The Loneliest Road in America - A Two Day Drive From Fallon to Baker
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 15 июн 2024
- Recently we had a chance to take a trip on Highway 50 in Nevada, the Loneliest Road in America from Fallon, NV to Baker, NV (Great Basin National Park). The Loneliest Road, which follows along the Lincoln Highway and the route of the Pony Express, is one of the most famous drives in the United States. We did the drive over two days in September 2020.
In this video we drive from Fallon to Great Basin National Park, stopping at Sand Mountain, Middlegate Station, Austin, Hickison Petroglyphs, Eureka, Ely, and Great Basin National Park.
Be sure to check out our video on Stokes Castle in Austin, NV too: • A Visit to Stokes Cast...
○ Gear we use: www.amazon.com/shop/sidetrack...
►Please subscribe for weekly updates showcasing some of our adventures: / @sidetrackadventures
►Also please follow Sidetrack Adventures on Instagram: / sidetrackadventures
►And please follow Sidetrack Adventures on Twitter: / sidetrackadvent
![100 Days - [Minecraft Creative 2]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/OmogWsk_ZZg/mqdefault.jpg)
![Moneybagg Yo - WHISKEY WHISKEY [feat. Morgan Wallen] (Official Audio)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kJamyq0WplE/mqdefault.jpg)
If you think that the loneliest road in america is a bad thing, try living in a noisy city till you've almost been driven crazy, then that road starts to seem like bliss....No noise...No traffic jams...No stress..Ahhhhh yesssss.
Oh, yes, indeed my brother. I totally agree.
@@steveandulsky566 my brother!
No internet! Ahhhhh…
Back in the days when Californians all thought Nevada was just a giant racecourse, two college friends died out on Highway 50. It was late at night and a cow wandered on to the road. The cow didn't survive, either. A little after that, I was driving to Fallon in my brand new Plymouth Barracuda when I made the mistake of passing eight Hell's Angels on their bikes. They finally got tired of thee game, but not before we found out the Plymouth really could go 120 like the speedometer said (assuming the dang thing was accurate). That day I was more than willing to believe it really was the loneliest road in America.
Ah, to drive on that road in a Grand Marquis, ice-cold AC, suspension like a flying carpet, moon roof, smooth jazz playing on the custom sound system...
After I retired from the USAF in 1992, I sold my home and we moved from Sacramento, Ca to Olathe, Ks in February, 1993. We were going to take Interstate 80, but when we got to Reno, NV, I decided to take Highway 50, because we wanted to get to Interstate 70. I was towing a VW Squareback behind my Isuzu Trooper and we were averaging 80 MPH along that road. We went for hours without seeing another car on the road going in either direction. We also made sure we filled up at every gas station along the way, which are few and far apart. We passed through I think five or six passes over 7,000 feet high. The road is straight as an arrow and you can see fifty miles distance many places along the way! It was quite an adventure! There was snow on the top of the passes.
LOVE this drive! Can go an hour or more without seeing another vehicle. Camping under the Milky Way is stellar🤓
My wife and I took route 50 from Winchester VA. to Sacramento CA. in 2015. Great trip! It definitely is the loneliest road! A shout out to the KOA in Ely! Friendliest people there and a beautiful campground. Watching the sun set over the desert hills next to a campfire was the highlight. If you like road trips with little traffic and beautiful scenery, 50 is for you!
My wife and I have toured all 49 states that have a road to them and all but three Canadian Provinces. All on a trike. Three wheeled motorcycle. 2020 was our 50th wedding anniversary and for that, we had planned to fly to Hawaii and rent a motorcycle to complete our all 50 states motorcycle adventure. Well. COVID squashed that! So plan B was to ride highway 50 all the way from the east coast to the west coast. But several health problems with my 94 year old mother kept us close to home. Looks like Hawaii may still be out of the picture. Hopefully we will get to do highway 50 this year.
Thanks for the video. I love road trip videos.
Thank you. Hopefully you can get out there this year.
Hwy 50 from Ocean City to Placerville area (home) was one of the best trips I've ever taken. Second only the Trans-Canada or BC-Alberta-Yukon-Alaska. Varied terrain, climate, nice and not so nice cities and towns. Very nice people for the most part. Plan your overnights for the small towns, if possible. The weather in April was good and the tourist prices weren't up yet. Spent eight or nine days at a leisurely pace.
