Origin
Sun Valley, NV
Evening in Sun Valley on Saturday
Local time
7:51 PM
PDT
Current temp
39°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Sun Valley, NV to Reno, NV
Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 19, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
12m
Distance
6.5 mi
10 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$1
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 12m
★
6 AM
0h 13m
8 AM
0h 15m
10 AM
0h 14m
12 PM
0h 13m
3 PM
0h 14m
5 PM
0h 15m
8 PM
0h 12m
★
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Sun Valley, NV
Erica On The Go
Reno, NV
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
This short, 6.5-mile drive from Sun Valley, NV to Reno, NV will take you about 12 minutes to complete. Since it's such a quick trip, it's perfect for a single day, requiring no overnight stays. You'll primarily travel on Sun Valley Boulevard and Martin Luther King Junior Memorial Highway. With a minimal fuel cost estimated at just $1, this route is incredibly budget-friendly. The journey is characterized by frequent turns, making it more of a local navigation experience than an open highway cruise. Both your origin and destination are within the Mountain West region of Nevada.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Sun Valley Boulevard | 1.5 mi | 3m |
| Martin Luther King Junior Memorial Highway | 1 mi | 1m |
| Clear Acre Lane | 1 mi | 2m |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway | 0.9 mi | 1m |
| North Virginia Street | 0.4 mi | 1m |
| East 5th Avenue | 0.3 mi | <1m |
| Leon Drive | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| East 8th Street | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Sun Valley Boulevard
— 1.5 mi, about 3m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Sun Valley, NV and Reno, NV.
1
Start on East 6th Avenue
59 ft
·
4 sec
·
East 6th Avenue
2
Turn right onto Leon Drive
0.2 mi
·
38 sec
·
Leon Drive
3
Turn right onto East 5th Avenue
0.3 mi
·
44 sec
·
East 5th Avenue
4
Turn left onto NV 443
1.5 mi
·
3 min
·
Sun Valley Boulevard
5
Continue on NV 443
1.0 mi
·
2 min
·
Clear Acre Lane
6
Turn left
313 ft
·
9 sec
Use the left lane.
7
Keep slight left at fork
0.2 mi
·
14 sec
Toward US 395 South: Reno, Carson City
8
Merge onto US 395
1.0 mi
·
1 min
·
Martin Luther King Junior Memorial Highway
9
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
10 sec
Exit 68
Toward I 80: Sparks, Elko, Reno, Sacramento
10
Keep slight right at fork
0.3 mi
·
23 sec
Toward I 80: Reno, Sacramento
11
Merge onto I 80
0.9 mi
·
1 min
·
Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway
12
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
45 sec
Exit 13
Toward US 395 BUS: Downtown Reno
13
Continue on East 8th Street
400 ft
·
18 sec
·
East 8th Street
14
Turn left onto US 395 BUS
0.4 mi
·
1 min
·
North Virginia Street
15
Turn left onto East 4th Street
202 ft
·
8 sec
·
East 4th Street
16
Turn right
171 ft
·
11 sec
17
Turn right
105 ft
·
7 sec
18
Arrive at destination
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 145 decision points cluster between mile 0 and 4.5 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
5
0 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
Leon Drive
Turn right onto Leon Drive
Navigation decision point
5
3.1 mi into trip
|
~6m in
Turn left
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
7
3.1 mi into trip
|
~6m in
Keep slight left at fork toward US 395 South: Reno, Carson City
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Toward US 395 South: Reno, Carson City
6
4.3 mi into trip
|
~8m in
Take the exit toward I 80: Sparks, Elko, Reno, Sacramento
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Exit 68
Toward I 80: Sparks, Elko, Reno, Sacramento
6
4.5 mi into trip
|
~8m in
Keep slight right at fork toward I 80: Reno, Sacramento
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Toward I 80: Reno, Sacramento
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$1.29 one way
$2.59 round trip
$5.06/gal
25.4 MPG avg
2 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $5.36 | $1.37 | $2.74 |
| premium | $5.59 | $1.43 | $2.86 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $1.44 | $2.87 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$1
Estimated CO2 emission: 2.3 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 50% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 2 | 0 | $0.68 | $0.31 |
| Efficient EV | 1.6 | 0 | $0.57 | $0.26 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 2.6 | 0 | $0.91 | $0.42 |
Gas CO2
2 kg
EV CO2
1 kg (50% less)
This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.
DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.
Travel Intel
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Destination
Reno, NV
Evening in Reno on Saturday
Local time
7:51 PM
PDT
Current temp
56°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Time zone
Same local time
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
17 degrees warmer at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
12m on the road
Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
Expect a turn-heavy local drive on this route, with no highway stretches to speak of. The longest uninterrupted segment you'll encounter is 1.5 miles on Sun Valley Boulevard. You'll be navigating local roads for the entirety of the 6.5-mile trip, with a 0% highway share. This means you'll be making frequent adjustments and paying close attention to turns rather than settling into a steady cruising speed. The road personality is consistently local, requiring active engagement with navigation throughout the brief 12-minute duration.
Only 0% highway — the rest is turn-by-turn surface driving.
18 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 1.5 mi on Sun Valley Boulevard.
How Hard Is This Drive?
7/10
Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes early in the drive near Leon Drive.
Driving Effort
7/10
Focused - busy navigation packed into a short drive
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a short but busy drive. With 14 decision points packed into just 6.5 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 12m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: near the start (Leon Drive): Navigation decision point; at 3.1 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 3.1 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
Between Sun Valley, NV and Reno, NV, road signs point toward Carson City, Elko and Sacramento.
Carson City
3.1 mi in
|
~6m
Elko
4.3 mi in
|
~8m
Sacramento
4.3 mi in
|
~8m
About the Cities
Arriving in Reno, NV
Full guide →Reno, the "Biggest Little City in the World", is in the beautiful north-west region of the State of Nevada, right at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Reno is the second largest tourist destination in Nevada, mainly thanks to its popular downtown casinos. It also has family entertainment, festivals, museums, and cuisine.
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
This 6.5-mile drive is practically a local errand, perfect for a quick same-day round trip to explore Sun Valley and Reno.
Family Friendly
The 7/10 complexity and turn-heavy nature of this 6.5-mile drive might be a bit much for small kids, but it's short enough to manage.
Solo Traveler
With only 6.5 miles and 12 minutes of driving, this route is too short to be an engaging solo drive.
EV Driver
At just 6.5 miles, this route is easily doable on a single charge, even for an EV with a lower range.
Scenic Drive
Mostly surface roads route profile.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 1.5 miles on Sun Valley Boulevard. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
It helps. This route has a higher-than-average number of complex decision points, which get harder in the dark. If the last hour of the trip is on surface roads or mountain grades, aim to arrive at Reno, NV before sunset when you can. Check the Trip Plan for departure windows that land you in daylight.
Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.
Mostly yes along the main roads, but rural stretches through NV can have sparse or no coverage. Before you leave, download offline Google Maps or Apple Maps for the route, and consider downloading music or podcasts instead of streaming. If you depend on data for navigation, keep a paper backup of the turn-by-turn directions.
The main spots that need attention: near the start (Leon Drive): Navigation decision point; at 3.1 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 3.1 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Reno, NV before heading back.
How this page is built
Compiled by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, and EIA for fuel prices. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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