Nevada Mining History Tour: South Lake Tahoe to Virginia City

Embark on a thrilling Wild West adventure with a day trip to historic Virginia City from South Lake Tahoe. Discover the rich mining history, ride the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, and immerse yourself in the Old West atmosphere of this National Register of Historic Places town.

Duration: 7 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Virginia & Truckee Railroad - 7 mile train ride from Virginia City to Gold Hill and back.
  • Comstock Lode - Comstock Lode - Silver City, Gold Hill, Virginia City
  • Virginia City Visitor Center - On C street
  • The Delta Saloon - Great place for refreshments
  • The Way It Was Museum - Recommended museum by Discover Lake Tahoe Tours
    -…
What's Included
  • Scenic train ride
  • Comfortable air-conditioned shuttle transport
  • Convenient hotel pickup and drop-off (selected hotels only)
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
  • Admission to attractions (optional)
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Embark on a journey into Nevada’s storied mining past on this trip from South Lake Tahoe to Virginia City, a prosperous mining town recognized in the US National Register of Historic Places. Accompanied by an expert guide, navigate a portion of the Pony Express on your way to Virginia City, where you’ll enjoy a scenic trip on the Virginia & Truckee…

Location
Virginia & Truckee Railroad
165 F Street,
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.2
(110 Ratings)
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Dianncombi_c
Oct 18, 2024
Fun and informative day - Excellent driver/guide. Shared much information and amusing stories. Lots of verbal interaction with passengers.
Review provided by Viator
Teresa_w
Oct 7, 2024
Great Virginia City tour - The drive from Lake Tahoe, through Carson City & to Virginia City was very interesting. Our tour guide shared interesting history & stories about the areas we were driving through. The ride on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad was narrated by the conductor with great stories of the gold rush & the silver discovered in the area. We then had 2 hours to spend in Virginia City where we could eat lunch & do some shopping. They have kept the 1800's feel with many original buildings. I would recommend this tour if you enjoy learning about the history of places you visit.
Review provided by Viator
William_c
Sep 20, 2024
Our Holiday 2024 - This holiday was much needed for my husband and I!! We got to our cabin in S. Lake Tahoe & started off our (8) day holiday!!! We enjoyed the train 🚂 ride & Virginia City!! I went to my “GO TO” jeweler & bought a few pieces of beautiful White Buffalo Turquoise jewelry!!! We had lunch @ our favorite restaurant, & topped it off with our favorite coffee @ our favorite coffee house!! The tour bus operator & train 🚂 operator were a delight!! So, we’re satisfied!!🤩
Review provided by Viator
2jackmans
Sep 20, 2024
An awesome experience!!!! - Amazing bus driver, lots of great area info and personality!! Loved Virginia City and the lunch at the Palace Saloon was awesome having a very extensive menu with average prices. Couldn't have chosen a better outing. GO FOR IT!!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Edmund_p
Sep 6, 2024
Great trip. I would highly recommend this trip - Seeing all the different wild life. The trip to Virginia City was well worth it. Our driver was very knowledgeable
Review provided by Viator
Bernardino_s
Aug 30, 2024
Amazing fun day with... - Amazing fun day with beautiful views and lovely train ride and fun show Very good activity to do with kids
Review provided by Viator
Jil2170
Oct 18, 2024
Good tour - Informative bus tour, comfortable bus. Train was BIT as pictured. We had a yellow and green train with out windows so we got a little wet when we got unexpected rain. No rain was forecast
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Monica_g
Oct 26, 2024
Make the drive yourself! - We enjoyed Virginia City and all the shops and history but it's better if you had a rental and drove there yourself. Ran out of time and the train ride was not what we thought it would be...very cheesy.
Review provided by Viator
Joelx1971cm
Oct 18, 2024
Virginia City is better experienced by taking yourself there. - Overpriced for what you get. To start with, it took way to long to narrow down the pickup spot from three listed to the actual. TripAdvisor had one. The confirmation email a different one. The tour operator a third. Two were similar but not exact. Took a call and a text to nail it down, finally. ??? The drive out to Virginia City was informative and interesting. The railway trip was short but sweet. Wish it was longer. Less than three hours in V City. Tough to eat, shop, and /or experience a museum/mine tour within the time constraints. The return trip was flat. The tour narrative was the same as the trip out. Would have been nice if the tour added different fun facts about the area. In conclusion, next time we would drive ourselves out to Virginia City and experience that wonderful area; at our own pace. This tour overall for us, would be worth it, for half of what is charged. Not a penny more. P.S. Don’t cancel or subtract any member of your group after the 24 hour refund deadline. We were originally a party of three who became a party of two, an hour before pickup. A family member became ill. We asked for refund or credit consideration. Driver notated issue. Multiple texts to tour operator & billing agent, within a timely manner, were ignored. Persisted with a couple of emails and another call later to finally hear; sorry, not sorry. Would have been happy with a future credit. Especially since the tour was not full. Buyer beware.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jill_c
Sep 20, 2024
Not worth the $ - Visitor did not communicate clearly about contacting us. The “train” is just a few open your cars that go back and forth on a short track in the city of Virginia City No steam train. A shuttle bus took us to and from VC. The driver, however was a great entertainer. Nothing was as advertised.
Review provided by Viator