Virginia City

Virginia City is a town in Nevada, southeast of Reno. It's home to Victorian buildings built during a 19th-century mining boom. These include the reportedly haunted Washoe Club and stately Piper’s Opera House. Collections at The Way It Was Museum feature mining artifacts and maps. Fourth Ward School Museum has an 1876 classroom and history displays. Silver ore and rock drills are among the exhibits at Chollar Mine.
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Virginia City Trip Planner

Virginia City Trip Planner

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Top attractions in Virginia City

Saint Mary In the Mountains
1. Saint Mary In the Mountains
4.8
(352)
Catholic church
Sights & Landmarks
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Beautiful church! I didn't know it was there until I seen it. I love old churches and this one is definitely worth seeing if you love them too. It has beautiful stained glass windows inside too. There is a small gift shop inside if you want to buy a couple of trinkets and help donate to it.
Nice well kept church with lots of history. The man at the gift shop Was very knowledgeable. Quite a lot to see in the basement as well.
The care taker ( I think Michael) was so patient even though he was locking up for the night. My son and I enjoyed the special time in this beautiful church. We were able to buy couple candles and some special momentos for my family and friends. We also got some memorable pictures taken. Highly recommend seeing this church... Very special and historical
Very beautiful and historic Catholic Church in Virginia City. They have a museum and gift shop for more information.
Rating this purely as a tourist attraction. I have never been to one of their services. This beautiful old Catholic church is full of history and is open to the public for you to go around and observe. There is a small gift shop just inside and to the right. There is also a museum on the lower floor, which is free. However, be aware that the museum has much more to do with Catholicism, and even some seemingly random other things, than it does with the history of Virginia City, specifically.
Beautiful Church. KNOWN AS THE "BONANZA CHURCH" BECAUSE OF THE RICH SILVER MINES OF THE LAST CENTURY, THIS MOTHER CHURCH OF THE COMSTOCK LODE TRACES ITS HISTORY TO 1858 WHEN REV. JOSEPH GALLAGHER (1821-87) OFFERED THE FIRST MASS IN NEVADA. HIS BROTHER, REV. HUGH P. GALLAGHER (1815-82), OPENED THE FIRST CATHOLIC CHURCH IN VIRGINIA CITY IN 1860. DESTROYED BY THE WINDS OF THE FOLLOWING WINTER, THIS CHURCH WAS REPLACED IN 1864 WHEN REV. PATRICK MANOGUE (1831-95) ERECTED A NEW CHURCH A BLOCK AWAY FROM HERE. THE PRESENT CHURCH, ORIGINALLY BUILT IN 1868, WAS SERIOUSLY DAMAGED IN THE GREAT FIRE OF 1875 BUT REBUILT IN 1876. TODAY ST. MARY'S STANDS HERE AS A TREASURE OF THE OLD WEST AND IS NOW RECOGNIZED AS A NATIONAL CATHOLIC HISTORICAL SITE.
It was a beautiful place to visit and see the museum with the saints and robes the priests wore and golden cups they drank from. Definitely a must see if you visit Virginia City.
Beautiful Church beautifully located you can not asked for more seeing all the views behind. Also, all the interior all the woodwork such as benches rails, divisions pillars and sealing are absolutely beautiful plus all the stain glass windos amazing. Also, a person at the church store is a very nice, pleasant man can share some information about the town.
Washoe Club Museum & Saloon
2. Washoe Club Museum & Saloon
4.6
(945)
Museum
Specialty Museums
Storied saloon dating back to 1862 with an adjacent history museum featuring exhibits & ghost tours.
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So Virginia City has become a bit of a tourist trap with loads of over the top schlock and overpriced everything. If you like that kind of thing - fantastic! I don't so much. However, if you find yourself there, Washoe Club is the bright spot. Tours are reasonably priced, the folks who run this historical business are incredibly lovely and the tour guide is phenomenal. These folks worked with me ahead of time to move my tour date tickets three times for various reasons and when I walked in, greeted me by name! That's impressive. The tour guide was not only personable but had a deep knowledge of local history and how the club impacted national events. If you're in it only for the paranormal, he's got you covered there too! Truly enjoyed the time at the OWC!
Drinks in the bar are phenomenal & strong $1 drink discount with museum tour, it’s haunted. Went inside and old morgue, creepy and weirdly chilly. The tour is $10 and well worth it!! Staff is amazing and friendly!!
Fun tour of the haunted house. We met out front and went through 3 stories of spookyness. Great bar on the first floor. Neat museum too. Mortisha was there when I went which made it better. Spooky
