U.S. Route 50 in California

U.S. Route 50
US 50 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Caltrans
Length	108.624 mi[1] (174.813 km)
Existed	1926–present
Tourist routes	US 50 between SR 49 in Placerville and SR 89 near South Lake Tahoe[2]
Major junctions
West end	I-80 in West Sacramento
Major intersections	I-5 in Sacramento SR 99 / I-80 BL in Sacramento SR 49 in Placerville SR 89 in South Lake Tahoe
East end	US 50 at Nevada state line in Stateline, NV
Location
Country	United States
State	California
Counties	Yolo, Sacramento, El Dorado
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided State highways in California Interstate US State Scenic History Pre‑1964 Unconstructed Deleted Freeways
← SR 49 → SR 51

U.S. Route 50 (US 50) is a transcontinental United States Numbered Highway, stretching from West Sacramento, California, in the west to Ocean City, Maryland, in the east. The California portion of US 50 runs east from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento to the Nevada state line in South Lake Tahoe. A portion in Sacramento also has the unsigned designation of Interstate 305. The western half of the highway in California is a four-or-more-lane divided highway, mostly built to freeway standards, and known as the El Dorado Freeway outside of downtown Sacramento. US 50 continues as an undivided highway with one eastbound lane and two westbound lanes until the route reaches the canyon of the South Fork American River at Riverton. The remainder of the highway, which climbs along and out of the canyon, then over the Sierra Nevada at Echo Summit and into the Lake Tahoe Basin, is primarily a two-lane road.

The US 50 corridor is a historic one, used by many 49ers who came to California during the Gold Rush as well as the Pony Express. In 1895, part of the present-day route was designated as California's first state highway, and it was later designated as one of two routes of the Lincoln Highway across the Sierra Nevada. Much of US 50 was constructed during the initial construction of the California state highway system.