Editorial Standards | It’s Reno

Methodology version 1.0 · Last updated: November 2, 2026

Our standard is simple: a reader should be able to plan an outing from our guide without opening five other tabs. Here is how we try to earn that.

How We Research

We check logistics against primary sources: the cities of Reno, Sparks, Carson City and Truckee, the Town of Minden, Washoe, Douglas, Storey, Nevada and Placer Counties, Nevada State Parks, California State Parks, the National Park Service, the US Forest Service and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency for lake rules, the ski resorts’ own websites, the Nevada State Museum and other museums for history, the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority and local chambers for their own events, and the venue and organizer websites.
Event dates, prices, hours, fees and pet policies are confirmed at the organizer’s own page at the time of writing and dated on the page.
Tourism-board pages, news roundups and review sites are leads, not sources. A fact that appears only there is not published.
Drive times are estimates for normal traffic from the named starting point. Interstate 80 over Donner Summit, Mount Rose Highway, Highway 395, ski-season weekends, big events, chain controls and road work can add a lot, and mountain passes can close in winter storms.
For data-driven pieces, we name the data source and the year it covers.
If an organizer does not publish a figure, such as a price or a pet rule, we say it is not published. We do not estimate it or fill it in from third-party sources.

Our research and writing workflow uses modern digital tools, including AI-assisted tools, to gather, organize, and draft information. The practical details that matter (dates, prices, hours, distances, and policies) are then checked against the sources above before a guide goes live.

Time Zone

Reno, Carson City and the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe are on Pacific time, as is Truckee, and all observe daylight saving time. We write every time as the organizer states it.

History Pages

History pages, including the Donner Party and the Comstock Lode, are written from official, museum, archive and scholarly sources, with numbers shown as ranges where those sources differ. We keep the tone respectful and we do not use sensational retellings.

Tribal Events

We list only events a tribal government or its enterprises publish as open to the public. Ceremonies are not listed.

Winter and Mountain Safety

Snow, ice, avalanche terrain, lake water and altitude are real hazards. We point readers to the official resort, agency or road-conditions page for current status and we never suggest entering closed areas.

Photos

We use licensed stock and public domain or openly licensed images, credited in the image caption or file details where the license asks for it.

Updates and Corrections

Every guide shows a “last updated” date.
When we fix a factual error, we update the page, add a dated correction note where a published figure changed, and list the fix on our Corrections page.
Every recheck of published prices, fees and dates is recorded, with its date and source, in our Verification Log.
Found something wrong? Tell us. Corrections are our top priority.

Independence

We don’t accept payment for coverage, and advertisers and affiliate partners don’t review or approve our content. We do not currently use affiliate links; see our Affiliate Disclosure.

Bylines

Guides are published under the byline of the It’s Reno editorial team.

Changelog

1.0, November 2, 2026: first published.

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