I’ve been on several really good ghost tours in San Francisco, so I kinda knew what to expect during a tour. However, I was amazed by the history of the Washoe Club and of the paranormal activity described by our tour guide as we walked through the rooms. I must say that the spookiest area to me was the “Crypt.” The oddity was the spiral staircase that wound its way to the top floor. Back in the day, only the wealthy had access to the top via this staircase. Apparently there are several ghosts that frequent this area, although I didn’t see any. There were a lot of things covered in 45 minutes but I felt good about the tour and would recommend it. I’m now ready for the overnight lock-in.🫣
First time visiting the Washoe Club. This place is amazing! My family and I are paranormal investigators and have been wanting to visit for quite some time. We went on the tour and got to go up into the millionaire's Club. Our tour guide was so friendly and had so much knowledge the history of this building. I was even lucky enough to capture multiple orbs in my pictures. My husband and I plan on going back in October for our anniversary and my birthday and doing the overnight tour, I can't wait! 🖤
Great place to visit. the whole town is full of history and such beautiful people. so kind and fun. if you don’t love virginia city and the washoe club you have issues
Great place to wet your whistle and do a ghost tour while in Virginia city. We've been here several times and love the charm of this bar and the city. On the ghost tour they take to upstairs to check out the mostly empty and storage areas with past ghost encounters. The tour guide was really good and have is plenty of stories as well as his personal experiences. It was a lot of fun!
We had a great time. Rented an EMF meter and ours was very active. I've been through the tour several times before. However, this is the first time ive experienced activity. I was taped on my shoulder and my friend had her hair brushed from her face. We will be back.
Virginia City Visitor Center
3. Virginia City Visitor Center
4.5
(876)
Tourist information center
Visitor center
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What a fun city to visit! Full of history and cool buildings to show the era. Lots of open shops and stuff to do and look at.
Nice place. Several things to see. Clean restrooms.
Historic mining town. Must visit if you are visiting Reno Sparks area. Not too far from Lake Tahoe either.
We love traveling to VC and a few times a year, it’s like walking back into the early 1900’s, we enjoy shopping and checking out the ghost tours at The Washoe Club and Mackay Mansion. I highly recommend coming to this adorable old town!
The Virginia City Visitor Center is a great place to star a visit of the Old Western cute gold mining town Virginia with many of its original buildings still standing today. You can easily spend a full day visiting the many bars, restaurants, candy and souvenir stores along the Main Street and many original homes from the time. There are many details to pay attention to while strolling the old western style wooden sidewalks. People are generally friendly, but the city can be crowded on weekends and holidays. By all means worth a visit while in Nevada.
Cool little miner ghost town. A bit on the creepy side. But either than that it is well worth the find. Very tiny very little to see unless you are into paranormal then ive heard they have a tour of one of their hotels established 1859.
This is a great place for the whole family. Lots to do. One of the most historical places in America. Love it here!!!
Neat little town with lots of history. Good stop for all ages. Wish we had more time would have liked to have visited more. Time was pleasant here.
The Way It Was Museum
4. The Way It Was Museum
4.5
(613)
Museum
Specialty Museums
Historic mining artifacts plus rare photos & maps from the Old West are the focus at this museum.
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What a fun museum. So much to learn about mining and how things were done in the past. Small but very informative museum
Informative and quaint museum of the Comstock Gold rush mining in Virginia City. They have numerous original pieces, tons of literature, and descriptive signage (not just a non-descript, moronic blurb found in many newer museums). Staff was also very friendly.
Absolutely loved the museum! I adore anything old and it was full of authentic old relics and knick knacks and more! My kids even loved it! Also the gift shop area had great things and they were all actually affordable! I spent $50 in the gift shop and $12 to get in and it was well worth! The staff was also very friendly!
