New Jersey

Including Delaware Water Gap Nat. Rec. Area, NJ's Riverfront Cities

I love New Jersey's train system!

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

N.J. Stat. 2019 §§2C:7-1 through 2C:7-23

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

10 days for initial registration; updates to address due 10 days prior to move; updates to employment and school enrollment within 5 days.  Statute only applies to residents, students, and non-resident employees. 

Visitors: Residence is apparently established by presence in the state for 10 days. §2C:7-2c.(3).

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

None.

Duration & updates:

Life. Petition to remove – 15 years, exceptions. §2C:7-2f. Updates for “compulsive or repeat” offenders quarterly; others annually, §2C:7-2

Most recent visit: New Jersey’s Riverfront Cities – April 2024

Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, West New York, Bayonne, Union City, Secaucus, Kearny, Harrison & Ironbound (Newark) - places like that

I have been a visitor to New Jersey’s Riverfront Cities for as long as I can remember, but when I was studying city planning at Rutgers-Newark naturally we paid more attention to Battleground Newark and all I knew about the Riverfront Cities was that they were old industrial towns with decaying neighborhoods.

Well if you want to see a place that has completely re-invented itself in the past 50 years, come to New Jersey’s Riverfront Cities.  But DON’T drive because that’s a nightmare.  Park at any NJ Transit train station anywhere in the suburbs and get a train to Hoboken – the train ride is part of the fun!

After leaving the NARSOL Conference in late June 2026 the next stop in my Northeast and New England road trip was my sister-in-law’s house in far northern New Jersey.  I stayed three nights and two days, and because NJ like most states counts all partial days toward your running total, that means a total of four days there.

Other than visiting, my plan was to spend one day in New Jersey’s Riverfront Cities, and the second day in Manhattan.  In both cases I wanted to go places and do things that, even though I’ve been in and out of this region my whole life, I had never gotten around to before.  On Day 1, that included getting on the train to Hoboken in Middletown NY, more than twice as far up the Metro North line as I had ever been before. It was a fabulous two hour ride (each way) even though the train ran express from the Route 17 station south.

 

Metro North train at Middletown NY            Hudson-Bergen light rail at Exchange Place

Hoboken Station became the first place on my road trip where I encountered FIFA World Cup traffic.  There was a game later that day at whatever they call Meadowlands Stadium these days.  There were a bunch of special trains to the stadium, big crowds and a seemingly endless supply of “helpful staff temps” asking how they could help.  It was hard to escape them and get to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail platform, only to find more helpful staff there.  But here’s the good news – fare payment for the entire light rail system was on the honor system all day (because they just didn’t feel like dealing with confused foreigners)! Tadahhh!

The next thing I’d never done before was take each branch of the Light Rail line all the way to the end and see what was there.  When you do that, sometimes you come to something great, and sometimes not.  On the plus side are Point Imperial in West New York and Lincoln Harbor in Weehawken.

Midtown Manhattan as seen from Lincoln Harbor

  

Lower Manhattan as seen from Exchange Place

In April 2024 while traveling (by car this time) with my now ex-wife but still Best Friend Forever, I enticed my BFF to stop at Liberty State Park in Jersey City to see its commanding view of the Statue of Liberty and go to the Liberty Science Center (very nice!).  Then I managed to get her onto the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail to see Jersey City’s fabulous new high rise downtown.  It’s an amazing place that has spectacular front row seat views of Lower Manhattan.  We got off the light rail at Exchange Place to take in that view.  My BFF was so impressed she insisted on going for a walk along the riverfront to see more, especially the 9-11 memorials.  It was a sunny morning and there was a Latin Jazzercise class going on one of Jersey City’s riverfront boardwalk plazas.  My BFF said, “I’m always glad I go with you to these places – This is great!”

 

Downtown Jersey City as seen from the waterfront.

The Katyn Memorial, a WWII Polish freedom fighter stabbed in the back by Stalin, stands front and center.

However, on that trip I was only able to scratch the surface with my BFF.  All the other Riverfront Cities are easily accessible by light rail or PATH Train.  Jersey City’s high rises serve as the downtown for the remaining cities that have preserved and built upon their historic neighborhoods and main streets.  The easiest example to see is Hoboken – all you have to do is walk out of the train terminal and you’re right there on Washington Street!  Have a great time and enjoy all that ethnic cuisine.

