Hot August Nights 2026

Hot August Nights, Reno and Sparks, Nevada, August, 2026

1,042-mile Road Trip in a 2021 Tesla Model Y -
Long-Range, Dual Motor, Full Self Driving (Supervised)
using Tesla Superchargers and Sparks Nugget Resort charging.

Orange County, CA, to Reno, NV, Round Trip via Hwy. 395.
Wednesday, August 5, through Saturday, August 7, 2026

Report and Photos by: Carl Morrison, Carl@TeslaTouring.com

TeslaTouring.com/carl/HotAugustNights2026

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Left, Yours Truly at home with Travel Scoot. Center left, East Sierra Nevada along Hwy 395 near Lee Vining.
Center right, 2026 Hot August Nights 40th Anniversary logo. Right, Downtown Reno Thursday night Cruise.

Table of Contents

(Click any item in the Table below to read a certain section, or proceed down the page to read all sections.)

I. Planning the 1,042-mile Tesla round trip Orange County, CA, Reno, NV
II. Supercharging and scenery along Hwy. 395 Southern California to Sparks, Nevada.
III. Hot August Nights classic car show Swap Meet, cruises, show-and-shines, and auction.
IV. Return trip from Reno to Orange County, CA.
V. Statistics on using Tesla Superchargers for the 1,042 mile drive along Hwy. 395 round trip Orange County, California, to Reno, Nevada.

I. Planning the 1,042-mile Tesla round trip Orange County, CA, Reno, NV

I always use A Better Route Planner to plan all my Tesla trips. ABRP asks the type of EV (2021 Tesla Model Y, long range), and other things that affect mileage such as, trailer? roof rack? luggage weight? extra passengers weight? and it considers mountains, and other essentials along the way. Since I last used ABRP, I see it is now owned by Rivian and no longer lists the price of supercharging at each stop. I also tell ABRP that I want to use only Tesla-managed Superchargers since some Superchargers on hotel or other private property have their rates set by the property manager. You can check rates of charging on the Tesla app or screen when planning.

Above is the arriving information on the left (disregard the time of day - it should ask time of departure, but it calculates based on when you are doing the planning) On the right is the full trip from home in Placentia, California to The Nugget hotel in Sparks, Nevada.

Take a look at just the Bridgeport, CA information: 12 Tesla chargers at the highest current wattage; the arrival state of charge (20% which I've programmed as the lowest I want it to be when arriving at a supercharger) departure state of charge and minutes it will take to do the charging to get you to the next Supercharger and the symbols in the lower right corner as to pet area, and food availability. This information can more conveniently be used in a table which I print and make adjustments to as we go along.

A Better Route Planner's table of the 486 mile trip from Placentia, CA to Sparks, NV using Hwy 395.

I selected only Tesla owned Superchargers. (Some places have Tesla Superchargers on their property and charge more than if Tesla operated them)
Many people ask "How long does it take to charge?" Well the average is predicted to be 20 minutes, 3 times in 486 miles. As you well see we stopped more often for chargers near where we like to have lunch, so we may have charged longer there since it included lunch. However, watch the progress of the charging on your app since Tesla wants you to vacate the charger as quickly as possible so others can charge. If it is a busy supercharger, you might be charged 50 cents per minute "idle fees" if you do not move out when charged to 80%.

After hooking up at a Tesla Supercharger, I put in my next destination in the GPS as the next Tesla Supercharger. This tells me 1. How many minutes of charge I need to get there with 20% in reserve; 2. It notifies me in the app when it has reached enough charge to proceed. 3. Near the next Supercharger, it begins preparing the batter for the quickest charge. 4. It proceeds to take me to that destination without actually my driving since I have Full Self Driving (Supervised) and 5. It asks if upon arrival it is to back into a vacant supercharger.