This tiny historic town is so very interesting. I enjoyed visiting the Way It Was Museum where I learned more about the mining history and was able to see so much original equipment and relics and fun facts about the time period. I very much suggest taking a walk around
They have a LOT of Everyday items from the city of Virginia from the eart seems Like they just went through these houses 150 years ago and picked up all the items and turned in the museum. The biggest gold Load was found here and all of the Mining equipment was developed here, Because this is the first place where the mines went down 2000 feet underground. Obviously the working conditions 2000 feet in the ground were crazy and they have a photos and videos about all that, which is really interesting. The admission is $5 so definitely Check out the inside of the museum
What an absolutely amazing place. Great to take photos. Great fun for the whole family, perfect little gift shop.
This is the best place IMO in Nevada that you must visit when in Reno. Virginia city Town is still so kept up and still runs like it did in the historical cowboy days 🤠it's so fun and everyone so friendly ! So many historical sights to visit ! P. S you might run in to a few friendly ghost if you pay close attention 😉either way you will enjoy this place if you love seeing history face to face as it was
Adorable museum. Won’t take you more than 30 minutes to see it all unless you watch the video and read everything. Doesn’t cost much to enter either. I would definitely say it’s worth a visit
Historic Fourth Ward School Museum
5. Historic Fourth Ward School Museum
4.7
(413)
Historical place museum
Museums
Original classroom & exhibits on local history & the Comstock Lode in a 19th-century schoolhouse.
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This is a must see while visiting Virginia City! So much rich history just in this one building. There was so much to read and see. My family and I love history so we had to visit. Plus this school is beautiful! I'm so glad places like this still exist! Would love to do a paranormal investigation here! 🖤👻
This is an absolute must see for anybody visiting Virginia City. The architecture is simply incredible and the man working at the information counter is a wealth of information. Going inside the classrooms is like a time capsule back to the 1800s.
The best place in VC for a great history lesson. Covers everything from the school itself, Mark Twain & printing, mining & minerals, Comstock history, 110 years of local school alumni, and a changing exhibit that always features something very interesting. If there's only time to visit 1 place in V C for your history lesson from knowledgeable & friendly folks this is it! Not to mention the museum is housed inside an authentic historic school from 1876. The beauty of the building itself is enough reason to stop for a visit.
The Fourth Ward School probably does a better job than most tourist attractions in the area of actually helping you understand what life was like in Virginia City for an average person who wasn't Mark Twain or a guy who hit it rich buying a mine. While things could still be done to help visitors understand even more (for instance, I never was able to figure out why it's called the "Fourth Ward" school), this is definitely one of the more historical and less "tourist trap"-y places to visit in Virginia City.
This school in Virginia City could school 3,000 kids from 1st grade to high school. Architecturally it is a fascinating and beautiful structure fully restored to its former glory. There are many historical timelines and displays for history buffs but the best part is your imagination and thinking about how generations past built a structure like this and educated thousands of kids with a good old fashion "get 'er done" attitude. They don't make folks like that anymore. Worth the visit.
A cultural landmark! Many original artifacts such as desk, geographic maps, chalkboards and more. There was a friendly staff member that was very knowledgeable of the history of the school. The visit cost $7 for adults and slightly less for children. The museum is quite large. Parking is next to the building. Parking is slightly on the small end so get there early. Great views of the valley from the parking lot.
Wonderful museum! The docent was incredibly informative, and we really enjoyed both the building and its rich history. One thing we especially loved was seeing all the actual photos of people who attended over the years, along with personal touches like the scuff marks left by children who once slid down the bannister. You can tell the place has been lovingly maintained and truly cherished.
We went for a small electronic music festival and were blown away by the amount of history packed into the exhibits here. What a pleasant experience we had and will have to go back again to get the full tour.
