Genoa Bar and Saloon
2282 Main St
Genoa, NV
Nevada's oldest saloon, a dim, low-ceilinged room of antique bottles and old stories at the foot of the Sierra.
The Genoa Bar and Saloon is a low, dim, wonderfully cluttered room that has been serving drinks since the 1850s, which makes it, by long tradition, the oldest saloon in Nevada. Behind the worn bar sit ranks of antique bottles, and the walls are hung with old photographs, mounted animals, and a century and a half of accumulated character, including a famous, tattered lady's undergarment said to have been left by an actress long ago.
It sits on the main street of Genoa, the first permanent settlement in Nevada, tucked against the base of the Sierra Nevada in the green Carson Valley. To step inside is to step into the state's frontier past, still pouring, still gathering ranchers and travelers as it has for generations.
What Guests Love
- Drinking in a genuinely old saloon that has poured since the 1850s
- The dim, cluttered room full of antique bottles, photos, and mounted curiosities
- Strolling tiny, historic Genoa around it, Nevada's first town
- The Sierra rising dramatically right behind the village
Worth Knowing
- It is a working bar, so it is best suited to adults, though the town around it is family-friendly
- Genoa is small and gets busy during festivals like the fall Candy Dance, so plan around events
- Parking is limited on the narrow main street; come early on busy days
- Pair the saloon with a walk through the historic town and, in season, nearby hot springs
Details
Genoa, NV
Learn about Genoa Bar and Saloon
The oldest thirst parlor
The saloon opened in the 1850s, in the earliest years of white settlement in what was then western Utah Territory, and has operated more or less continuously ever since, earning its billing as Nevada's oldest bar. It was a gathering place for the traders, ranchers, and travelers who passed through the Carson Valley on the way over the Sierra to California.
Little has changed inside. The pressed-tin ceiling, the antique back bar, the dusty relics on the walls, and the dim, close atmosphere give it the feel of a place where time slowed down and stayed put. Hollywood has noticed, and the saloon has appeared in films over the years, drawn by its unforced authenticity.
Nevada's first town
Genoa began about 1851 as Mormon Station, a trading post set up to supply emigrants crossing the Sierra during the Gold Rush. That makes it the oldest continuous settlement in Nevada, older than the state itself, and its small grid of historic buildings still carries that pioneer feel.
This is the ancestral country of the Washoe people, whose homeland centers on Lake Tahoe just over the mountains and reaches down into the Carson Valley, and who remain a living nation in the region today. The valley's later history is one of ranching and small towns, and Genoa has kept its nineteenth-century character better than almost anywhere in the state.
Around the saloon
The saloon anchors a village worth strolling. A reconstruction of Mormon Station and its stockade stands in a small state park nearby, and the old courthouse and other historic buildings line the shaded streets. In autumn, Genoa hosts the Candy Dance, a beloved craft-and-food festival that fills the tiny town.
Just outside the village, the valley opens into ranch land against the abrupt rise of the Sierra, a striking backdrop in every season.
The valley and the mountains
The Carson Valley is a broad, well-watered basin, green with ranches and hayfields, hemmed on the west by the steep eastern face of the Sierra Nevada. Bald eagles winter in the valley, drawn to the ranch land, and the mountains offer hiking and, in winter, snow.
Hot springs bubble up around the valley, a reminder of the geology beneath, and the drive up over the range to Lake Tahoe is one of the classic approaches to the lake.
When to go
Genoa is a year-round destination. Summer and early fall are the busiest and mildest, and the fall Candy Dance draws big crowds, so plan around it. Winter brings snow to the peaks and wintering eagles to the valley.
The saloon is the anchor, but give yourself time to walk the historic town and take in the mountain setting.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Stardust Lodge
Honorable Mention4061 Lake Tahoe Boulevard, South Lake Tahoe, CA
6 miles away|Learn More ›
Things to Do Near Genoa
Mormon Station State Historic Park
In Genoa
A reconstruction of Nevada's first trading post and stockade, with a small museum on the town's pioneer beginnings.
Lake Tahoe
About 20 miles west
The vast alpine lake just over the Sierra crest, reached by a scenic climb from the Carson Valley.
Carson City
About 12 miles north
Nevada's capital, with the state museum in a former mint, the railroad museum, and a walkable historic district.