Reno/Lake Tahoe

Step away from the slots for a moment, and you'll discover Reno is one of the golf world's "Biggest little cities," too. This lively casino town boasts high and dry weather suitable to play book stay-and-play golf vacation packages at a great value compared to many of it's neighboring golf destinations such as Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe.

The PGA Tour's Reno-Tahoe Open is staged at Montreux Golf & Country Club, a private Jack Nicklaus design. But Reno's biggest weekend of the year is Hot August Nights, a car festival that celebrates the classic cars of the 1950s and '60s, and fills the streets with parties and roaring engines. Golf in August and the summer months is certainly more comfortable here than further south, as temperatures generally only creep into the 90s, and it's a high, dry heat.

When you include the Carson Valley and Lake Tahoe area, there are more than 50 golf courses within 90 minutes. Most of the casino hotels can be found on S. Virginia St., home to such properties as Circus Circus, Peppermill and Silver Legacy, though resorts are scattered throughout the desert, like the Grand Sierra Resort. Most hotels offer stay-and-play golf packages that will guarantee you tee times on the area's top courses.

The most coveted plays in Reno-Sparks are LakeRidge Golf Course, Red Hawk Golf Club's public Lakes Course, D'Andrea Golf Club and 36-hole Arrow Creek Golf Club. Additionally, there are a handful of other worthy plays for visitors to get out into the sunshine.

Reno residents and visitors alike can enjoy the city's close proximity to Lake Tahoe and the High Sierras. The mountain golf courses and natural splendor are attractive, but the golf is also more expensive compared to Reno-Sparks, and the golf season is tantalizingly short compared to the year round golf weather on the desert side.