 

Washington Street, Hoboken

But it’s the Hudson River waterfront that’s the star of the show.  The views of Midtown and Lower Manhattan are incredible and you see them everywhere.

Two cities have taken different routes to their reinvention.  It turns out that lowly Secaucus, butt of so many jokes, was where the old Erie Main Line and Penn Central Railroads crossed.  When NJ Transit took over they put New Jersey’s busiest train transfer station there, instantly converting Secaucus into New York’s most desirable suburb with a lot of new construction.  I guarantee you and I could never afford to live there now.

The re-invention of Harrison, NJ

Then there is Harrison.  When I lived there in my college years most of the town’s land area was old decaying empty factories along the Passaic River.  There was no chance of any of those industries ever returning.  But even then I could see that unlike Newark there were a lot of new homes being built in Harrison, even on some of the empty industrial parking lots near my house.  Since then all the factories have been scraped and it looks like they are about halfway done with reinventing the entire place as upscale high density inner suburb.

Portuguese Bakery in Newark's Ironbound neighborhood. Yummmmmm!

Lastly, Ironbound, Newark’s vibrant Portuguese and Latino neighborhood.  Whenever I go to NJ’s Riverfront Cities I like to head for Ironbound (a.k.a. “Down Neck”) and have lunch at a Portuguese (or on this occasion Brazilian) restaurant, followed up by a drool-worthy stop at a Portuguese bakery. Yum! 

And remember – all this is in a state with no residency or presence restrictions, so you don’t have to keep looking over your shoulder, unless you stay more than 10 days.

Previous visit: Delaware Water Gap Nat. Rec. Area - May 2025

Van Campen's Glen 

Now let me tell you about one of America’s truly great National Recreation Areas, a place mostly overlooked because it stands in the shadow of the New York metro area.  While growing up in northern New Jersey I hiked and camped all over the Kittatinny Mountains.  Most of my summer camps were there too.  It’s a joy to see it now as the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, and I want you to know what it has to offer.

First there are the rugged and beautiful Kittatinny Mountains of my youth.  Points of interest include Millbrook Village, Blue Mountain Lakes, the Appalachian Trail, Crater Lake and Buttermilk Falls.  Nearby are Worthington and Stokes State Forests and High Point State Park, each with their own attractions.  On the Pennsylvania side there are Turn Farm, Pocono Environmental Center, Dingman’s Falls and Raymondskill Falls, and Cliff Park.

Then there is of course the mighty Delaware River, offering all manner of canoeing, kayaking, water sports, everything. On your trip down the river you’ll pass through the spectacular Delaware Water Gap.  And remember – these are two states where you’ll face no residency or presence restrictions. 

But wait, there's more ...

On my return trip after 50 years there was one place I wanted to see more than anywhere else – Van Campen’s Glen.  Park in the Upper Glen parking lot and follow the trail south less than a mile toward the waterfall.  On your way you will pass through The Most Amazing Place I Ever Saw Growing Up.  I wanted to make sure it was still there, safe under the protection of the US Parks Service.

Previous visit: Same Old Newark – May 2025

On this trip to New Jersey I went to Newark where I spent my college years (Rutgers-Newark) just to see how it’s doing.  The answer is that Newark has come a ways since the dark days of the 1970’s, having ringed its downtown with a performing arts center, sports facilities and museums.  The Rutgers University campus just west of downtown has grown exponentially.  However …

Newark's downtown as seen from Bridge Street

I arrived by train that Memorial Day morning, with a plan to go for a walk from Penn Station, west on Market Street through Newark’s downtown “Four Corners,” continue up the hill to the Rutgers campus, then north through the Rutgers campus, and then if time permitted head for the Ironbound neighborhood.

But when I tried to take this midday walk I found it to be the Same Old Newark I remember from the 1970’s.  Four Corners was dirty, sleazy and filled with scary looking people hanging out.  That’s bad enough at the city’s main intersection, but as I looked westward up the Market Street hill it looked just as forbidding and I’d be in less public areas as I went. 

