Five Years of Restoration, Safety, Community, & Perseverance

Frost-covered shrubs in front of rustic wooden buildings at sunrise.

Five Years of Restoration, Community, and Perseverance

For the past five years, our small but dedicated crew has poured heart, hard work, and countless hours into bringing Reno’s historic River Inn back to life.

What began as a dream to restore a long-forgotten landmark has grown into a larger mission: to clean up the property, protect the Truckee River, preserve a piece of Reno history, and create something meaningful for the community.

Every repair, every cleanup, every improvement, and every step forward has been done with care, determination, and respect for what this property once was — and what it can become again.

This page shares the progress we have made, the challenges we continue to work through, and the vision that keeps us moving forward.

This used to be full of weeds until we made fire abatement and safety improvements like the pavement

Be Part of the River Inn Story

The River Inn has always been part of Reno’s memory, and we would love for the community to be part of its future.

You can help by sharing a memory, sending old photos, attending future events, volunteering for cleanup or beautification days, supporting responsible river access, or simply sharing this page with someone who remembers the River Inn.

If this place means something to you, we would love to hear from you.

Add buttons underneath if your site builder allows it:

Share a Memory
Volunteer or Contact Us
Read the River Access Park Plan

be apart of the river inn story

Rumor Clarification: No Motorcycle Track

Rumors can do real damage to a community. They create fear, confusion, and mistrust, especially when people repeat information without checking whether it is true.

Sometimes rumors begin because someone misunderstood something. Other times, false information is spread by people who want to divide a community, create conflict, or turn neighbors against one another.

That is not what the River Inn is about.

Our goal has always been to restore a historic Reno property, protect the Truckee River, improve safety, clean up decades of neglect, and create something positive for the community.

We want to clearly address one rumor that is currently being repeated:

There are no plans — and there have never been plans — to build a motorcycle track on any property we own.

The River Inn project is not a motorcycle track project. It is a restoration, river stewardship, fire safety, history, and Community-focused project.

We encourage anyone with questions to contact us directly, look at the facts, and be part of a more positive conversation about the future of the River Inn.

Progress by the Numbers

Restoring the River Inn has taken years of hands-on work, personal investment, planning, cleanup, and perseverance. Some progress is easy to see from the road, but much of it has happened behind the scenes through permits, inspections, maintenance, safety work, and daily cleanup.

Here is a snapshot of what has been done so far:

5+ years of restoration, cleanup, and property maintenance
$1 million+ invested into restoration, safety, cleanup, planning, and improvements
100+ trailer loads of trash and debris removed from the property
88 hotel rooms cleaned after decades of neglect
24 acres cared for along the Truckee River
Fire breaks created to help reduce wildfire risk
Dry brush, weeds, and overgrowth cleared throughout the property
Solar-powered lighting and security installed where electricity is not currently available
Trees and native vegetation planted to bring life back to the land
A collapsing structure near the Truckee River removed to help protect the riverfront
Licensed engineers brought in to evaluate the buildings
Required permits and inspections completed for approved work
Public river access offered through a simple $1 access agreement
Community events hosted on the property, including the annual Christmas celebration
Toys and donations collected for local families and children through community causes

Every number represents real labor, real cost, and real progress.

The River Inn was neglected for decades, but it is no longer forgotten. It is being cleaned, protected, maintained, and slowly brought back to life — one project, one cleanup, one tree, and one improvement at a time.

Our goal is simple: restore the River Inn responsibly, protect the Truckee River, preserve Reno history, and create something positive for the community.

Fire Abatement & Safety Improvements

Since purchasing the River Inn, Lawrence and Dana have made safety, cleanup, fire prevention, and responsible property care a top priority.

When we first began, the property had suffered from decades of neglect. There was overgrowth, dry brush, debris, abandoned materials, and areas that were difficult to safely access or monitor. We knew from day one that restoring the River Inn had to begin with making the property safer.

Over the years, we have:

Cleared dry brush, weeds, debris, and overgrown vegetation.
Removed trash and discarded materials that created hazards.
Reduced fire fuel throughout the property.
Improved access for maintenance, cleanup, emergency response, and future restoration work.
Opened up areas that had become hidden, overgrown, or difficult to monitor.
Secured areas of concern to help discourage trespassing, dumping, and unsafe activity.
Continued ongoing maintenance because fire prevention in Nevada’s dry climate is never a one-time project.

What was once an abandoned and neglected property is now actively maintained, watched over, and improved. These efforts help protect the River Inn, the Truckee River, neighboring properties, and everyone who cares about this historic place.

At the bottom of this page, you can see before-and-after photos showing the progress that has been made.

our annual Christmas cookie exchange party

Access to the community

One of the most meaningful parts of this journey has been hearing from people who remember the River Inn and still feel connected to it.

Since purchasing the property, we have welcomed people at limited times so they could safely see the site, reconnect with memories, and experience a piece of Reno history that has been closed off for far too long.

We have:

Given private tours to people with memories of the River Inn.
Invited people to walk through and reconnect with the property.
Opened the property for our annual Christmas cookie party.
Shared the property with local media and history lovers.
Welcomed videos and stories from people who care about Reno history.
Shared our own videos so people can see what we are working to save.
Created and offered the Truckee River Access Park Plan as a vision for trails, river access, public use, and community connection.

The River Inn means something to Reno. We have heard that again and again from people who remember it, people who grew up near it, and people who want to see it restored instead of forgotten.

Our hope is to protect the property, restore it responsibly, and one day share it with the community again in a safe, beautiful, and meaningful way.

The Public-Private Partnership Plan

We believe the River Inn has the potential to become more than a restored property. It can become part of a larger community vision for responsible river access, trails, history, recreation, and connection to the Truckee River.

With that goal in mind, we spent significant time, effort, and money creating a public-private partnership plan for the River Inn.

We shared the plan with the City of Reno, members of City Council, and county officials. We also posted it publicly and made it available on our website so anyone could download it, read it, and understand the vision.

The plan proposed public access to both sides of the Truckee River directly from our property. It also suggested placing future access improvements in a location that already has important infrastructure nearby, including a railroad crossing, restrooms, buildings, and existing access points.

Our intention was simple: to offer a thoughtful, practical, and community-minded idea that could benefit Reno, improve public access, and help bring positive life back to a historic property.

We still believe collaboration is possible. We remain open to respectful conversations with people, agencies, organizations, and community members who want to see the River Inn become something safe, beautiful, and beneficial for Reno.

$1 River Access — Fair, Simple, and Honest

We believe the Truckee River should be enjoyed respectfully and responsibly. It is one of the most beautiful parts of this property and one of the things that makes the River Inn so special.

Because our property includes riverfront access on both sides of the Truckee River, we created a simple public access agreement for people who want to legally and respectfully cross designated areas of the property to reach the river.

By law, the agreement must include a fee, so we set that fee at just $1.

That single dollar allows responsible access while also protecting private property, reducing confusion, and helping ensure that people understand where they may cross and how to do so respectfully.

The goal is not to keep people away from the river. The goal is to protect the land, protect the river, protect our property rights, and create a clear path for responsible public access.

The agreement is available on our website for anyone to download, sign, and use.

We are not just restoring buildings and land. We are working to rebuild trust, access, and community — one responsible step at a time.

Building Community One Celebration at a Time

Every year, we open the River Inn property to the community for our Christmas celebration.

This event has become one of our favorite ways to bring warmth, joy, generosity, and life back to the property. It is made possible through our own hard work and the support of friends, neighbors, and locals who believe in what we are doing.

During the event, we collect toys and donations for local families through organizations such as Toys for Tots and With Grace Foundation. We also help raise awareness and direct donations for causes like Project 8P, which supports children born with rare conditions affecting the 8th chromosome.

Every dollar donated during our Christmas event goes directly to the organizations we support. We do not keep any of the donated funds.

Guests bring food, drinks, laughter, memories, and holiday spirit. We hire a live band ourselves because we want the event to feel like a true community celebration.

We do this because we believe the River Inn can once again be a place where people gather, give, remember, and feel connected.

The River Inn is not just a restoration project. It is becoming a place of community, generosity, and hope.

What We’ve Done

When people drive by the River Inn, they may not see all of the work happening behind the scenes. Restoration takes planning, cleanup, permits, inspections, engineering, maintenance, and daily effort.

So far, we have:

Invested over $1 million into restoration, cleanup, safety, and structural improvements.
Planted trees and native vegetation to restore life and balance to the property.
Installed solar-powered lighting and security systems where electricity is not currently available.
Removed decades of garbage, debris, mattresses, and unsafe materials.
Cleaned hotel rooms and areas that had been left in poor condition.
Improved the entrance across the railroad tracks for safer access.
Removed a collapsing structure that was falling toward the Truckee River.
Built fire breaks to reduce wildfire risk and help protect the riverbank.
Worked with licensed engineers who confirmed the buildings are structurally sound.
Reclaimed our water rights through the legal process.
Submitted full hotel rebuild plans to bring new life and opportunity to the River Inn.
Obtained required permits and completed inspections for approved work.
Received NDEP approval after inspection on completed projects.
Personally handed out Christmas cards to neighbors, inviting open communication and goodwill.
Opened the property each year for community events and celebrations.
Welcomed neighbors and community members to talk with us about the property, our plans, and our hopes for the future.
Added rock to the parking areas to help reduce weeds, dust, mud, and regrowth.

This work represents years of personal investment, patience, and belief in the future of the River Inn.

Creativity, Art, and Lessons Learned

Reno has a strong creative spirit, and the River Inn has always attracted artists, photographers, history lovers, and dreamers.

In the past, we opened portions of the property to artists and creative projects because we wanted to support local creativity and bring beauty and imagination to a place that had been neglected for decades.

Unfortunately, some of those arrangements created significant cleanup, damage, and expense after items were left behind or not properly maintained. Because of that experience, we are no longer offering the property for open artist storage or informal Burning Man-related projects.

We still believe in creativity. We still believe in art. But going forward, our focus is on restoration, river protection, safety, and responsible community use.

The River Inn’s future can still include beauty, history, and imagination — but it must also be cared for with responsibility, respect, and accountability.