This is a great area to walk at a leisurely pace and enjoy nature in the city. The city continues to improve in this area-keep it up!
The Riverwalk area is lovely -- so long as you aren't confronted by the assortment of people who solicit for money or the intoxicated or mentally ill who hang out in the area. Doesn't seem safe at night.
We had a great time on the river walk. There are people walking and jogging around the walk. We saw rafters and people swimming. There are areas along the way to stop at restaurants. People are walking dogs and the dogs play in the water too. Great flowers are along the way too. Security is out and about so it feels safe. The area seems to be kept up well. I would recommend you walk as far as you can around the walk and check out both sides of it. I'm not sure how safe it is at night but daytime is great.
The only parking is metered, there are no street lights very shady looking at night. There is a nearby movie theater but not really any big open casinos nor stores to wanna go here. Just some sidewalkls and narrow park benches along river through town. See while drive by but otherwise skip.
I am a local who spends a fair amount of time on the Riverwalk and connected bike trail. This area is so typical of Reno. It's like someone has a really good idea, they begin to make it a reality and then lose interest or realize it's a bigger job than they thought....something goes wrong.Parts of this are really nice but the majority of it is dirty, the shops are vacant and drunks, drug addicts and the homeless are in abundance. I stay away from it at night. This is a good shortcut through town if you're walking or riding but as far as an attraction I'd recommend you look elsewhere.
Reno is the most underrated city that I am aware of. Beautiful blue skies, surrounded by golden hills and the Sierra Nevada mountains. Only 40 minutes to L. Tahoe. There are many excellent restaurants and local craft breweries (Great Basin, Brewers Cabinet) in town with the Riverwalk area my favorite (Sierra Taphouse, Imperial, etc.). Also, all of the casinos have specials/happy hours that will keep you busy all week.There are some empty, dumpy central areas just like every other city in the country...but the decent people , great weather and Tahoe skiing keep us coming back year after year.
Maybe its because we visited late September or they hadn't gotten rain in a while, but there wasn't much to see. Didn't even bother getting out the car, wasn't the safest Looking neighborhood.
We were on a short trip to Reno for fun and wanted a respite from the casino. A friend and I took the Riverwalk and we were pleasantly surprised at the lovely setting. It was apparent that the city had done a lot of restoration/gentrification of the area as it's rather "seedy" around the casinos. The walk and bridge across to the other side are well done. We were saddened, though, by the number of homeless men (there may be homeless women but all we saw were men) congregating on the plaza, which could easily become the center for the Riverwalk. It was very cold while we were there and we worried about how these guys would stay warm. No one bothered us or asked for money as is the customer in so many cities.I am hoping that this is the start to rebuilding the area around the casinos. It was my first visit in many years and I remembered this area as vibrant and alive. But, now it looks rundown and I would not be walking around here after dark.
When you get sick of casinos downtown, head to the Truckee river and walk miles of trails. One of my favorite spots in Reno!!
The walk by the Truckee River through downtown is beautiful in any season. While walking or biking or swimming, you can watch the river flow over the rocks, see the birds, rafters, and sometimes fisher people.You can enjoy coffee and quality food at spots along the way. What could be improved are widening the walkways and getting rid of the homeless groups. Then the place would be even more lovely.