It would be one thing back in the old days when I knew my way around and what to stay away from, but now I was a stranger in a dangerous place.  Without a car I couldn’t safely get as far as the Rutgers Campus, and all the museums were closed for the holiday, so I turned north on Broad Street, saw how Military Park looks these days (no worse than ever), and crossed the Passaic River to go back to my old haunts in Harrison, Kearny and Ironbound (all on foot).

Harrison, Kearny and Ironbound are great places to experience, but they’re much more a part of New Jersey’s Riverfront Cities than part of Newark, so I will include them in that description below.

Bruce Hossfield, Atwo Zee Registered Traveler

 Maryland / Baltimore

From the 50 State Visitor Guide:

Md. Code of Criminal Procedure 2019  §§11-701 through 11-721

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

Three days for initial reg. and updates for permanent or temporary residents, those who habitually live, students, transients, and those employed in the state.  “Employment” means 14 consecutive days or an aggregate of over 30 days per calendar year. §11-705.

“Transients” (including visitors) present in state for a period exceeding 14 days or an aggregate period for 30 day in a calendar year, for a purpose other than employment or education, must register within 3 days. §11-701(r).

“Habitually lives” means “any place where a person visits for longer than 5 hours per visit more than 5 times within a 30-day period.”  §11-701(d)(2).

Procedure available for removal from registry after departure.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Presence restriction: May not knowing enter school grounds or property containing a child care home or child care institution, with exceptions.  §§11-705, 11-722.

Duration & updates:

15 yrs.- life depending on Tier.

Updates: T1 – 6 mo.  T2 – 6 mo.  T3 – 3 mo.  Homeless registrants – weekly.  §§11-705, 11-707.

Most recent visit: June 2026 NARSOL Conference

Inner Harbor as seen from the second floor of the National Aquarium

Maryland’s rules for visiting registrants are not too difficult to follow.  “Transients” (including visitors) intending to be present in the state for more than 14 consecutive days or an aggregate period for 30 day in a calendar year, for a purpose other than employment or education, must register within three days of arrival. §11-701(r).  And to be clear – if you do not INTEND to visit Maryland for that long, you do not have to register within three days. 

There are no residency restrictions in Maryland, at least at a state level. The only presence restriction is entering school grounds or property containing a child care home or child care institution.  This is an ignorant restriction but easy to obey.

Maryland’s relatively accommodating environment contributed to NARSOL’s decision to hold their 2026 National Conference in Baltimore.  I am a regular attender at both NARSOL and ACSOL in-person conferences.  I learn a lot every year about how to advance my advocacy against America’s registry system, I network with others in our movement and I recommend that everyone attend these conferences.

The NARSOL conference runs from Thursday evening to Sunday.  I arrived in Baltimore Thursday afternoon.  I also decided to stay over Sunday night so I could get a fresh start Monday on a two week road trip to the Northeast and New England. Since partial days count toward your total Maryland stay, that meant I was in the state for five days and nobody cared.

Baltimore’s Inner Harbor

USS Constellation

The NARSOL conference hotel was only three blocks from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, AND the conference took place during Sail 250, the city’s America’s 250th Anniversary festival, which would be going full blast all the way through July 4 weekend. They even had Blue Angels fly-overs. 

Since I was staying over that night, I used Sunday afternoon to go down and join the crowds.  I have been to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor before, both with and without family.  The USS Constellation is always there for tours, but during Sail 250 admission was free.  They also had several tall ships in the harbor, one of which you could tour, and sail boats everywhere.  The crowd was large and there was plenty of booths in the plaza. 

Enjoying a swim at the National Aquarium

The National Aquarium is at one end of the Inner Harbor. Admission was not free during Sail 250 but I splurged and it really is a great aquarium.

I was surprised to find that several other conference goers were also staying over Sunday night, and a few of us went out to breakfast Monday morning before going our separate ways.  For me, that meant New Jersey, land of my birth.

