Highway 50 America’s Loneliest Road

Highway 50 was once described as the loneliest in America. A road described as lonely is going to conjure up images in the mind that will infuse curiosity and fear at the same time. Naturally, these are the perfect ingredients for an adrenaline-fueled adventure.

True to its alarming description as the loneliest road in the United States, Highway 50 pretty much lives up to its billing. For starters, Highway 50 is long and can easily intimidate any road tripper. Being on the road, any road for that matter, for a good 3,000 miles, is a formidable challenge. But for Highway 50, it’s not just the distance. It is the emptiness, an emptiness that yawns scaringly yet insanely appealing at the same time.

While Highway 50 is known as the loneliest, several of its sections are busy, four-lane thoroughfares that are anything but lonely. Highway 50 runs from West Sacramento, California, in the west to Ocean City, Maryland, on the East Coast. Along the way, there are attractions that will help stave off the palpable loneliness.

Actually, the stretch that will leave a road tripper feeling like a small speck in a sea of nothingness is the section between Ely and Fernley, Nevada. This section is anywhere between 375 and 500 miles depending on an individual’s route.

This is a vast expanse with not a house in sight, no tree, and for many miles, not a single blade of grass. The terrain dramatically flattens out like a pancake while the road is agonizingly straight. Additionally, to see another car on this stretch is so rare that it is almost a celebrated miracle.

Here’s How Highway 50 Came to Be Known as The Loneliest in America

In that article, an AAA spokesperson had described Highway 50 as "totally empty. There are no points of interest. We don't recommend it. We warn all motorists not to drive there unless they're confident of their survival skills." Well, Nevada tourism officials decided that they would make lemonade with that Life Magazine lemon. They resolved to style Highway 50 as the “Loneliest Road in America.”

Ghosts and Legends of Nevada's Highway 50

The 287-mile stretch of highway that runs east to west across Nevada's desert is billed as the "Loneliest Road in America." But those who explore it find there is plenty to discover along the way in the towns of Austin, Eureka, Ely, Fallon and Fernley. Every one of these places has its own unique history, ghosts and stories to tell. From the sordid lynching of Richard Jennings to the humorous legend about a famous sack of flour, author Janice Oberding treks across Highway 50 seeking spirits and uncovering the tales of Singing Sand Mountain, the Red-Headed Giants, the Giroux Mine Disaster and many more. Amazon.com: Ghosts and Legends of Nevada's Highway 50 (Haunted America)