I travelled this highway just before Covid. This was an amazing solo trip. And the people I met along Hwy 50 were the best.
I have never found the highway to be very lonely. In many parts of the West, you can drive for hours and never see another sign of "civilization" be it cars. towns or people. Having said that, it is one of the most scenic and interesting roads to take. The side roads out into the weeds are great. I would avoid the side roads in the rain though.
I would agree. I think once they called NV 50 "lonely", it stopped being so lonely, LOL
I traveled the loneliest road in America in 1984 - Before Great Basin was designated by Congress. Lehman Caves was a separate place from Wheeler Peak which was just part of a National Forest. One thing left out about Wheeler Peak is that there are amazing groves of Bristlecone Pines. It’s a hike to get to them, but some of them are among the oldest living things in the World. Camping at the highest campground is a real experience. The cold winds in the course of the night are a real experience. You cannot miss it.
"Men: no shirt no service. Women: no shirt free drink" LOL.
I always thought that you had to give the women the free drinks to get their shirts off. I'm I doing it backwards.
@@kingmike40 It may work both ways.
We visited GreatBasinNP a few years ago. Bristlecone Pines were unforgettable👍
Made this drive a few times from Cali to Utah. One of my favorites. Worked with a guy that grew up in Eureka.
I moved from North California to Fallon, Nevada, in 2006 for work. I thought I'd miss the trees, but I got to where I love the solitude of standing on a mountain and being able to see for a hundred miles. Fallon is where the real "Top Gun" Navy school is located. Love those jets when they fly by.
Super nice! What a great childhood you’re sharing with your son. Really; well done you two! My wife and I love road trips, though we usually travel to a foreign locale and set out on road trips from there. You’re returning our travel eye back here again.
I was stationed in Fallon back in 69. I remember sand mountain. They had a Frenchmans Station on hwy 50. Sold to the government. Also been to Middlegate. Great video
Denver to San Francisco on Hwy. 50 in February 1974. Butt-ass cold and not a lot of gas stations. We were just trying to make it to Carson City or Reno and not be left to freeze to death out there. Definitely the loneliest road I've been on. Made it to SF in time to see Bob Dylan and The Band at Oakland Coliseum.
I saw a sign low flying aircraft so I parked. A Stealth and the B1 flew by about 100’ over my head
The scary part was my bright red Toyota was the only car for 50 miles. I was plain and obvious. I can guarantee you that every instrument on both those crafts locked in on me. They also flew so slow it was amazing it didn’t stall
My wife and I drove US 50 the entire way from West Sacramento, CA to Ocean City, MD. It was a wonderful road trip, but we did it over a week, but if we had the time we could have taken several weeks to do the drive and explore.
Amazingly, it was hazy here in MICHIGAN for a few days from the wild fires in California. I have a picture of the sunset affected by the fires. It was surreal that the smoke travelled that far!
Thanks for taking us along. I think I will add this road to my bucket list.
I've not only driven this road countless times, but also cycled it from south lake tahoe to baker in 5 days via an organized venture with Bike The West. Yes it's desert terrain for the most part, however @ 16 or 17mph for days your able to soak up the desert beauty.
Stupid
@@richardmiranda640 nice to know there's still a**holes in the world.
I was thinking it would be fun to run this road on m 49cc Honda scooter! Carry couple extra gallons of gas...since I get 90 mpg/at 35 mph! Never said how long a drive it is! Anyone know??
@@mikeh8228 From SLT to the utah state line is roughly 485m,
Wow. What a great video. Thank you for sharing your experiences and making us feel like we are there with you.
I've been on Hwy 50 in Utah and Nevada and have been to every place in this video. You can definitely see how it gets its name. Very spooky and eery, especially in Eastern Utah and Nevada. I live in Western Colorado and Hwy 5 goes through my town, it is not very lonely at all in most of Colorado and 4 lanes in many parts!!
This is part of my dream Road Trip. I live near Chicago so I would take Route 66 to L.A. then up to Frisco and take Lincoln Hwy back. Just need time and money!!!
That sounds like a great trip. So much interesting stuff on both roads.
My buddy found the no where Nevada #1 sign in the desert
I remember driving this road a couple times in the early 90’s. Hardly saw any other traffic. Loved it.
Among my fav PBS series was the one about the Lincoln Highway. I catch it as often as I can.
That Wheeler Peak drive is one of my favorites. Amazing and sad how the glacier has receded so much in the last 25 years.
Love to see all these amazing places that I know next to nothing about. Don't need to go very far to experience some amazing stuff!
US 50 is almost urban compared with US 6. 165 miles with no gas stations or towns between Tonopah, NV and Ely, NV. US 50 has the moniker of "Loneliest Highway" but US 6 takes it in spades.
Way cool. You are my #1 guide to southwest. Love this channel.
This is a well done video, great job. I think I drove this road fifty years ago. My memory is of an endless road in the middle of nowhere from the same pints, so I bet this is it.
I believe I drove a good portion of this highway. I dropped down from St. John, OR and drove south some. At Battlefield, NV I dropped down to meet this highway and it was a long lonely highway. I remember seeing points of interest for the Pony Express and I've always wanted to return. I have some memory of these small towns and it was great to watch your video! I use to a driver for a moving company and that job took me all over the nation. I usually was alone so I rarely stopped to sight see.
It's so wonderful you're able to bring your family along with you and they get to see the country as well. I didn't get along with my parents as I had long hair and it was the 1960s. But they gave us all the love of travel, we cross country a few times ourselves! I think the gift of travel is the most important thing a parent can give a child! Expand their world and show them there's more than just their neighborhood! You're raising a great family!
Really enjoying your videos. I just moved back to California after 11 years away and I can't wait to explore more. Thanks!
Thank you, we really appreciate it.
Born and raised in Santa Rosa, spent two years in Grand Junction while my dad and my mom's cousin prospected for uranium in Lisbon Valley near Moab..used to camp with them at the mine sites.
Moved to Las Vegas three years ago and still have an affinity for the desert and the ghost towns.
I prefer the 50 over the interstate
Did this trip from Delta, UT all the way to Stateline, CA. Made time for the detour to Fernley to pick up that stamp. Great trip!! Ely is a great place to spend a day. Or two if you go to the Northern Nevada Railroad Museum. Say Hi to Dirt and DJ! Stayed at the Hotel Nevada and walked around for a few hours - lots of interesting and historical things to see. Unfortunately, I had to drive back to SLC via I-80 (Boring...).
Thanks for your great videos. Very informative and your research is excellent
I must try this trip sometime...it will be something to look forward too....thanks.
Its a super fun trip. We want to go back when we can spend a little more time and explore more of the surrounding area too.
My mother in law lived in Ely Nevada ,,the historic places were interesting but ,,the road to get there was a long and lonely trip and not many places to get gas so you need to be well prepared for the journey,,, always enjoy the video Steve ,,,thanks a lot as I don't travel any more,, happy trails to you and your family
Another fine video. Thanks for sharing. I plan on doing this journey soon! Thanks! Stay Safe!!
Thanks, you too!
I live for cool trips like this!! Thanks so much for posting.
Glad you enjoyed it!
All right! I'm going there. Thanks for the trip tip.
Thank you, that was an excellent tour.
Awesome video!! Thanks to you and your video I'm planning my own road trips.😊
Thank you. if you have any questions we are happy to help.
Did a motorcycle trip, in 2018, following the Trans America Trail. Took a detour along highway 50 from Fallon, spending the night in Ely, to just over the Utah state line, before turning north and following the dirt trails of the Pony Express route, all the way up to West Wendover. Highway 50 could definitely could qualify for 'loneliest road', but i didn't see a single soul for 150 miles once off the loneliest road.
Some interesting stops along the way... Wunder Hussy did a multi-part serise on this road last year also but I think she stops in Austin.
great video!!! I never heard of this, but I love the desert and ghost towns
High Steve! I've seen a lot of your videos: all of them were great, beautiful, amusing and very informative! But this one was beyond expectations! I think you deserve ~ 99 likes! ❤
Luckily I have and old friend! An English big Atlas, pub. in London, 1981; it had got some 24 pages dedicated for the huge North American contenent, including 2 p. for the western third of USA, so I could follow and accompany you along your fascinating trip! A very joyful experience!
