The picturesque town of Yerington sits on the banks of the Walker River in the fertile Mason Valley. The town’s humble roots as a small trading post and whiskey store in the early 1870s inspired its original name, Pizen Switch, which referred to a local liquor that tasted like poison. As the community became more established, the town’s citizens agreed on the more respectable name of Greenfield. The switch to Yerington was motivated by economics, as the townspeople hoped to flatter a certain Henry Marvin Yerington, a railway superintendent, into including the town on a railroad route. The flattery failed, but the name stuck.

Today, the small-town atmosphere of Yerington is a big part of its appeal. Visitors will find a host of interesting and historic offerings in the amiable town, including the Lyon County Museum, which is home to a range of frontier relics like shooting irons, dolls and even standing structures like the 19th century grocery store, and Fort Churchill State Historical Park, the first and largest military post in Nevada, just a short drive from the town limits. Yerington’s weeks-long softball tournaments are attended by teams across the entire West Coast, and many people look forward to the town’s numerous and festive annual events, such as the August Powwow. The town is also centrally located to great fishing, hiking, camping and sightseeing.