Photo Essay: Tour of Nevada's Loneliest Road in Photos

Ladies and gentleman, I have survived Loneliest Road in America road trip and lived to tell about it. And let me tell you, it lives up to its lonely name. It's lonely, it's quirky, it's unusual. It's amazing. U.S. Route 50 across Central Nevada was dubbed the "Loneliest Road in America" 30 years ago this year in 1986 by LIFE Magazine. The AAA counselor who is quoted by LIFE, is very poignant about just how lonely it is:

“It’s 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.”

It sounds more like the road to Mordor than the road through Central Nevada. As Gimli put it, "Certainty of death, *small* chance of success... What are we waiting for?"

Alright, so it's neither death-defying nor requires survival skills, beyond knowing how to drive a car down long, straight roads. And actually there are a lot of points of interests, such as a castle (yes, really), a national park, a mountain made out of sand, and other things (in your face LIFE). But I'm not going to lie, it's hella lonely.

While I'll be sharing more about my Loneliest Road in America road trip the next few weeks, I wanted to let the photos do the talking today. See my tour of Nevada's loneliest road in photos below.

Loneliest Road in America road trip in photos

McGill Drugstore Museum Nevada
McGill Drugstore Museum Nevada
Road tripping near Great Basin National Park

Road tripping near Great Basin National Park

Lizard wildlife at Great Basin National Park
Lizard wildlife at Great Basin National Park
Nevada Northern Railway Museum in Ely, Nevada
Nevada Northern Railway Museum in Ely, Nevada
Loneliest Road on Highway 50 in Nevada
Loneliest Road on Highway 50 in Nevada
Hickison Petroglyph Recreation Area
Hickison Petroglyph Recreation Area
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Panoramic of Great Basin National Park
Nevada Northern Railway Museum in Ely, Nevada
Nevada Northern Railway Museum in Ely, Nevada
Old Train Tunnel near Ely, Nevada
Old Train Tunnel near Ely, Nevada
Eureka, Nevada on the Loneliest Road in America
Eureka, Nevada on the Loneliest Road in America
An actual castle on Highway 50, in the town of Austin

An actual castle on Highway 50, in the town of Austin