Nevada’s bed and breakfast inns offer cozy lodging

The 21 current members of Nevada's Bed and Breakfast Guild offer wide-ranging experiences all over the state. Those located in larger cities are handy to well-known visitor attractions. Some situated in smaller towns play upon laid-back local lifestyles. Others located in remote parts of the Silver State offer wild landscapes and adventurous activities.

Bed and breakfast inns appeal to visitors seeking relief from impersonal hotels and cookie cutter-styled motels. Most of these small establishments specialize in individualized service. Often housed in historic buildings, the inns strive for antique style with modern comforts. Many visitors frequent bed and breakfasts to meet like-minded travelers.

The cost of a night's lodging usually includes a gourmet morning repast and sometimes snacks with tea or wine in the afternoon as well. Some B&Bs offer other meals for an extra charge, particularly those in remote locations.

Room rates at these little hostelries vary widely. Rooms start on a par with rates at ordinary motels, but seldom reach the bloated rates charged by many hotels. Rates don't change much seasonally, but expect higher rates on weekends and holidays or during special events. Lowest rates will be mid-week. You will need reservations, sometimes well in advance.

For a complete list of members of the Nevada Bed and Breakfast Guild, explore the organization's Web site at www.NevadaBandB.com. Most of the listings include Internet sites for the inns with descriptions of accommodations and rates. You can make reservations online or by telephone. Keep in mind that Nevada has a number of quirky places to stay that are not members of the guild, such as rustic cabins in Kyle Canyon, Pioche and Gold Point, and scattered ranches that take guests, particularly hunting or fishing parties.

More than half of the listed bed and breakfasts in Nevada are located in the Carson Valley within easy reach of Carson City, Reno and Lake Tahoe and scores of motels, hotels and resorts. They succeed because of their appeal and special characteristics. One of these, Edith Palmer's Country Inn in Virginia City, enjoys a coveted listing as one of the country's 100 best bed and breakfast inns. It offers eight or 10 rooms in the original 1863 house and adjacent Comstock era houses.

Virginia City also boasts other bed and breakfast accommodations. The beautiful Cobb Mansion, a three-story, 1876 home, has six guests rooms. The "B" Street B and B offers three rooms in a restored vintage house. Just outside of town, the Seven Mile Canyon Ranch offers a bunkhouse, lodges and teepees.

Carson City offers the Bliss Bungalow Inn, a 1914 beauty with five rooms near downtown, and the rural Deer Run Ranch Bed and Breakfast. Nearby Gardnerville boasts Cottonwood Creek Farm, a horse farm with three guest rooms in its handsome rock ranch house, and K High Five Ranch B and B. Historic Genoa contains the Wild Rose Inn with five rooms in a new Queen Anne-style building and the Genoa House, an 1872 Victorian with three guest rooms. In Reno, unusual quarters welcome visitors to Wildflower Village, an art center downtown.

Explore Nevada's hinterland when you stay on remote ranches. North of Gerlach, Soldier Meadows Ranch and Lodge on the site of an 1865 cavalry post takes guests who may help on the 500,000-acre cattle spread. In Elko County, stay at the 71 Ranch, a working ranch near Deeth since 1877.

Several ghost towns feature guest facilities. In Paradise Valley north of Winnemucca, stay at the three-story Stonehouse Country Inn. In the remains of Unionville, the Old Pioneer Garden Country Inn welcomes guests. In Belmont, stay at the venerable Belmont Inn with its main building dating from 1865. Nearby Round Mountain offers comfort in the Hideaway Guest House.

In historic Austin, the Union Street Lodging House offers four rooms. Panaca's Pine Tree Inn boasts five rooms, a bakery and adventure outings. In Ely, the Steptoe Valley Inn near the old train depot contains five rooms in a remodeled 1907 grocery store. In Boulder City's appealing downtown, Milo's Inn at Boulder contains four rooms above a popular restaurant and wine bar.

Margo Bartlett Pesek's column appears on Sundays.