Sparks - Pyramid Highway
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Box store heaven and an alternate route to Black Rock City.
Ah, so you've decided to take the scenic route, eh? That's cool. You won't miss out on any of the goodies by traveling Pyramid Highway. And by the way, it's not really a highway – at least we don't think so. And if you are planning to camp at or utilize Pyramid Lake, be sure to get a permit. A very beautiful route to take!
Exit I-80 at Pyramid Highway and turn left. The first thing to note is John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino. There you can find lots of restaurants, with both fine and casual dining, pool, etc. Be sure to reserve months ahead if you want to get a room here. See below for details.
Also around here: Great Basin Brewery, a local favorite among burners, and an In-N-Out Burger.
Travel a mile or so up Pyramid to the corner of Greenbrae. There you'll find a couple of small shopping centers with an odd variety of thrift stores, auto care, food.
But most notably around here, on the west side of Pyramid Way is Prism Magic, owned and operated by burners for burners, to stop in at and get your last minute costume and clothing additions on your way to the playa. See below for further details.
Up Pyramid another couple of blocks is North McCarran Avenue. On the left is a Raleys supermarket and gas station heading up a small shopping center, with car wash, a yummy pizza parlor called Black Rock Pizza, fast food, and some quick auto-care.
There are more shopping highlights as you continue north up Pyramid a few miles beyond McCarran Blvd. This area (known as North Valleys) is growing big-time, and developers are building as fast as they can to meet demand with big box shopping. You will first find on your left and right a WalMart, Sports Authority, Home Depot, Costco w/ gas, and a plethora of other shops and food.
As you make your way a few more miles up Pyramid, there are a couple of parks where you can stop and stretch your legs. Then the last sign of civilization is at Spanish Springs Drive. Save Mart on your right will be prepared for us with lots of burner goods (especially bulk water, water barrels, el-wire kits, goggles, sushi, etc), as well as a drive-thru recycling center. See below for details.
That's it folks. If you don't have what you need at this point, you probably do not need it!
To get to the playa from here, keep heading northish on Pyramid Way until you meet beautiful Pyramid Lake! Once at the lake, turn at the sign (right) for the road to Nixon, and once at Nixon, turn left, and then you are on the way to Burning Man. All the regular warnings about bunnies and cows along the road still apply: Please drive safely.
Groceries
Save Mart Supermarket
9750 Pyramid Lake Hwy – 775-425-2700 – map
Open 24/7 during Burning Man.
This Save Mart has seen a steadily increasing stream of Burner business for some time, and plans for our numbers by ordering certain novelty items and large quantities of water in August. Like all Save Mart supermarkets in the area, they too are going green for this year's burn and beyond.
Other specialty products will be located inside and outside of the store, including Black Rock Bicycles and accessories, Cool Neon el-wire ready-kits, various glow toys, fun hats, masks, goggles and fun glasses, headlamps, solar chargers, tiki torches, medium and small propane tanks and propane stoves, bicycle tubes and lighting, dry ice,vegetarian and vegan sandwich fillers, various energy bars and powders, freeze-dried backpacking foods, sushi, reusable cups and other kitchenware and storage containers, lots of canned beer and other booze, and coolers.
And, like most Save Marts in town, they will also be operating a Drive-Thru Recycling Center for this year's event! A free, multi-community project to promote recycling, this multi-year initiative is designed for your convenience, with no strings attached – just please have your recyclables sorted and clean as possible and removed from bags before depositing. Bicycles, plastics (HDPE 1,2,3,4&5), plastic bags, glass, all metals (aluminum, tin, lead, steel, etc), paper, cardboard, household batteries, and non-perishable food and water are all welcome. Moreover, garbage deposit will be available to recyclers at the rate of $3 per 35-gallon standard trash bag. All proceeds raised from this recycling initiative will be donated to support new local Black Rock Solar installations. Both the store and recycling center will be open 24/7 throughout the event until September 7. No worries, they are set up for maximum capacity!
Raleys Supermarket
2895 North McCarran Blvd – 775-353-8818 – map
Open 6am-midnight.
WalMart Supercenter
5065 Pyramid Lake Road – 775-425-9300 – map
Open 24 hours.
Costco Wholesale
4810 Galleria Pkwy – 775-356-4400 – map
Open Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, Weekends 10am-6pm.
Random Curiosities
Prism Magic Clothing & Imports
2161 Pyramid Way – 775-356-5577 – map
Open Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat. 10am-6pm. Yup! On the way to the big ole Burn on Pyramid Way. Owned and operated by burners for burners, they specialize in tie-dye but have all sorts of fun 'Playa Wear'. Petticoats, animal bikes, costumes, sarongs, hats, vintage clothing and other unique items. Black Rock Bicycles are also available. Stop on by & have some fun c/o Lauren & Crew.
Reno-Sparks Indian Colony Smoke Shop
1962 Pyramid Way – 775-353-2140 – map
Open daily 7am-8pm.
Hardware/Camping
Home Depot
4655 Galleria Pkwy – 775-354-2245 – map
Open Mon-Sat 6am-9pm, Sun 7am-8pm. Carrying wide variety of building supplies and some camping supplies.
Bicycles
Black Rock Bicycles
7550 Hillview Drive – 775- 972-3336 – map
The only bike outfit in town primarily catered to burners. To rent a bike, please visit the website. Prism Magic (see above) is carrying quality new cruisers at bottom prices from Black Rock Bicycles, together with all the accessories.
Restaurants/Bars
Great Basin Brewery & Restaurant
846 Victorian Avenue – 775-355-7711 – map
Open 10am-10pm daily. Popular spot among local burners and a big supporter of the community, with real good beer and food.
Black Rock Pizza Co.
2855 North McCarran Boulevard – 775-356-1771 – map
Open Sun-Thur 11am-9pm, Fri-Sat 11am-10pm. Aside from the name, a local favorite with really good pizza, sandwiches, and salads!
In-and-Out Burger
280 Pyramid Way – 775-786-1000 – map
Open Sun-Thu 10:30am-1am, Fri-Sat 10:30am-1:30am.
Hotels
John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino Resort
1100 Nugget Avenue – 775-356-3300 / 800-648-1177 – map
The Nugget offers one night in a Deluxe Room plus 2 Rib Cook-off Dinner tickets for $79 on Aug 31, $159 on Sep 4, or $59 on Sep 5. Check out here for more details.
Holiday Inn
55 East Nugget Avenue – 775-358-6900 – map
Offering to burners a room discount of $129.00 + tax, and a guest room with breakfast for 2 @ $145.00 + tax. Call to receive the discounted rate or click here.
Recycling
Save Mart Supermarket
9750 Pyramid Lake Hwy – 775-425-2700 – map
This Save Mart goes out of their way for supporting our recycling, see description above.
RV Repairs
Connie Can Mobile RV Repair
9732 Pyramid Way # 334 – 775-846-5895 – map
Available 24/7. Connie’s really flexible and will even travel to repair your RV on the playa.
Need more info? Try: Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority, Reno News and Review, Reno Gazette-Journal, Reno Magazine, Reno Tahoe Tonight, National Traffic and Road Closure Information, PlayReno, NevadaNet, goTahoe.com, Tahoe.com, Fernleynews.com. 
