Meetings and Events City Profiles

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Located 60 miles east of Reno on Highway 50, a stretch that parallels a portion of the historic Pony Express route (riders carried mail in pouch saddles known as mochilas), Fallon is a great example of the unique destinations and memorable post-meeting recreational activities available in Nevada if you look beyond the bright lights, big cities and casinos.

>>Business basics
At just over 500 rooms—lodging options range from budget (Motel 6, Econo Lodge) to basic (Best Western, Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn Express) to the vintage Overland Hotel Saloon & Basque Restaurant (which has private dining available)—as a base location, Fallon is best suited for smaller groups.

“We specialize in hosting meetings of 250 attendees and smaller,” says Rick Gray, director of the Fallon Convention & Tourism Authority. “We recently hosted the National Wildlife Refuge Friends Group [125 attendees], the Nevada Judges Conference [150 attendees], and the Small Farm Conference [125 attendees].”

Fallon’s main function space is its convention center, featuring 6,500 square feet of meeting space that will accommodate up to 350, sound system, multimedia presentation capabilities, a marketing staff and a full kitchen.

“We have a list of ten restaurants and caterers authorized to work with clients,” notes Gray.

If you’re looking for something with a little more character, “The old post office in Fallon, dating back to the early 20th century, has 1,500 square feet of meeting space,” Gray points out.

The Oats Park Art Center, the heart of Fallon’s vibrant arts scene, is an “adaptive re-use” of a 1914-era school and houses a 350-seat theater, galleries and other meeting spaces.

 >>Wings, things and singing sands
Whether you stay in Fallon proper or plan a group outing from Reno, the area offers a diverse array of things to do and see. Military buffs will want to tour the Naval Air Station in Fallon, home to the United States Navy’s premier air-to-air and air-to-ground training facility, TOPGUN (made famous in the movie of the same name; scenes were filmed in Fallon).

Archeology and geology buffs will enjoy touring Grimes Point and Hidden Cave to marvel at 8,000-year-old American Indian petroglyphs and study exposed stratigraphy dating back 21,000 years.

Because Fallon is located in the Lahontan Valley, a former lake bed, it is home to sand dunes—and singing ones at that (wind blowing across or walking on the sand causes it to produce sound). Rent ATVs through Outdoor Xcape and groups looking for adventure can go off-roading at Sand Mountain.

That same lake bed not only left behind dunes, it left behind a system of small lakes and rivers, a lifesaver for settlers traveling the California Trail and for the thousands of birds and waterfowl migrating along the Pacific Flyway.

As a result, the Fallon area has three National Wildlife Refuges; 280 different species (including the American white pelican) have been recorded, a bonanza for birdwatching. The Fallon Convention Center staff can arrange tours of the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge, or plan your event to coincide with the “tour-centric” Spring Wings in May, one of Fallon’s many annual events.

>>Farm to table to groups
Fallon used to be known around the country for Heart of Gold cantaloupes; today they’re mostly grown for local consumption, which means in season your group can enjoy this delicacy and a whole lot more.

“We have several new restaurants in Fallon and one of them is the Slanted Porch, which features a real eclectic menu with locally grown specialty crops,” Gray explains. One of Nevada’s oldest agritourism venues, Lattin Farms, is also located in Fallon, and they welcome corporate groups.

GET CONNECTED

FALLON CONVENTION & TOURISM AUTHORITY // 866.432.5566

LATTIN FARMS // 866.638.6293

OATS PARK ART CENTER // 775.423.1440

OUTDOOR XCAPE // 775.427.1544

OVERLAND HOTEL SALOON & BASQUE RESTAURANT // 775.423.2719

THE SLANTED PORCH // 775.423.4489

SPRING WINGS  //

STILLWATER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE //