Nevada Dive Bar Guide

The best antidote to the natural sense of dread and weariness that eventually sets in during a long trip in Las Vegas is to get off The Strip. While there are some definite must-visits in the area (Stage Door Casino), the best Las Vegas dive bars can be found where actual people who actually live in the city drink and spend time (Silver Stamp, Rusty Spur, Huntridge Tavern, the list goes on).

There is a lesson in Las Vegas that applies to the great state of Nevada, where some of the state’s best dive bars are found outside of its most populated city, with a number of strong contenders in Reno, Carson City and elsewhere. As with many of its neighbors, Nevada’s vast territory and proximity to the desert translates into wholly unique divey drinking experiences found nowhere else in the country.

Spots like Pioneer Saloon and Genoa Bar & Saloon rank among the oldest such establishments in the state and though those bars have certainly leaned into their lore to draw visiting customers, grabbing a drink in a bar that opened in 1953 (in Genoa’s case) is still something worth seeking out.  Countless other deeply divey and dusty stops can be found throughout the state and our picks for the best dive bars in Nevada can be found below.