 DIFFICULT DESTINATIONS

Nevada/Las Vegas/Reno

From the 50 State Visitor Guide: Nevada

Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. 2019  §§179B and 179D (Effective Oct. 1, 2018)

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

48 hours for initial registration and updates; updates may be in person.  §§179D.460, 479D.480.  However, Nevada SOR office states that visitors for less than 30 days are not placed on the SOR registry but on a separate “visitors registry” that is not public. Visitors must “check in” within 48 hours & provide info to law enforcement. Return to “check out” when departing the state. The “visitors registry” including the dates of your visit(s) is available to law enforcement agencies only.

This SOR office info updated & confirmed Apr. 2021.

Confirmed by Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. Oct. 2021.

Also: North Las Vegas Police “OffenderWatch” Safety Tips

https://sheriffalerts.com/cap_safety_1.php?office=54127

“Do I have to register as a sex offender in North Las Vegas if I am only visiting? Sex offenders who will be visiting North Las Vegas and will be staying in North Las Vegas for more than 48 hours, must register as “Sex Offender – Visitor”.” (emphasis added)

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

No statewide restrictions.

Duration & updates:

15 years to life. §179D.480.

Procedure available for removal from registry after departure.

From the 50 State Visitor Guide: Arizona

A.R.S. 2019  §§ 13-3821 through 13-3829, 13-3727

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

Visitors must register if staying for more than 72 hours excluding weekends & holidays. §13-3821(A). SOR office refused to answer whether return visits allowed per month or year. “That’s determined by local sheriff.” Updated Aug 2022.

Initial reg. required “within 72 hours excluding weekends & holidays of entering and remaining in any county.”  §13-3821. Updated 8/2022.  Registrants working in state must report in any county where present for 14 consecutive days or an aggregate of 30 days/yr.  Address change etc. required w/in 72 hours (business days only).  §13-3822.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residence restriction:  1,000 ft. restriction applies to Level 3 offenders. §13-3727. Local governments are pre-empted from adopting more restrictive requirements. §13-3727.

Duration & updates:

10 years to life. Transients report every 90 days.  All others annually.

How can I go to my business/vacation/family obligation in Nevada/Las Vegas/Reno without inadvertently committing a registry violation?

Travel to Nevada and especially Las Vegas is a discussion topic at every ACSOL monthly Zoom meeting because so many of their members live in nearby California, and because Nevada’s 48 hour visitors grace period is among the shortest of any state.  (For information about Nevada’s “Visitor’s Registry” and why I can’t personally recommend using it, go to my search box to find a separate blog entry.)

There are a couple of silver linings to being on Nevada’s registry.  Nevada has no statewide residency or presence restrictions, although local governments are allowed to pile on.  Also, there is a procedure for removal from the public registry when you leave the state, and putting you on the so-called “Visitors Registry” during you’re stay keeps you off the public registry anyway.  Still, better to avoid getting on in the first place!

Forty-eight hours is a very short time period to be allowed in any state.  Per the Nevada SOR office, the 48 hour clock starts upon crossing the state line, and yes weekend hours also count, so pay attention to your time and keep receipts to prove your whereabouts in case something bizarre happens.

Where to “reside” (Las Vegas): Dolan Springs, AZ – but not until Day 3

I will now describe a scenario in which you can spend up to 5 nights and 6 days (the first and last days being partial days) in Las Vegas, while “residing” for 3 nights but less than your 72 allowable hours in Arizona, then leave the region for two nights and one full day before returning to restart the clock if you need to.

In this scenario, the destination you will report to your local sheriffs dept. prior to your departure (if required in your state) is your motel in Dolan Springs, AZ, NOT any casino hotel you may also be visiting while in Las Vegas on your way to and from your reportable Arizona destination.

Days 1-3: Less than 48 hours in Las Vegas

When you report your travel, you should report only your dates of departure and return, your Arizona destination and your dates of arrival and departure from that destination.  NOTE: For domestic travel you are NOT required to provide flight information or itinerary, so the fact that you may be flying into Las Vegas but not arriving at your Arizona destination until two days later is none of their business.

If you are in Las Vegas for pleasure, I assume most of those pleasures are to be had in the evening or night time.  You should plan on arriving in Nevada as late in the afternoon as your pleasure plans will allow.  That way your allowable 48 hours in Nevada will take you through two nights of Vegas delights, before checking out of your casino hotel on the morning of Day 3.

Day 3: Take the Grand Canyon West tour

To see a separate blog entry about the Grand Canyon and Grand Canyon West, go to my search box and enter “Grand Canyon.”

Unless gambling is literally the ONLY thing you want to do in Las Vegas, surely you won’t mind taking a break from the slot machines on Day 3 to go see one of America’s great natural wonders.  And guess what?  It gets you out of NV for a day so you can go back and re-start the clock there the next day.  And quit moaning about how expensive the Grand Canyon West tour is.  Compared to the cost of the rest of your Vegas trip it’s a drop in the bucket, and worth every penny.

It so happens that Dolan Springs, where the closest AZ motels to the Hoover Dam are located, is on the entry road from US 93 to Grand Canyon West.  This means that in order to keep yourself within your allowable 72 hours in Arizona, you should cross the AZ state line on Day 3 at a LATER time of day than you’re very sure you’ll be crossing back into NV on Day 6.  Allow me to suggest 12:00 noon.  If you made sure to arrive in the afternoon of Day 1, you’ll still be within your allowable first 48 hours in Nevada.

Do not be concerned about arriving at Grand Canyon West too late to enjoy it.  Because your pre-reserved motel room is right there on the entrance road, you can stay much later than all the tourists that have to get on a bus back to Las Vegas.

Days 3-6: Three nights but less than 72 hours “residing” in Arizona

For the next three nights the most frugal thing you can do is commute to your Las Vegas obligation while “residing” in Dolan Springs, AZ.  The bad news is it’s a long-ass commute – about 70 miles!  I wish there was an Arizona motel right near the Hoover Dam, but there’s not.

To avoid this long commute, you could book a casino hotel in town to serve as your base while you use up your next 48 hours in Nevada on Days 4 & 5, but if you do this I recommend: (a) choose a different casino hotel than during your first visit, and (b) definitely return to your Arizona hotel for your final night.  You want to be out of Nevada overnight so you can restart your last 48 hour clock there the next day.

Days 6-7: Less than 48 more hours in Las Vegas

From the time you re-enter Nevada on Day 6 you re-start that state’s clock and have 48 hours to wind up your visit and leave the state.

I DO NOT recommend conducting yourself in any way that local law enforcement could construe as cheating or abusing the system.  For example, I do not recommend continuing to jump back and forth across these two states’ borders beyond what I have described above. 

For one thing, you couldn’t do that without properly reporting it at your local registry office before leaving, and that would necessarily mean reporting a Las Vegas destination (which is what you’re trying to avoid) and/or notifying Arizona that you’re going to flashing onto their radar multiple times in a way that sure looks like bending their 72 hour rule.

If you must have more time in Las Vegas, I recommend putting a clear break in your trip by staying out of both NV & AZ for at least two nights and one day before returning to restart the clock.  Allow me to suggest Utah with its many natural wonders.  That way, when you report your travel at your local registry office before leaving, you give them three destinations for your trip:

1.     Your Arizona hotel, first visit, with dates

2.     Your Utah destination, with dates

3.     Your Arizona hotel, second visit, with dates

Where to “reside” (Reno): Truckee, CA – but not until Day 3

From the 50 State Visitor Guide: California

Cal. Penal Code 2019 Effective July 1, 2021  §§290 through 294

Cal. Penal Code §§ 3003, 3003.5.   Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 6608.5

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

All registrants must register within 5 working days of coming into the state. §290.011; updates also within 5 working days.  §§290(b), 290.013.  Those working in the state for 14 days or for more than 30 days in a calendar year must register. §290.002.  Those who “regularly reside” at a temporary or permanent residence must register “regardless of the number of days or nights spent here.” §290.010.

Transients must reregister every 30 days. §290.011.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Presence restriction:  Registrants may not enter schools without permission.  §626.81. Parolees with convictions involving minors under 14 may not enter parks without permission. §3053.8.  May not enter daycare or place for dependent adult if conviction involved dependent adult. §653c. 

Residence restriction: 2,000 ft. of schools and parks.  §3003.5(b).  NOTE: this statute was declared unconstitutional as applied to certain parolees by In re Taylor, 60 Cal. 4th 1019 (2015) and is no longer being enforced by the state.  However, local governments may enforce this statute or local ordinances.

Few local governments have more restrictive requirements, not because there is a state pre-emption but because ACSOL aggressively sues & overturns them.

Duration & updates:

Lifetime. Petition to remove: T1 – 10 yrs. T2 – 20 yrs. SVPs update every 90 days; all others update annually. §290.012.

NOTE:  Per Rolfe Survey, visiting registrants are placed on state’s website and not removed. However, per ACSOL staff, procedure available for removal from registry after departure.

 

Visiting Reno presents its own set of problems.  It’s very close to Truckee, CA, so if you are already registered in California there’s no penalty to reporting an address there no matter the length of your trip.  From there you can either commute daily – or nightly – into Reno, never staying in Nevada more than 48 hours, or you can splurge and give yourself a place to stay overnight in Reno every few days, like I suggested above for Las Vegas.

If you are a FORMER California registrant, you no longer have to report travel but I would still advise you to stay in Truckee.  That’s because as you probably know, being off California’s (or any other state’s) registry doesn’t help you in Nevada – their 48 hour visitors grace period will still apply to you.

If you are visiting Reno as a registrant from any other state, then you will be subject to California’s 5 business day visitors grace period in addition to Nevada’s 48 hours rule.  However, because CA only counts business days, you can pad weekend days onto that to extend your stay in Truckee.  In this scenario, the destination you will report to your local sheriffs dept. prior to your departure (if required in your state) is your Truckee address, NOT any casino hotel you may also be visiting while in Reno on your way to and from your reportable Truckee, CA destination.

Days 1-3: Less than 48 hours in Reno

When you report your travel, you should report only your dates of departure and return, your Truckee, CA destination and your dates of arrival and departure from that destination.  NOTE: For domestic travel you are NOT required to provide flight information or itinerary, so the fact that you may be flying into Reno but not arriving at your Truckee destination until two days later is none of their business.

If you are in Reno for pleasure, I assume most of those pleasures are to be had in the evening or night time.  You should plan on arriving in Nevada as late in the afternoon as your pleasure plans will allow, so you can fit two nights into your allowable first 48 hours in Nevada.  However, note that if you are arriving by car it’s a long, long way to any other state boundary, and that’s going to load up on your available Nevada hours.

Definitely check out of your Reno hotel that morning so that you don’t create any record of any reservation in Nevada for any night you don’t intend to “reside” there.

Days 3-7: Five Business Days in Truckee, CA

For the next four nights the most frugal thing you can do is commute to your Reno obligation while “residing” in Truckee, CA.  Remember that unlike Nevada, which counts your visitors grace period in hours, California counts it in business days, and partial days count.  Therefore if you enter California on the afternoon of Day 3, that day will definitely count as Day 1 in California if it’s a business day.

Days 7-8: Less than 48 more hours in Reno

If you have chosen the frugal path described above, from the time you re-enter Nevada on Day 7 you re-start that state’s clock and have 48 hours to wind up your visit and leave the state.

Do not become “employed” in Nevada/Las Vegas/Reno

If you have to report employment information in your home state you already know that being “employed” in a place will land you on the registry as surely as “residing” there. 

You can compliantly go to Nevada/Las Vegas/Reno to perform a business obligation without becoming “employed” there.  I knew a guy whose job was to maintain and repair the asphalt furnaces his company manufactured for road building projects across America.  He had to stay for days at a time to get those things fixed but his employer was in Florida.  That’s where the paychecks came from so that’s where he was “employed.”  You can receive payment for services but just make sure you never receive anything that looks like a paycheck from an employer with a Nevada address.

Most recent Nevada visit: August 2025

In early August 2025 I was on my way from Oregon to Utah and that necessarily took me through Nevada.  Before entering at the state’s incredibly remote northwest corner on SR 140 I made sure to gas up and pick up supplies in Lakeview, OR.  My mission was to get to the Utah state line and the Bonneville Salt Flats within 48 hours.  That’s not difficult since there’s nothing worth seeing in this part of Nevada anyway.  Passing through the Sheldon National Antelope Refuge and seeing no antelope kind of set the tone.  Instead I occupied myself by making a few

Small Town Notes:

Winnemucca – Not much to see here.  The whole town seems to be migrating towards I-80.

