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Broken but Together artwork on the J Resort Reno Neon Line.

About the J Resort Neon Line

Located on the west end of downtown Reno, just steps from the J Resort, is an urban trail called the Neon Line featuring a vast and growing collection of art sculptures, once featured at the famed Burning Man festival, dotted along the path.

The Neon Line, which came about with the recent transformation of the Sands Regency into J Resort, is one aspect of a multi-phase revitalization project of West 4th Street and the surrounding area.

The best part is it’s completely free to take part in and you don’t need to be a guest of the J Resort Reno Hotel. The art sculptures are located along public sidewalks, making them accessible to everyone, day and night.

There’s no official beginning and end, and accessing the Neon Line from the downtown area is easy, as the sculptures begin just steps away from other popular attractions like The Row and the famous Reno Arch.

Neon Line at Night vs. Day

An old neon sign for the Donner Inn along the Neon Line in Reno.

The J Resort Neon Line can be experienced at both night and during the day. Both have their positives and drawbacks, but they also offer their own unique perspectives that can’t be experienced during both.

Clearly, nighttime would be the preferential time to walk it, as that’s when all the sculptures are lit up. Additionally, some of the sculptures feature special effects and music, giving onlookers the full experience.

Conversely, there are some sculptures that have an immense amount of details which are difficult to see when it’s dark. So day time would be the best time for that. Additionally, some may feel safer in this area during the day (we’ll discuss that later into the post).

No matter which time of day your choose to walk the Neon Line, you’ll still be able to see and appreciate the art sculptures. My wife and I walked it at night and during the day and I’ll display photos of the sculptures under both conditions below.

J Resort Neon Line Art Sculptures and Path

The Neon Line is easy to follow, particularly at night. All along the path is a literal blue neon light throughout the sidewalks. As long as you see the light, you’re on the Neon Line. There’s no official beginning or end, so just start walking.

If you’re driving here specifically to walk the Neon Line, I suggest parking in the small lot at the J Resort on the Ralston Street side and crossing the street from there. If you’re coming from the area of The Row or the Reno Arch, simply start walking up West 4th Street.

The Roaring Horse art sculpture in downtown Reno.

My wife and I found out about the Neon Line during our stay at J Resort Reno (check out my honest review here), and we accessed it from Ralston Street. If you do the same, the first art sculpture you’ll walk up on is The Rearing Horse.

It was featured at Burning Man 2018 and is nearly entirely made up of repurposed machinery parts found in junk piles. Also, it’s one of the only sculptures that are interactive, as you can make its legs, mane, tail, neck, and ears move via the various cranks.

The Rearing Horse art sculpture in downtown Reno.

The Polar Bear art sculpture on the J Resort Neon Line.

From the Rearing Horse, make your way north up West 4th Street towards the Gold West Casino. Here, you’ll walk adjacent to J Resort’s Glow Plaza, and check out the numerous neon signs and a huge Polar Bear sculpture towering above you.

Just past this block, you’ll pass Chapel of the Bells on your left, which is one of the oldest chapels in Reno. Just past that will be the next sculpture, Bee Dance. We only saw this one at night and I couldn’t see it’s description, but when you see it, it’s pretty self-explanatory.

The Bee Dance art sculpture along the Neon Line in downtown Reno.

Head a bit further up West Fourth Street until you reach the intersection with Vine Street. For reference, you’ll see the Gold and Silver Inn restaurant on your left. Past here, there are two more art installations across Vine Street, which essentially resemble fancy light posts.

If you decide to skip these, simply cross the street to other side of West Fourth (towards Gold Dust West casino). The first piece you’ll come upon here is the Lincoln Bear. This piece pays tribute to the President Lincoln memorial, and its “fur” is made up of 127,000 pennies, collectively weighting 5,200 pounds.

The Lincoln Bear art piece on the J Resort Neon Line in Reno.

From here, continue down West Fourth Street going back towards J Resort. Between Lincoln Bear and the J Resort, you’ll come upon several more art pieces, including Desert Guard, Neptune’s Luminous Dance, Odyssey, and Jibaro Soy.

The Desert Guard piece stands out from the pack. It was inspired by the armor of the ruthless Mongolian ruler, Genghis Khan, and towers over onlookers at nearly fifty feet and weighs over ten tons. It’s truly a sight to behold up close. I liked daytime, better, as I was able to see more of the detail in the armor.

Desert Guard art piece from Burning Man.

Neptune's Luminous Dance art piece from Burning Man.

Beyond the West Fourth Street and Ralston Street intersection is the Jibaro Soy piece. This piece was right up there with Lincoln Bear as one of our favorites. “Jibaro” is a Puerto Rican word describing the humble working class throughout the island.

The piece is meant to be a symbolic image of a shameless Jibaro, representing the demand of respect and dignity of preserving the culture. The details within the sculpture are amazing, as you can see the resemblance of a Puerto Rican barrio (neighborhood). The song in which it was inspired by, “Esta mi barrio y yo soy del”, translates to, “This is my neighborhood, and I’m from…”.

The Jibaro Soy art piece from Burning Man.

Past Jibaro Soy, there are three more art pieces and you’ll need to cross the street once again to see them. The first crosswalk is near Jibaro Soy, but there are no lights and people tend to fly through here. For safety, your best bet is to walk a bit down the road to the second crosswalk with stoplights.

The exterior of J Resort Reno near downtown.

From here, you’ll find yourself on the other side of J Resort, closest to the Silver Legacy and El Dorado Hotels. Over here, the final three pieces on the neon line (for now) include Squared (pictured above), Tara Mechani, and Bloom (pictured below).

These are their order if viewed coming from the direction listed above. If you’ll be starting the Neon Line from downtown, simply reverse the order.

Tara Mechani, another favorite of ours, was inspired by the ancient female Buddha, Tara. It’s made with 80% recycled, non-traditional materials like bike chains, hinges, machine parts, keyholes, and hardware. It’s the most beautiful of the collection.

The Tara Mechani art piece from Burning Man.

It’ll be interesting to see if J Resort will add any additional Burning Man art to the Neon Line. The most recent additions include Jibaro Soy, Lincoln Bear, and Odyssey pieces, which were all from the 2023 event. Neptune’s Luminous Dance was commissioned in 2024, but wasn’t featured at Burning Man.

There appears to be two addition plots just past the Bloom piece that could hold more sculptures, in addition to several more spots along West Fourth Street. Burning Man 2024 just concluded last August, so it’s possible that another sculpture could be on the way.

Is the Neon Line Safe?

It’s no secret that downtown Reno has long struggled with image issues. The downtown and West Fourth Street areas, like many cities, have historically seen rapid homelessness and drug use. I won’t lie to you, those issues are still ever present but I’ve personally never had a problem.

As a local, I have explored downtown Reno on foot, during day and night, lugging around an expensive camera many times and I’ve never had an issue. No one’s ever bothered or threatened me in any way. This is also true for cities like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Inglewood.

That’s not to say you’re 100% safe. Anything could happen to anyone at any time or place. From downtown Reno to Mayberry, there’s always a risk. Keep your wits about you, keep your head on a swivel, and don’t flaunt expensive looking jewelry or tech.

Many times, simply making eye contact with folks and giving a friendly “hello” is all it takes to ward off a potential unwanted interaction. It lets people know you’re paying attention and you’re not going to be an easy target. Just be street-smart and you’ll be fine.

Neon Line Recap

The Rearing Horse art piece from Burning Man.

To recap, here are the names of the art sculptures you’ll see if starting across the street from J Resort Reno on the Ralston Street side and circling back: