Ever take the 95 from the south?

shiznicks1 · Post by **shiznicks1** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 12:43 pm

Hello all,
I am coming from Southern California and im wondering if anybody has any experience taking the 95 through Nevada instead of the 395 all the way to the 80 in Reno? The site calls it the "Spooky Desert" option, and it seems nice since theres fewer hills to travel through as opposed to the 395. However, it also says in 2005 some people were harassed by the police along the way. Im just wondering if anybody has taken this route and can tell me a little about the terrain, the safety, and their overall experience on it.
Thank you

dinks · Post by **dinks** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 12:53 pm

You mean (for you) taking the 15 into vegas then taking the 95 all the way up? Yeah, there is nothing wrong with taking that route. Its the most boring drive ever but its easy. I've driven it at least 5 times each way, once in a large Uhaul moving truck.. The only gotchas are that there are at least 6 places where they take you from 65 down to 35 to go through some small towns.

Speed limit is enforced at the sign, so if it says 35 and you roll past the sign doing 36, have your ID/Insurance/registration handy.

Its mostly a single lane with a few passing lanes here and there. Looooong and straight sections.

The only thing spooky is walker lake.

mudpuppy000 · Post by **mudpuppy000** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 12:59 pm

shiznicks1 wrote:Hello all,
I am coming from Southern California and im wondering if anybody has any experience taking the 95 through Nevada instead of the 395 all the way to the 80 in Reno? The site calls it the "Spooky Desert" option, and it seems nice since theres fewer hills to travel through as opposed to the 395. However, it also says in 2005 some people were harassed by the police along the way. Im just wondering if anybody has taken this route and can tell me a little about the terrain, the safety, and their overall experience on it.
Thank you

I've taken part of it going into death valley and that section is nice. (south of Beatty) Not sure what it's like further north.

Dr. Pyro · Post by **Dr. Pyro** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 1:11 pm

I have driven 95 from Vegas to Reno and I like the route. But let me give you a word of warning: Whatever you do please do not stop at the fireworks stand about a mile south of Schurz, Nevada. It's called the Four Seasons Smoke Shop and has all the fireworks that are illegal at Burning Man, including but not limited to morters, repeaters, Roman candles, skyrockets, aerial shells; and let's not forget individual items you should not buy such as the Underwater Fury, Jumping Cyber Monkeys, the Black Cat War Drum, the 12 shot Big Block, the Pyro Chameleon, and the one that I certainly would never get the 19 shot Loud & Lavender. And whatever you do, do not order on line because you will get a discount and a few additional free items and this will only cause you to set off more dangerous and, let me stress, illegal fireworks. So do not look to your right as you approach Schurz because if you do you won't miss it and that could only lead to bad things happening. And be sure to leave your credit card at home. Don't ever say I didn't warn you.

LostinReno · Post by **LostinReno** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 1:11 pm

I'm with Dinks, I've done this drive many, many times. Nothing really spooky about it. It is a lot of boring though. Coming from the south, stop in Beatty at the Chevron station, one of the best candy stores I've ever been to! Nom, nom! There is a pretty big hill climb up to Tonopah (that would be the steepest part), other than that, it's pretty flat (gradual climb), the only curvy part is around Walker Lake. The locals drive like maniacs through there, I prefer to get through this during the day time. There are a lot of blind corners in this section. It's a few miles long. Past that, you're good to go. Johnny law is very rednecky in these parts (between Las Vegas and Fernley). Keep your default clothing on until you get at least to Gerlach and obey the speed limits. Most of it is 75mph, until you hit towns, then it drops to 35mph in about 100 yards. They will bust you....and don't be fooled by the fake cop car in Mina (I think it was in Mina?) Usually there's a real one not too far away.

shiznicks1 · Post by **shiznicks1** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 1:13 pm

Thanks for the quick feedback. If I do take that route, I would take the 395N to Bishop, the 6N to the 360, then finally to the 95N into the 447. Although hitting Vegas first and going straight up does sound like a lovely plan.

LostinReno · Post by **LostinReno** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 1:16 pm

Schurz will be right past the icky curvy part by Walker Lake and the Smoke Shop will be on your right hand side, next to that is a shipping container trailer thing made into a fireworks store.....but you won't want to stop there!

Just_Joe · Post by **Just_Joe** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 1:40 pm

shiznicks1 wrote:Thanks for the quick feedback. If I do take that route, I would take the 395N to Bishop, the 6N to the 360, then finally to the 95N into the 447. Although hitting Vegas first and going straight up does sound like a lovely plan.

I've done it that way...in reverse.
Perfectly serviceable, although Mono lake can be spooky.

Edit: actually op posited? mirrored?, negatived? anti-ed?- Up 95 and then over to 395

gaminwench · Post by **gaminwench** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 1:41 pm

Shiz - I take this route every year, it's lovely... much better than the Reno route...

bigbluedoggy · Post by **bigbluedoggy** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 7:46 pm

I have no experience on that route, but in fairness I will point out that the new Survival Guide advises that you not attempt to drive thru Schurz on Hwy 95, due to several incidents reported back in 2005 where BM attendees were harassed, searched and arrested without probable cause by the tribal police.

Dr. Pyro · Post by **Dr. Pyro** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 7:50 pm

I have to chime in here. There is absolutely no reason to avoid Schurz because of police presense. The NHP that patrols 95 from just north of Hawthorne to nearly the state line have their jurisdictional headquarters in Schurz, so you get a bunch of speeding tickets (or worse) sending you to Schurz. But the town is absolutely no worse, or better for that matter, than any other small redneck infested backwater in Nevada. If it were, I wouldn't buy my fireworks someplace else.

oneeyeddick · Post by **oneeyeddick** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 8:06 pm

I am with Doc there, been there many times and never been harassed or pulled over by the Tribals.

gaminwench · Post by **gaminwench** » Mon Aug 09, 2010 9:54 pm

We had a flat tire on the MV trailer (think circus) at Schurz in 08. Saturday, 7 AM, side of the road. Local stopped to help, drove down the road, woke up the tire guy, brought back tire guy and a load of tires, fixed and back on the road by 8:30. Two really old reservation guys, helping a 'circus-load' of burners at the crack of dawn on a weekend - friendly, chatty, interesting... no danger at all...

lucky420 · Post by **lucky420** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 9:25 am

do NOT give them any reason to stop you in the first place. Make sure all tail lights, brake lights, signals, etc are working. Make sure your load is safe and secure and obey the speed limit. Had a friend stopped between Shurz and Hawthorne (on their way back from Vegas) because of a tail light. Cops found a small amount of weed on him (small bowl) and he ended up with a $700 ticket.

shiznicks1 · Post by **shiznicks1** » Tue Aug 10, 2010 10:52 am

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I think im going to take this route afterall. At least for the ride up. I think it will be nice to avoid all the hills of the 395. And im just a cruiser so not too worried about getting pulled over. Cant wait to see you all out there and thank you Dr. Pyro for the wonderful information on what to avoid, especially online with my credit card handy

Ever take the 95 from the south?

Ever take the 95 from the south?

Re: Ever take the 95 from the south?