In my journey I could distinguish the whole road (drawn as a very thin red line), from the beggining to the end, with most of the towns you mentioned (Carson City, Fallon, Austin, Eureka, Ely...).
Thanx again, Steve! 💐
Drove this a few years ago. My favorite road of all time.
What a cool informational video about the nation's loneliest road. Well done indeed. New subscriber. A+
As a tour guide, this was a great vid on highway 50! Well done
Hwy 6 between Tonopah and Ely. Saw no cars until 20 miles from Ely on a Saturday afternoon in August. One hell of a monsoon storm flooded the road. Saw a microwave tower lit up like a match from a lightning strike. Like another planet out there.
How fast can you drive without getting tickets for speeding?
@@chadhaire1711 Well, it’s open range, so you might kill yourself hitting one of those bologna bulls wandering about. Saw that on US50 years ago just east of Fallon. Big Caddy was no match and came apart. Happened at night. I was heading to the Eureka area mule deer hunting.
We camped at the top campground on Wheeler peak, hiked to top of mountain and signed book at top. What a view from over 13000 elevation. Campground was about 10000 feet and is beautiful.
That's awesome. When we were there we wanted to stay at the Wheeler campground but it was closed as they were doing maintenance on it. Even down lower though we still saw some amazing skies at night so can't complain though.
“For sometimes a man must be alone, but this is no place to hide”
Hi Steve...I've been watchin many of your Vids. I don't like to comment because I can imagine your are busy but i had to say something here. I did this road in my 1969 Caprice way back in the 1980's-90's west to east. I did collect the stamps and mailed away for the certificate but, after 45 years of collecting 'road-stuff' over my hundreds of road-trips, I have no idea where it is in all my clutter! Thank God my wife makes me keep it all in our crawl-spaces and just 3 bedrooms.
Really enjoyed this. I hope to take this trip one day. Thanks!
Another great video!
Thank you!
Great video! Thanks for sharing. Some of my videos from last year also have the gray skies from the wildfires.
Cool trip ! Thanks for the video !
This IS a lonely road. My dad took us on it on one of our vacations as a teen. An even lonelier road is the highway going north to south. I remember we were on it at night. The night was clear with some moon and lots of stars. From a slight height you could see the straight highway for many, many miles until it was lost over the horizon. No other headlights, no lights of any kind. Very lonely and somewhat scary. We were glad to get back on a more traveled road. My dad found it reminded him of trips with my grandparents by car from LA to Chicago in the 1930's to visit relatives. Back in the rugged days of car travel by highway.
I rode it solo on my motorcycle coming back home from a coast-to-coast trip back in 91. Got 'buzzed' from behind by some fighter-jet jockey which almost blew me off the bike; hec cleared the telephone poles by about that same height. Have water, you'll die in hours without it in the heat of the day. One stretch was over 120 miles between gas stations, and if either one is closed it's half that much further to the next one. High gas prices because they can. Wish I'd had time and money to do some side-exploring but had to get home. Worth the experience.
I traveled Highway 50- a lot back in the 80s when I lived in Nevada. It's a lonely highway all right but but its not even the loneliest highway in Nevada ! But highway 50 has some really neat towns..like Ely, Eureka, and Austin !
Very nice video. Thank you!!
We just did it. I got 5 stamps!!! My certificate saying I survived the loneliest road in America should be coming soon.
Cool video.
Congratulations! Such a cool souvenir.
Cool video
Just stay safe at home, okay.
Drove it about year ago it was my main destination on my trip out west from nw In, it was cool ready go back.
i dont mean to be so off topic but does any of you know of a way to get back into an instagram account?
I was dumb lost my password. I love any tips you can give me
I wrecked on that road 20 yrs ago. I still feel it. Hate it I missed it. Only made it about an hour from Fallen close to a cafe in the middle of nowhere.
Thanks! Love this video!
Nice. Road trips are the best.
Driving Hwy 50 is definitely on my to-do list when the pandemic lets up. Checked out the Northern Nevada Railway museum in 2019, and will be spending time there again.
We are hoping to go back and check out some of the stuff we missed after this pandemic as well.
Why wait?
Very interesting. Thanks 😊
Love this channel.
That was great !