Battle Mountain – I read or saw somewhere that this town was “Voted Armpit of America.”  It’s not quite that bad – allow me to suggest Wendover, UT (see below) if you want to make a comparison.  But it is a jumble of rotting mobile homes.

West Wendover, NV as seen from Wendover, UT. Note that the front faces of the Montego Bay and Nugget casino buildings both go right up to the state line.  The Shell station is in UT.

West Wendover, NV & Wendover, UT – There is a military base just outside of Wendover, UT so that makes this just about the dumpiest base employee town I’ve ever witnessed, with mobile homes rotting into the ground.  West Wendover, NV is a failed military retiree mobile home community, where veterans could retire out in the desert and be close to base services.  Except it’s deteriorating and kind of not completed.  Also the only person I saw while driving around was a young latino boy walking his bicycle, which doesn’t fit well with the idea this is still a retirement community.

Bruce Hossfield, Atwo Zee Registered Traveler

  DIFFICULT DESTINATIONS

Nevada’s “Visitors Registry” – Not Recommended

From the 50 State Visitor Guide:

Nev. Rev. Stat. Ann. 2019  §§179B and 179D (Effective Oct. 1, 2018)

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

48 hours for initial registration and updates; updates may be in person.  §§179D.460, 479D.480.  However, Nevada SOR office states that visitors for less than 30 days are not placed on the SOR registry but on a separate “visitors registry” that is not public. Visitors must “check in” within 48 hours & provide info to law enforcement. Return to “check out” when departing the state. The “visitors registry” including the dates of your visit(s) is available to law enforcement agencies only.

This SOR office info updated & confirmed Apr. 2021.

Confirmed by Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. Oct. 2021.

Also: North Las Vegas Police “OffenderWatch” Safety Tips

https://sheriffalerts.com/cap_safety_1.php?office=54127

“Do I have to register as a sex offender in North Las Vegas if I am only visiting? Sex offenders who will be visiting North Las Vegas and will be staying in North Las Vegas for more than 48 hours, must register as “Sex Offender – Visitor”.” (emphasis added)

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

No statewide restrictions.

Duration & updates:

15 years to life. §179D.480.

Procedure available for removal from registry after departure.

What is Nevada’s “Visitors Registry” ?

Nevada is one of a handful of states that, by policy, treats a statutory very short (in Nevada’s case 48 hours) visitor registration requirement as a “duty to check in” but holds SO visitor information separately pending a commitment to depart within a specified time (up to 30 days); your info becomes part of a “visitors registry” that is not made public. Other states that do this are Alaska, South Dakota and Rhode Island.

I first became aware of this separate “visitors registry” while calling every state SOR office as part of my research in 2020. The nice lady at the Nevada SOR office told me all about it. And yet, there seems to be nothing on the Nevada SOR website about this.

In October 2021 I conducted field research at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (see photo). My sole purpose in going there was to find out if they knew anything about this separate unpublished “visitors registry.”

With a little prodding I was able to get the lady behind the bulletproof glass to go ask her supervisor about it, and when she returned she smiled cheerfully and said, “Yes, there is a visitors registry, and as long as you check in within 48 hours of your arrival, and give us all the information about your visit, and come back to check out before you leave, you will go on that visitors registry.”  But all along I have been too loathe to go into any registry office to actually apply, even to be on a visitors registry.

However …

A registrant’s experience with Nevada’s “Visitors Registry”

In early 2026 a member of Illinois Voices contacted me because they were obligated to attend a Las Vegas wedding.  Their obligation was going to last longer than 48 hours and what should they do?  They had read about the Visitors Registry on my travel website but wanted more information.

We discussed the Visitors Registry and I admitted that I’m too much of a chicken to have ever tried it, nor had I ever heard of anyone else trying it. It seemed that they would have to be the guinea pig.  I advised approaching the Las Vegas Police Dept. on MLK Drive with caution, and not giving them any personal information at all until they had confirmed the existence of the Visitors Registry, that it really is a separate registry and that their name would not appear on the main public registry.  Only after confirming all that should they proceed.

