America's Loneliest Road: Nevada Highway 50


America’s Loneliest Road: Nevada Highway 50

Saturday, 03 May, 2024 0

By Graham McKenzie

In the vast expanse of Nevada, U.S. Highway 50 stretches across the Great Basin Desert, earning its moniker as the “Loneliest Road in America.”

This historic route, part of the original coast-to-coast Lincoln Highway, spans approximately 300 miles within Nevada, offering a unique blend of stark desert landscapes, quirky towns, and captivating attractions.

It follows the path of the legendary Pony Express, where brave riders once galloped across the desert to deliver mail. The remnants of this historic route still whisper tales of courage and adventure.  During the Gold Rush era, miners flocked to Nevada in search of riches and the road was a lifeline for prospectors, connecting mining towns and providing a thread of civilization in the rugged wilderness.

In 1986, Life magazine famously dubbed Highway 50 as the “Loneliest Road in America.” The article claimed there were “no points of interest” along the route, but as I discovered recently an adventurous soul knows better and indeed the vastness of the landscape becomes its allure.

I started my journey at Reno Airport and drove more or less straight to Austin. Yes Austin, Nevada not Texas. Like many of the experiences  along this route it was interesting, friendly and verging on time shifting as the town is exactly what I would have expected to see had I ridden there on one of those Pony Express horses and not a modern air conditioned vehicle.

I was welcomed as if I was the law enforcing Sherriff the town had been waiting for with tumbleweed following me in. The food, delicious but simple, was also of yesteryear and could have been served from a gourmet chuckwagon. Within the town there are even more reminders of times gone by when Austin was a bustling mining town riding the crest of a precious metal mining wave.

In 1863 over 10,000 people lived here but today less than 200 do so. Austin is in effect a living ghost town, an active memorial to the ‘rush’ days of the 19th century and as such offers a host of interesting insights to life long ago. Explore the Stokes Castle, built by a wealthy mine owner, and bathe in the timeless small-town atmosphere.

We camped, I mean stayed, in the much bigger town of Ely whose boom times were much more recent and ate at the appropriately named Mr G’s. Even though some small-scale mining exists the town is now best known as the home of the Nevada Northern Railway Museum. A must-see attraction for most but an essential for all ferroequinologists (trainspotters, rail buffs). The museum not only offers an in-depth insight to the history of rail in this region, but you can, if you time it correctly, experience a real-life steam train. I channelled my Casey Jones throughout an hour-long trip which involves riding the outdoor car. Fantastic!

From Ely we travelled through the fabulously named Eureka and onto Fallon.  Eureka also has a tale of boom and bust but secret tunnels under the street, town jails below ground and tales of how the Chinese were discriminated against offer a fascinating back drop to early 20th century life.

Fallon on the other hand, in one respect, could not be more up to date as it is the home of the Navy Fighters Weapons School AKA Top Gun. Visitors can easily be identified as they gaze up at the regular fly overs by very fast military aircraft. For locals it’s a ‘whatever’.  Perhaps less known is that Fallon is only 28 miles from Los Alamos, New Mexico which was central to the development of the world’s first atomic bomb and Oppenheimer’s laboratory.

My trip on the lonely road was coming to an end but before it did, I visited the Sutro Tunnel. An engineering marvel that began constriction in the 1860’s, it was designed to ease flooding in the various mine shafts surrounding the area. As mining went deeper and deeper the need for drainage grew and although it eventually failed it stands as memorial to unbelievable thinking and hard labour.

Down the hill from the tunnel lies Dayton. Yes Dayton, Nevada not Ohio. Built up to house the thousands of workers required for mining and associated industries it now is home to over 15,000 individuals the majority of whom work in retail and catering. Dayton came to fame as the location for Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe’s final film the Misfits and memorabilia of that time can be found in the town museum.

In the heart of Nevada, the Loneliest Road has transformed into a place of friendship, discovery, and shared memories. When the term was coined in the 1980’s it was given as a negative. Today many would like the sound of a lonely road with fewer people, open spaces, storytelling, nature, and knowledge gathering with a touch of adventure.

As you drive its winding path its worth remembering that sometimes the most remote roads lead to the richest experiences. 

Related News Stories:  Nevada’s best natural hot springs     Travel Nevada – TravelMole    



Related News Stories:  Highway 50 Road Trip | The Loneliest Road in America     Home - Loneliest Road in America, Nevada's Highway 50     U.S. Route 50 in Nevada - Wikipedia     Loneliest Road in America: The Ultimate Guide to Nevada Route 50     A Cyclist Goes It Alone on Nevada's Highway 50 | Sierra Club     The Loneliest Road (US-50 Driving Route) | ROAD TRIP USA     Parker Hill | America's Loneliest Road. Highway 50 in Nevada ...     U.S. Route 50 in Nevada, famously known as "The Loneliest Road ...     Loneliest Highway in America (Hwy. 50) - All You Need to Know ...     Is hwy 50 in Nevada really as lonely as they say? : r/roadtrip    



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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.



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