Now, this looks like a good bike ride.
Awesome video. Good job
Great video. Places I need to go check out. You've probably heard this a thousand times, but your voice is vaguely reminiscent of Mark Hamill.....
Thank you and may the force be with you!
Outstanding Video!!!
Thank you!
Back when he was a kid. My dad spent a summer or two working at the mine just outside of Ely.
It sounds like you must have been at Great basin during a holiday. Lehman caves is open pretty much year round - unless that's changed recently.
Thank you!
My Great-Grandmother lived and hunted bob cat in Fallon, turn of the last Century
I LOVE ELY! I was there in October of 2020. I want to move there.
I'm from South Africa. Please let me go with you. 😁😁👍
This reminds me of the Baja I love this road
Hwy 50 is my favorite road for off roading for the last 30 years. Towns were mostly fuel and food stops for us back then. Now I go back for the history and the hotels.
Yep.
I really love your videos! Thank you!
thanks for the video
Very well done!!
Thank you very much!
Hey, San Diego Steve! Great video! Next time you are in Fallon, it would be great if you checked out the Naval Air Station, which is where Top Gun is now located (previously located at Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego).
Steve, I'm from San Diego and live in Carson City. I've been to all these places. I never new about the passport of the "Loneliness Highway". Guess I need to start over again. Lol
Just found your channel. Great stuff
Holy moly that sand mountain is pretty big
Be sure to bring water. I drove from on end to the other, and there are no public drinking fountains.
Texas hill country has a passport also,great fun.
Very nice video.
I've been through Nevada many times, and the north/south routes like 303, 278 and 140 make US 50 look like rush hour in comparison. It's all good, though. High speed running in a beautiful environment, but you'll do much better with a full-size spare tire.
I got pulled over by a cop on HW50 some 100 miles from Eli. I got out of the ticket by pointing to the mileage on the van I was driving which had over 660,000 miles on it and said, "If I were a speeder, I would have lost my license a long time ago.
Awesome tour of historic downtown Fallon!
Any chance you could cover the California towns along Hwy 88 and 26 on the way to Hwy 89 and South Lake Tahoe? West Point’s “Lumberjack Days” and the AMA Wilseyville Hare Scrambles are two awesome events very few people outside of the area know about.
Lower Bear River Reservoir off Hwy 88 also has excellent camping, fishing, and boating.
Just looked it up, both of those look super interesting. Definitely want to check it out.
@@SidetrackAdventures, awesome! If you’re headed to Pine Grove, West Point, Placerville, and South Lake Tahoe from Sacramento, try taking Hwy 16 east to Hwy 49, and use the Historic Hwy 49 (not the bypass). Cruising through Drytown, Amador City, and Sutter Creek is a scenic, slow cruise.
I've driven that road several times, often at 100+ mph due to its emptiness. It is a gorgeous route.
Hey, Einstein, at 100 mph all it takes is either a pothole or a grey rock and you will win the Darwin Award 💀
@@RogueReplicant And the road is dead straight and flat for a 20 miles at a time. You can literally see field mice running across the road from 50 yards away. That region of Nevada is used for an open road race called the Silver State Classic, where cars go twice that fast. Utah has a state speed limit not far to the east of 80 mph, and the traffic on the interstate there is far greater than on 50.
@@gtv6chuck 50 yards is not enough to brake at 170 km/hr. But, hey, who am I to keep you from achieving that coveted Darwin Award. I just hope they don't waste my tax money to scrape you off the "lonely road" ☺️
Well, I love this road (all roads in Nevada). I made many, many runs across 50 in my 18 wheeler. When I could, I would run at 70.
@@RogueReplicant The difference is that you've never driven on it; I did. It is one of the smoother and better maintained roads I've driven on, and was a pleasure to drive on at speed, just like when I drove on the autobahn. And even if you were to drive off the road there is 10 miles of dead flat dry lake bed on either side of you. The kind of place where they try to break land speed records.
Great video! Whose music is in the background? Nice choice!
I’m pretty sure the service station at 1:00 was originally an automobile dealership . . .
Haha...I just moved to Dayton right off of the 50 from Orange County, talk about culture shock. Haha.
Human habitation as early as 10 000 BC...Amazing.
Just drove this last October. Definitely lonely.