In addition to the Grand Prize, photographers were judged in five different categories: City Limits, Wide Open, Adventure, People, and Events. All the 2010 category winners are Nevada residents, including Las Vegas’ Bill Gerrard, who won the City Limits category and took Runner-Up in Events. Gerrard’s winning photo is of the tram that connects CityCenter to other Strip resorts.

Ellen Sargent, from Indian Springs, swept the People category with sepia images taken at the Overland Ranch in Ruby Valley. The subject of the winning image, Len Wines, was captured during his final branding at the 137-year-old ranch. The Runner-Up image is that of Len’s grandson, Pat, from the same branding.

Other winners are Reno resident Michael Horsley (Wide Open, “Incline Night Shot”) for his nighttime winter overview of Incline Village; Reno’s Krista Williams (Adventure, “Hidden Beach Paddle Surfers”) for her intriguing photo of two paddle surfers taken from the shore of Lake Tahoe; and Ralph Willits of Las Vegas (Events, “Shot Show”) for capturing a leaping dog at an annual hunting and outdoors trade show.

To view the winning images, pick up the latest issue (at right) at national bookstores and where magazines are sold in Nevada, or visit NevadaMagazine.com. Look for an ad in a future 2011 issue covering rules of submission for the 2011 contest, or check back regularly at NevadaMagazine.com.

Also in the September/October issue, Nevada Magazine highlights some of the state’s more accessible ghost towns, visits Virginia City’s Mackay Mansion Museum, Lake Tahoe’s Thunderbird Lodge, and Reno’s Freight House District, covers two fabulous Fallon restaurants, and continues its Tour Around Nevada in Boulder City.