The Long Way
Washoe County
A scenic view of a clear blue lake with large boulders and pine trees along the shore.
Plate I. East Shore view, Lake Tahoe Scenic Byway. From visitlaketahoe.com
A scenic landscape view of a waterfall with a lake and sunset in the background.
Plate II. Eagle Falls along Lake Tahoe Scenic Byway. From visitlaketahoe.com
An aerial view of a winding road through a forest of pine trees.
Plate III. Mt. Rose Scenic Byway through forest. From travelnevada.com
Lake Tahoe from Mount Rose Scenic Byway.
Plate IV. Lake Tahoe from Mount Rose Scenic Byway. Photograph by Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lake Tahoe from Mount Rose Scenic Byway.
Plate V. Lake Tahoe from Mount Rose Scenic Byway. Photograph by Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lake Tahoe view, Mount Rose Scenic Byway.
Plate VI. Lake Tahoe view, Mount Rose Scenic Byway. From fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov

Lake Tahoe & Mount Rose Scenic Byway

Lake Tahoe, Washoe County, Nevada. Scenic byway; All-season pass.

Details

Where
State Route 431, Reno, Lake Tahoe, NV 89511. Directions
When
Half an hour at speed; 45 minutes taken slowly.
Getting there
From Reno, take U.S. 395 south to State Route 431, the Mt. Rose Highway, which meets State Route 28 at Incline Village. Turn right a couple of miles to Crystal Bay, then double back and take the byway to Stateline.
Fees
None.
Access
The byway is two highways: U.S. 50 from Stateline to Spooner Lake and State Route 28 from Spooner Lake to Crystal Bay.
Phone
(888) 434-1262
Website
travelnevada.com
Managed by
Travel Nevada; corridor managed with Washoe County.

Nevada State Scenic Byway that climbs 4,000 feet over Mount Rose from the sagebrush of Reno to ponderosa pines and Lake Tahoe at Incline Village; passes through Tahoe Meadows near the Sierra Nevada's highest year-round pass.

Notable Events

  1. 1905Dr. James Edward Church established one of America's first high-altitude meteorological observatories on the summit on June 29, 1905. shpo.nv.gov
  2. 1936Washoe County initially funded the highway; the Forest Service then helped rebuild most of the route to Forest Service standards. nevadawilderness.org
  3. 1960After 12 miles were upgraded from Sky Tavern to Incline Village for the 1960 Winter Olympic Games, the new highway opened on May 14, 1960. nevadawilderness.org
  4. 1996The Lake Tahoe route received National Scenic Byway designation. nsbfoundation.com
  5. 2016Washoe County commissioners adopted the Mount Rose Scenic Corridor Management Plan on January 12, 2016. washoecounty.gov

People

  • Dr. James Edward Church, Established the Mount Rose weather observatory and developed the modern science of snow survey.

Sources

  1. fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov/bywaysp/byway/2456
  2. fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov/bywaysp/byway/2034
  3. travelnevada.com/tours-cruises/mt-rose-scenic-byway
  4. visitlaketahoe.com/things-to-do/lake-tahoe-scenic-byway
  5. washoecounty.gov/parks/planning_and_development/corridor_management_plans.php
  6. travelnevada.com/silver-state-scenic-byways-sure-to-get-your-motor-runnin
  7. nsbfoundation.com/nb/lake-tahoe-national-scenic-byway
  8. washoecounty.gov/bcc/board_committees/2007/clerk_minutes/BCC%20-%202007-02-13%20R%20Minutes.pdf
  9. fs.usda.gov/r05/laketahoebasin/natural-resources/geology
  10. usgs.gov/news/pleistocene-volcanism-and-shifting-shorelines-lake-tahoe-california
  11. taylortallac.org/tahoe-and-its-people
  12. nevadawilderness.org/mount_rose_wilderness_additional_resources
  13. shpo.nv.gov/nevadas-historical-markers/historical-markers/mount-rose-weather-observatory