Our 2 "EVs" for the trip and the fuel source on the roof of the garage and house for our 2 Teslas and home charging needs.
The small EV in front is my TravelScoot 35 lb. assistance scooter which I can get in the Model Y's trunk without folding. I use the scooter at the swap meet, resort show and shines, and at the auction. I use it also at the cruises as comfortable seat as well as conveyance to and from our parking spot.

II. Supercharging and scenery along Hwy. 395 Orange County, California to Sparks, Nevada.

For hands-free driving with Full Self-Driving (Supervised), Just set your choices:

1. % over the posted speed limit and
2. Speed Profile of "Sloth", "Chill", "Standard", "Hurry", and some models "Mad Max"
3. At Destination: Park, Pull Over, or Back into Charger.
and enjoy the self-driving to the next Tesla Supercharger.

At Hesperia, San Bernardino County, CA, we start Hwy. 395 off I-15. This section is getting populated, and the state highway has installed double-double yellow lines, which evidently was not enough to keep jack rabbits from still passing and causing accidents, so they have also installed hundreds of these posts to further discourage passing, except for passing lanes, until Hwy 58 (Barstow to Bakersfield) crosses 395.

Hwy. 395 near Johannesburg "Living Ghost Town", California. 395 is mostly 2 lane with light traffic.

Hwy 395 nearing Ridgecrest. There are passing lanes over most ridges.

For those who think California is wall-to-wall people, there is probably more acreage like this than in cities and suburbs. As co-pilot Fred says, "If there was water here, it would be wall-to-wall people too."

Inyokern Tesla Supercharger, California. About 150 miles from home as our first charging stop. $17.38 charging cost to get to our next Tesla Supercharger destination, Lone Pine, about 130 miles with 36% charge left.

Beginning to see non-Teslas at the superchargers. They either pay $12 a month to get Tesla charging rates or about 50% higher rate per charge.

This blue Model Y's driver shared about his bike rack. If I was interested, I should add a 2-inch hitch and a "1 Up" bike rack.
He did not like this bike rack which is not a "1 Up" model.

This 22-minute charge gave us time for a restroom visit at Classic Burger on the same property (you can see the chargers behind in the photo above).
When a Tesla Supercharger is near a gas station, I like to record the current gas price, in this case $5.69 to $6.09.
This same property has Rivian chargers (center above), but I do not know how their rates compare to Tesla rates.

Evidence of ancient volcanic action north of Inyokern (Town name is a combination of Inyo and Kern Counties)

After Hwy. 14, from LA, joins with Hwy. 395, it becomes 4-lane. White on the right is dry Owens Lake bed as we travel north to Lone Pine.

Left, former water tower on now dry Owens Lake serves only as a billboard.
Right, for those who fear that there are not enough Tesla Superchargers, you can ask the computer to show nearby chargers and you see there are 5 from 19 to 75 miles away. We were headed for Lone Pine and you can see the current statistics for that location.

Approaching Lone Pine Tesla Supercharger, left above, within 2 miles the GPS says it is preconditioning the battery for quicker charging since you have the destination set as the Lone Pine Tesla Supercharger.
Right, When you plug in at the charger, the screen tells you the current % state of charge (or miles if you prefer) and reminds you of the $ amount of your last charge.

Near the supercharger, if you are using Full Self Driving (Supervised), it will ask if you want to back into an available supercharger and if yes, it will do it automatically. The original owner of this Supercharger, Western Movie Museum in Lone Pine, said he thought he had the supercharger with the best view! Hard to argue with that with Mt. McKinley somewhere up there in the Sierra Nevada and the Alabama Hills beyond the trees.
Because we wanted to walk to McDonalds near here, we arrived with 36% charge and spent $18.09 charging.

Left, Tesla Superchargers are behind the Museum of Western Film History
Center, " Lone Pine Tesla Supercharger Lounge" for local crows in 90+ degrees
Right, Very small sign directing drivers where the Tesla Superchargers are located.

