US Highway 50 is one of the nation’s premier historic transcontinental highways, stretching just over 3,000 miles across the midsection of the United States. Created in 1926 as part of the original U.S. Highway system, it links major metropolitan centers, rugged mountain ranges, and vast agricultural heartlands, earning a reputation as a scenic, slower-paced alternative to the interstate system.
The Route: Coast to Coast
The Western Terminus (California): The highway officially begins in West Sacramento, California, breaking off from Interstate 80. From the Central Valley, Highway 50 Click to open side panel for more information climbs dramatically into the Sierra Nevada mountains, passing through historic Gold Rush towns and tracking along the south shore of Lake Tahoe before crossing into Nevada.
The Eastern Terminus (Maryland): On the opposite side of the continent, the route ends directly at the Atlantic Ocean in Ocean City, Maryland. The final stretch of Highway 50 Click to open side panel for more information brings travelers across the expansive Chesapeake Bay Bridge, down through the Delmarva Peninsula, and terminates right at Baltimore Avenue near the beach.