Burning through Carson City
View Carson City in a larger map
Cheap gas and the lively ghost of the Silver Boom.
If you are coming to Black Rock City from SoCal, chances are you are riding through on US Highway 395 – welcome back to civilization!
Below is some burner-friendly travel narrative with a few of the highlights through Gardnerville, Minden, and then Carson City — the capital city of Nevada — while further down is a listing of notable businesses in the area you may be interested in.
Coming through Gardnerville-Minden? Basque Food and culture are alive and well in Gardnerville. Sharkey’s and The Overland hotel are only two examples of what you’ll find. Lots of food served family style. Some thrift stores as well as Bentley Biofuels (only place in Nevada manufacturing biodiesel) are also found here in these two cozy little towns.
Further along US-395 about 16 miles and into Carson City — At Topsy Lane you will find Trader Joe’s, a Super WalMart with fuel, and an odd assortment of sit-down and fast-food restaurants and banks and auto-care.
At Clear Creek Road on your left is Costco for your warehouse shopping bulk fix (with membership).
At Clearview Drive on your left is Save Mart and, past the dealerships, on your right is Lowe’s Home Improvement, a very good place to get hardware and building materials, off at Fairview Drive.
If you want to bypass most of Carson and head straight to Reno and the playa, turn onto Fairview to reach the new US-395 freeway addition.
However, if you want to continue to shop or leisure through Carson City, continue straight onwards into downtown.
Further along, across from the Nevada State Legislature, Comma Coffee on the left makes a great cup and the decor may help inspire your theme camp. Wireless Internet is available.
The Carson Nugget allows RV/oversized parking in Lot #4, and offers up a dirt cheap 24hr coffee shop.
At Long Street, on the right is a huge thrift store, Friends In Service Helping (FISH). They’ve started putting out their costumes in August. They discovered a few years ago that they can sell more costumes during Burning Man than durning Halloween.
Further along on your left will be another Save Mart Supermarket, and now nearing the end of Carson City, down Old Hot Springs Road right off of US-395, Carson Hot Springs is close by, offering a Hot Spring Pool with “hammer” and two 10 person tubs (see below for more details). On your way to Carson Hot Springs you may also want to stop in at “Classy Seconds Thrift”. It’s a hidden gem in the thrift store world. Prices are extremely cheap and the staff is wonderful!
But wait! There’s one more major important place to note: Carson-Tahoe Medical Center. Turn left at Arrowhead Drive for any EMERGENCY MEDICAL care needs.
Thanks for stopping in Carson City, Nevada’s state capital and gateway to Lake Tahoe.
Grocery
Trader Joe’s
3790 US Highway 395, Ste # 401 – 775-267-2486 – map
Open daily 8am-9pm. Huge selection of great foods at good prices ideal for the playa, as many burners attest. Very popular spot.
Save Mart Supermarket
3620 North Carson Street – 775-841-4402 / 775-841-4430 – map
Open 5am-1pm.
Save Mart Supermarket
4348 South Carson Street, Carson City – 775-885-2529 – map
Open 5am-1pm.
Save Mart Supermarket
3325 US Highway 50 E – 775-885-7400 – map
Open 5am-1pm
Raleys Supermarket
3701 South Carson Street – 775-883-8301 – map
Open 7am-midnight. Large variety of quality food, produce, booze, and some merchandize.
Costco Wholesale
700 Old Clear Creek Rd – 775-881-2518 – map
Open Mon-Fri 9am-8:30, Sat-Sun 9am-6pm.
WalMart Supercenter
3770 US Highway 395 S – 775-267-2158 – map
Open 24/7.
WalMart Supercenter
3200 Market Street – 775-883-6415 – map
Open 24/7.
Random Curiosities
Friends in Service Helping Thrift Store
138 East Long Street – 775-882-6334 – map
Open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm, Sun 1pm-4pm.
Classy Seconds
411 Hot Springs Road # 1 – 775-841-7081 – map
Open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-4pm, Sun 11am-3pm
Salvation Army
190 East Winnie Lane – 775-885-1898 – map
Open
Carson Hot Springs
1500 Old Hot Springs Road – 775-885-8844 – map
Open daily 7am – 11pm.
Hardware/Camping
Lowe’s Home Improvement
430 Fairview Drive – 775-881-2460 – map
Open Mon-Sat 6am-10pm, Sun 7am-8pm
Home Depot
921 Jacks Valley Road – 775-267-3434 – map
Open Mon-Sat 6am-10pm, Sun 7am-8pm.
Bicycles & Bike Repair
The Bike Smith
900 North Carson Street – 775-883-3210 – map
Open Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 9am-5pm.
Liquor
Ben’s Fine Wine & Spirits
444 East William Street – 775-885-9463 – map
Open Mon-Thur 9am-10pm, Fri-Sat 9am-11pm. Largest selection of wine, spirits, and beer in Carson City.
Hotels & Hotel Casinos
Carson City Nugget
507 North Carson Street – 775-882-1626 – map
RV and oversized vehicle parking and restaurants.
Holiday Inn Express
4055 North Carson Street – (775) 283-4055 / (775) 841-4055 – map
Hampton Inn & Suites
10 Hospitality Way – (775) 885-8800 – map
Coffeehouses – Wireless
Comma Coffee
312 S Carson Street – 775-883-2662 – map
Open Mon-Thur 7am-8pm, Fri-Sat 7am-10pm.
Hospitals / Urgent care
Carson-Tahoe Regional Medical Center
775 Fleischmann Way – 775-882-1361 / 775-445-8000 – map
Med Direct Urgent Care
1201 South Carson Street – 775-445-7330 – map
Open 8am-8pm daily.
Biofuel
Bently Biofuels Outpost and Convenience Store
1350 Buckeye Road, Minden – 775-783-8038 – map
Open 8am to 6pm, Fueling Hours 24/7 with Credit/Debit
Bently has been very supportive of burners both off and on playa, providing E10, E85, B5, B20, and B99.9 fuels from recycled cooking oils at their store, as well as making pre-arranged deliveries of B99.9 to locations in Black Rock City during the event. Wait? Bulk Deliveries to the playa?! Yes, they can arrange delivery of biodiesel to you on the playa. But — IMPORTANT: Please call Carlo directly at 775-720-0754 as early as possible to arrange fuel deliveries. They will also need important information like accurate fuel needs, off-road or on-road fuel, camp name and location, and contact person. They will not however be providing fuel storage containers for the event but can be contacted for guidance as to safe and appropriate, Leave-No-Trace storage on-playa. All deliveries are pre-pay. Weather can sometimes make fuel deliveries impossible, so please plan accordingly, and make sure you have enough fuel on hand to get you through a few days.
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. 