The Delta Saloon and Sawdust Corner Steakhouse
6. The Delta Saloon and Sawdust Corner Steakhouse
4.0
(291)
Bar & grill
Casinos & Gambling
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The kids wanted an authentic western saloon and we definitely hit the jackpot! This place has so much to see! The food was good, the service was great, but definitely go just to look around!!!
I had to go check out the Delta Saloon after it reopened, and my buddy, Stephen, got hired as a GM. The casino is gorgeous and the food was great. I got the grand tour and they have done a great job with everything. I didn't eat at the steakhouse, but I will next time ! Great job !
We had the BEST dining experience here. From the moment we walked through the door, we were impressed with every aspect of this establishment. As we were waiting to be seated, the General Manager/Chef took us on a little tour of the upstairs. He was friendly, knowledgeable and checked on us several times during our visit. The cocktails were fantastic, especially the lavender lemon drop. I had the elk chop and mac n cheese. Both were phenomenal. My boyfriend had the prime rib. They were out of mashed potatoes (we were there late) and due to gluten and dairy allergy, he passed on the other side options. Much to our surprise, the chef special made him fries. We both had a wedge salad, and I gobbled down the incredible bread that had amazing butter. Our server was also fantastic. It's a beautiful restaurant, with incredible food and top-notch service. We will definitely be back on our next visit to Virginia City.
Great stop over. Faith was amazing and kept us entertained for a few cold beers and some stories Beer were super cold. There is coop little mine tour as well Drfitnkwy stop in to say hi to Faith . We will be back .thanks ☘️🤙
Absolutely phenomenal! Not only do they give close to Michelin star service, the food meets every standard for a high quality steakhouse. We had heard good things but the actual experience blew us away! Steven, the GM, and everyone else (Christina was our server) was so attentive and generally wonderful to be around. We left so full from the table side caesar, crab cakes, ribeye with mushrooms and whipped potatoes, and bananas foster for desert.
Took our out-of-town parents to the sawdust last weekend and had a great experience! We made reservations the week before, definitely recommend doing so especially as tourist season kicks off. The restaurant is beautifully decorated, comfortable seating, and great lighting. There was no music in the Delta or restaurant that day so I’m unsure of those noise levels, but it was pleasant for us. The staff was very attentive, the food was excellent and the options were great for someone like me with dietary restrictions. we will definitely be back!
My group of four arrived at this restaurant without a reservation and were told we would be able to get a table within minutes. The hostess went above and beyond to ensure we were happy and taken care of. Our server, Haven, was very attentive, professional, and gave excellent recommendations and customer service. We were very impressed by the service here and will definitely return when we are in the area to try other menu items.
The food was really good, however the service was not. The guy who dropped off bread and water was really good but our waitress did not provide good service. During our dinner she did not stop by once to check on us or to clear our empty plates, for the price I expected better service. The fish dish was really amazing though. Would recommend if the service was better.
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Other notable attractions

Mackay Mansion Museum
Museum
Sights & Landmarks
Victorian Mansion built by Hearst in 1859 with original period furnishings & rumors of hauntings.
Ponderosa Mine Tour
Mine
Sights & Landmarks
Silver Terrace Cemetery
Sights & Landmarks
Cemeteries
Piper's Opera House
Event venue
Concerts & Shows
Ponderosa Saloon
Bar
Concerts & Shows
Storied watering hole with live bands, a walk-in 1864 bank vault & guided underground mine tours.
Comstock Firemen's Museum
History museum
Museums
Marshall Mint
Museum
Jeweler
Virginia City Inn
Hotel
Shopping
Relaxed, individually styled rooms with a Western vibe in an unfussy motel offering free Wi-Fi.
Kashmir American Enterprises
Boutique
Sights & Landmarks
Storey County District Atty
County court
Sights & Landmarks
Best-of categories in Virginia City

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Weather in Virginia City

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Monthly temperature highs and lows in Virginia City
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