Because we needed a restroom stop, we charged at the 151 S. Warren Street Bishop Tesla Superchargers.
Directly across the street from the Bishop, CA, Tesla Supercharger is this mural depicting birch grove at elevation above Bishop.

The Bishop Tesla Supercharger on Warren Street is unremarkable except it has trash cans.
We juiced from 58% to 84% for $8.09 and used the restrooms at Crearee store across the street. Next stop Bridgeport chargers 90 miles.

View heading north after Bishop. We were actually heading west in this photo and dropped into a valley then the highway takes a right up out of the valley north to a summit in the Sierra Nevada.

The Bridgeport Tesla Supercharger is new since August last year. It is beside the Shell station on the north side of town.
I wanted to stop here to see what amenities it had - none, so it is off our future trips through here.
You had to purchase something other than charging to use the restroom.

EVGo has new 350 kw chargers at the same site, with waste baskets and windshield washing materials as well as the highest gas prices we saw on our 1,000+ mile trip.

No restrooms nor fast lunch within walking distance of the Bridgeport Tesla Superchargers so it is off our future trip plans as a stop.

At Carson City, NV, Hwy 395 crosses transcontinental pre-Interstate Hwy 50. I was born on a farm next to Hwy 50 near Hayden, Indiana, and in 2004 I drove the highway Coast-To-Coast in a red 1956 Chevy Del-Rey with car-buddy Paul Clifford in his red 1957 Bel Air convertible.

Our destination for Hot August Nights was the Nugget Hotel (background) in Sparks, Nevada. This is a panorama photo on my iPhone. A more level version later in this report was made by stepping farther back and cropping.

View from our 11th floor room of I-80 below and, within walking distance, across I-80 the Sparks nightly Cruise past the blue umbrellas next to the amphitheater. You can walk UNDER I-80 to get to the cruise area. Some of the Nugget casino is actually under I-80.

Our odd-numbered room on 11th floor was $99 each for Wed. and Thursday nights and $179 Friday night!
PLUS $139.29 for non-negotiable resort fees! They have 4 Tesla destination (slow) chargers at $.25 kWh where local Superchargers are $.55 kWh.

View from The Nugget's 11th floor southward. Tall building in center is Grande Sierra Resort (GSR) which has some pre-1979 classic show cars on display. On the left are the Alantis and Peppermill casino resorts which also have classic show cars on display in their parking lots. Out of the photo on the left is the Reno Convention Center where the classic auto auction takes place.

The Nugget in Sparks has 4 Tesla domestic chargers and 2 CCS chargers. Wednesday after arrival we walk to In-N-Out then watch the cruise open to unregistered locals.

III. Hot August Nights classic car Swap Meet, cruises, show-and-shines, and auction.

Sparks Hot August Nights cruise for registered and local unregistered cars. This 40s Packard is registered and has been in HAN for several years, from Oregon.

Random show cars that passed us on the Wednesday night cruise in Sparks.

View of our hotel from the Sparks cruise at sunset.

Thursday we visited the Auto Swap Meet advertised as being at the J Resort, but actually the entrance is at Washington and Fourth St. in downtown Reno.

Sara Zigs, licenesed artist for Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's rat fink art, is at the swap meet each year.
Fred and Tom check out some parts behind a still-life assembly of Ford parts.
Grills are a premium as well as headlights and license plates since most crashes wipe out all three.

I could have had this hat for $12, but I feared only I could have gotten in the elevator with it!

Automotive Brightwork (radiator caps, side trim, grilles, etc.) and Script (left) will be in my photo selection of the same name.
My contribution if you have a man hole cover photo album!

4-wheel set takes some storage space. $850 seems like a good price for an electric motorcycle.

Right, Orthodontist needed.

MAG Classic Auto Auction
at the Reno Convention Center (inside out of the heat!) near the Atlantis Hotel.

I like to listen to the auctioneer's banter for a while. If it were not on the screens, I would not have known they were about to sell a 1979 Model A kit car for $12,500.

Another car across the block. Qualified bidders have up-front seats on the convention floor. Bleachers are provided behind for interested bystanders.

We actually spend more time looking at cars in the adjacent room ready to be auctioned where potential buyers can get a close look before they go on the block.
This fine pink 1959 Cadillac Coupe Deville was right at the entrance to the staged vehicles to be auctioned.

This might be another entry into my Automotive Brightwork and Script album.

Left 1940s Packard radiator cap found on many other restored cars.
Less flambouant is this 1947 Austin of England Model A-40 Dorset's AE hood ornament.

Remember: Click on any photo with a gold border for a larger full-sIzed image.

Chief Pontiac and a Bentley.
Right is the "Leaping Gazelle", a high-end factory accessory for 1931-33 Chrysler models including the Imperial series.

Champion Chevrolet of Reno always has several models of new Chevrolets at the entrance and this lady has been there for years handing out Champion Hot August Nights caps. The battery electric Equinox was most interesting to me.

Tom and Fred beside this 40s Taxi with farebox inside and paint and chrome brightwork.

Customized Mercury with shadow flames and right, uncostomized, less expensive, cream colored Ford from the same company and era.

Since I scoot round at Hot August Nights my sight line is about 2 feet lower than usual so this is what I see.
How would you like to have the job of cleaning 4 or 5 spoke hubcaps on a Thunderbird like this? 1918 Ford wood spoke wheels.

This Ford's bumpers were interesting and some will know the sexual implications of the back bumpers.

Flame jobs are not as popular as in the past. Right, Corvair convertible which reminded me of Paul Clifford (RIP) who drove a Corvair from Mass. to Calif. originally. Later he looked to buy a convertible like this.

Some specialty vehicles can be seen on the periffials.

You have time in this staging area to do an in-depth study of a favorite vehicle, plus more photos for your Automotive Brightwork and Script album.

Sometimes chrome looks better in black and white.

Between the staging and auction areas were some replicas of giant Las Vegas neon signs, on the sides above, and automotive logos in neon.

Downtown Reno Thursday Night Cruise of registered cars.

For the Reno cruice down Virginia Street, we like to set up above the cool waters on the Truckee River Bridge.

Classic Buick, '57 Chevy Convertible, and right, Fred and I looked at each other and said, "Why?"

1955 or 56 Ford Crown Victoria; 1955 original grey and pink Chevy; 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible.

At dusk, I like to walk down to the RENO sign and get a photo of the cruisers from both sides of the sign

1955 Chevy Bel Air hardtop; Our view of the Truckee River Bridge after sunset; Truckee River and return route of the cruise on the next bridge.

Friday we charged at the Atlantis Hotel Tesla Superchargers. A non-Tesla charger was available with a different plug. Evidently, if you stay at the Atlantis, charging here is free. The Convention Center and Atlantis lot for show cars are both just across the street.

Because there is an idle fee if you charge at the Atlantis Tesla Superchargers more than 80%, we used the excellent restrooms and these comfortable chairs while charging and called it the "Atlantis Tesla Supercharger Lounge", compared to the Lone Pine picnic table with crows in the shade!

'57 chevy with flames; 1940s era Packard hood ornament; Ford station wagon with camper with boat that we've seen for years in Reno.

Ford radiator cap; 1950s era Mercury, and another "Why?'

Later model Pontiac with lighted Chief Pontiac; Note the license plate (Actually a Malibu hard top convertible); Earlier Chief Pontiac.

Cars at the Grand Sierra Resort (GSR)'s outdoor show and shine.
They are undergoing a multi-year remodel including RenoArena.

Automotive Script - not Biscayne, but MsCayne, perhaps a lady's car; Interior of same.

1955 was a good year for Automotive Brightwork

A couple of high end 50s Chevy products.

What religion were the Dodge Brothers; VWs with maxed out accessories; German model VW.

A bright spot at the GRS show and shine was this Sanpellegrino CIAO! free sample booth manned by Rachael and Macie. Rachael, right, had designed the booth with KSE marketing.
They had cherry, blood orange, and peach to choose from and I found them for sale at Target Stores back home.

Since the Nugget chargers were being used our last night in Sparks, I went to a new, local Tesla Supercharger in Sparks. While there I spoke with this Rivian owner who was using the Tesla Superchargers. He also owned 2 Teslas, but wanted a vehicle with high clearance for off-roading. He was happy with this model Rivian.
Tesla Superchargers in Reno are more expensive per kWh than on Hwy. 395 thus costing us 17 cents per mile for the 2 days driving around Reno and Sparks compared to 14 cents per mile on the road.

We walked down to Victoria Square for our last night of watching the Sparks cruise.
The Left car above is a General Motors assembly with corvette grille and side molding and Oldsmobile tail lights. Fred says the original body is a Chevy with chopped top.
Right, is a 1966 Oldsmobile Toranado, front wheel drive like our older college president, Dr. Esch, had back in Indianapolis at Indiana Central College.

The third night to see this Packard, this evening driven by a male.

You know you are either tired of photographing cars or of inhaling carbon monoxide from unsmogged cars when you are more interested in the clouds than the cars.

Between the Sparks Cruise and our hotel I listened to a couple of tunes by the Beatles tribute band, "Paperback Writer". During Hot August Nights, several of the hosting casino/hotels have outdoor stages with free entertainment. In these days mostly tribute bands, but still familiar tunes!
A nice Sparks Mural adorns the side of I-80 with The Nugget hotel beyond.

IV.Return home from Hot August Nights.

Preparing for the trip home, when I put in our first charging stop, the computer informed us that the Gardnerville Tesla Supercharger was not in service! We adjusted to stop earlier at the new Minden Tesla Supercharger.

This Minden Tesla Supercharger, 47 miles from our Sparks hotel, was less than a year old and had some new features compared to older Superchargers. Left, two drive-through chargers for Teslas towing a trailer and non-Tesla users whose charging setup requires them to take up two traditional charging slots.

Left, New at the Minden Tesla Supercharger is an accessible spot which can be used if all others are in use. Right, Dairy Queen and Wendy's for future lunch stop.

Also a few steps from the Tesla Supercharger in Minden is this Dutch Bros coffee drive through with smiling attendant at the walk-up window.

Beautiful scenery between Bridgeport and Mono Lake, while Fred was driving.

Only remaining snow near Conway Summit above Mono Lake.

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Meadow below Sierra Nevada Williams Butte, 8,428 feet with some snow north of June Lake.

Ponderosa Pines and just leaving, car friend Bufford, at Crest View Rest Area near Mammoth Lakes.

Another stop at Inyokern Tesla Superchargers and a final stop at the Hesperia Tesla Supercharger.

Statistics on using Tesla Superchargers for the 1,042 mile drive along Hwy. 395
round trip Orange County, California, to Reno, Nevada.

Statistics for the 495 mile "Tesla Model Y Long-Distance" drive to Hot August Nights, Nugget hotel, Sparks, NV.

Statistics for the 495 mile "Tesla Model Y Long-Distance" drive home from Sparks, NV, to Placentia, CA.

It has been my experience that Teslas get about 70% to 80% of the predicted miles on trips.

Back home and looking forward to "free" charging from our 56 solar panels.

While on this trip, at one point an alert came on the screen saying I should have the alignment checked. I compared alignment prices online with Tesla and Firestone where I purchase tires for our 3 vehicles. Firestone was $100 less expensive so I had Firestone do the alignment and purchased a lifetime alignment package for the price of Tesla alignment. The Firestone manager did not know Tesla had that alignment alert feature.

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LINKS

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Over 100 Tesla Travel Reports & Other EV Travel News
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