Las Vegas Metro Police Dept.

Here is the Illinois Voices member’s description of their experience:

“I took a Lyft yesterday from my hotel on the Vegas strip to the Las Vegas PD at 400 S Martin Luther King Blvd, Building C. I arrived around 2:40 pm. Just inside the entrance you wait in a short line to check-in. There they give you a ticket and you wait until your ticket is called. You go up to a window where you are interviewed. After that there’s a DNA cheek swab, photographs and full digital fingerprints/palm prints. There is no fee. The whole process took about 90 minutes. I was told I don’t need to return to check out. I would only need to return if I wanted to extend my visit.”

While this report confirms the existence of the Nevada Visitors Registry, there’s also something very troubling thing about it – as you can see, the NV SOR office put this visitor through the exact procedure as any person “applying” to be on their main registry, including DNA, finger and palm prints, everything.  The only difference is that they put your data in a different, non-published file.

Hey look!  These guys are open weekends & holidays!

This is different and far more onerous than any of the other Visitors Registry states I am aware of.  In Alaska the entire process is done online, as recently reported on the ACSOL domestic travel discussion page.  You fill out AND submit your Visitors Registry form online at their SOR website, so obviously there’s no DNA sample or fingerprints. There’s also no in-person check in required.  Alaskans are pretty easy going folks.

South Dakota’s and Rhode Island’s Visitors Registries are apparently more informal affairs. If you check in and provide information about your visit, they’re ready to allow what the nice lady at the South Dakota SOR office described as “wiggle room.”  “We have hundreds of sex offenders coming to the Sturgis Bike Rally every year,” she said.  “They typically stay more than three days but less than a week.  Why would we want to register all these people and then have to remove them a few days later?”

[As an aside, I was amused by how the SOR lady’s description of the Sturgis Bike Rally made it sound like an annual sex offenders’ reunion.  Hey, maybe NARSOL should hold next year’s national conference in Sturgis during the rally and make it official?]

What’s your alternative if you need more time in Nevada?

I don’t know about you, but now that I have received this report about the Nevada “Visitor’s Registry,” it’s not something I can personally recommend.  I’m already registered in two states and I have no interest in giving my DNA and palm prints to any more. 

Therefore I will have to treat Las Vegas and Reno as I have other “Difficult Destinations” such as Chicago and Nashville (TN’s grace period is 48 hrs. just like NV) and research out-of-state “residence” options and ways for you to extend your stay in Nevada.  I plan to post that ASAP.

Why is there a Visitors Registry anyway?

You may be wondering why any state SOR office, whether in Nevada, Alaska, Rhode Island or elsewhere, would go out of their way to create a separate visitors registry when it’s not spelled out in state law. As a person who worked as a government bureaucrat his entire career (until I ruined my life), I’m confident I know the answer: work avoidance.

You see, these states with separate visitors registries have very short visitor registration requirements, but they also have standardized procedures available to remove you from their registries after you leave (unlike Tennessee, Florida and 13 other states that keep you on their registries forever in order to pad their numbers and get more federal funding).

What this means for a SOR office (or sheriff’s department) bureaucrat is that any time a visitor is forced to register, they have to do all the work of adding that person to their registry and posting it on their website. Then as soon as that person leaves the state they have to do all the work of removing that person from their registry and their website.  That’s double the work for somebody they really couldn’t care less about. Thus is born the separate, low effort “visitors registry.”

However, this report from a person who actually made use of Nevada’s Visitors Registry doesn’t make it sound low effort at all!  Upon reflection I think it’s because, although it’s not saving any time for either staff or you at check-in, it was clearly the safest and easiest procedure for the bureaucrat assigned to create it.  On one hand, all he had to do was – Copy – Paste.  Assignment completed.  On the other hand, by collecting everything up front, if they ever decide to follow Florida's lead and jam everyone who's ever visited onto their permanent registry - well, it's all just a few clicks from being done.

Bruce Hossfield, Atwo Zee Registered Traveler