State Route 28 (SR 28) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

in Douglas County,

Carson City Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...

, and Washoe County in western

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, United States, that runs along the northeastern shore of

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake i ...

. SR 28 connects

U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

(US 50) in Douglas County with

California State Route 28 State Route 28 (SR 28) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that travels along the northern shore of Lake Tahoe, starting at Route 89 in Tahoe City and ending at the Nevada state border, whereupon it becomes Nevada State Route 28 ...

at Crystal Bay. SR 28 has been part of the

Nevada scenic byway The U.S. state of Nevada maintains a system of scenic byways throughout the state. Currently, there are 20 designated state scenic byways. Some of these state scenic byways have also been incorporated into national byway designations. State scen ...

system since June 1994 and the

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

system since September 1996.

Route description

SR 28 begins at Spooner Junction, a T intersection with US 50 (also known as the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 19 ...

) and SR 28 on the border between the

Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest The Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest (HTNF) is the principal U.S. National Forest in the U.S. state of Nevada, and has a smaller portion in Eastern California. With an area of , it is the largest U.S. National Forest outside of Alaska. H ...

and the

Lake Tahoe – Nevada State Park A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

in northwestern Douglas County, just south of

Spooner Lake Spooner Lake is a man-made reservoir located just north of the intersection of Highway 50 and Highway 28 near Spooner Summit, a pass in the Carson Range of the Sierra Nevada leading to Carson City, Nevada from Lake Tahoe. It is located in Lak ...

. (US 50 heads west toward Zephyr Cove,

South Lake Tahoe South Lake Tahoe is the most populous city in El Dorado County, California, United States, in the Sierra Nevada. The city's population was 21,330 at the 2020 census, down from 21,403 at the 2010 census. The city, along the southern edge of Lake ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...

and eventually

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

and east toward

and Fallon.) From its southern terminus SR 28 heads northwest, initially along the border between the national forest and the state park. After about the highway leaves Douglas County and enters Carson City (

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

) and fully enters the state park. Shortly thereafter the highway crosses over

North Canyon Creek North Canyon Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed September 2, 2016 southwestward-flowing stream originating on Snow Valley Peak in the Carson Range of the Sierra ...

, and about after entering the state park, the highway leaves the park and enters the Humboldt–Toiyabe National Forest. Assuming a northerly course, SR 28 continues through the national forest and, after about another , the highway leave Carson City and enters Washoe County. LaketahoeSR28

Just over after entering Washoe County, SR 28 begins a segment (of approximately ) which runs along the east shore of Lake Tahoe. About along this segment, SR 28 leaves the national forest to renter the state park. The route then passes just east of the Sand Harbor area of the state park, site of the annual

Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival The Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival (LTSF) is a Not-For-Profit Nevada community-based arts enrichment program that produces classic and contemporary stage productions. History The Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival began in 1972 at Sugar Pine P ...

. North of Sand Harbor, SR 28 is also known as Tahoe Boulevard. Just over after reentering the state park, the route finally leaves it, briefly passes through another short section of the national forest, and enters the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

of Incline Village. Upon entering Incline Village, the route leaves the Lake Tahoe shoreline and connects with the eastern end of Lakeshore Boulevard at a T intersection (which heads west to reconnect with SR 28) and then turns to a westerly heading through the community. About after entering the community, near the west side of town, SR 28 connects with the southern end of

Nevada State Route 431 State Route 431 (SR 431), commonly known as the Mount Rose Highway, is a highway in Washoe County, Nevada, that connects Incline Village at Lake Tahoe with Reno. The highway, a Nevada Scenic Byway, takes its name from Mount Rose, which lies jus ...

(SR 431) at a

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford E ...

. (SR 431, also known as Mount Rose Highway, heads northeasterly towards

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

.) About later SR 28 reconnects with Lakeshore Boulevard. At that intersection, Tahoe Boulevard ends and SR 28 begins running along Lakeshore Boulevard. Continuing west, the highway resumes running along the shore of Lake Tahoe before it leaves Incline Village and turns south toward census-designated place of Crystal Bay. As SR 28 heads south, it runs less than from and roughly parallel to the California state line. In southern Crystal Bay, the route turns west and promptly reaches its western terminus at the California state line and the eastern end of California State Route 28 at an intersection with Stateline Road. (California State Route 28 continues west through the census-designated place and border community of Kings Beach (including the community of Brockway) and on to Tahoe Vista and

Tahoe City Tahoe City (formerly Tahoe) is an unincorporated town in Placer County, California. Tahoe City is located on the shore of Lake Tahoe, at the outlet of the Truckee River. The site was surveyed in 1863, and Tahoe House was built in 1864. The Tah ...

. At a point near the northern intersection of Lakeshore Boulevard, around 12,900 cars travel along SR 28 on average each day.

History

The road that became SR 28, used for

flume A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to ...

s in the timber industry since 1880, was paved around 1932. The route first appeared in 1948, with the same general alignment as it has today. The highway gained fame for many years as the location of the Ponderosa Ranch, filming location of the television series

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on ...

that is located on the east end of Incline Village. On June 7, 1994, the

Nevada Department of Transportation The Nevada Department of Transportation (Nevada DOT or NDOT) is a government agency in the U.S. state of Nevada. NDOT is responsible for maintaining and improving Nevada's highway system, which includes U.S. highways and Interstate highways withi ...

(NDOT) designated SR 28 as a scenic byway, named North Shore Road. Later in September 1996, SR 28 and part of US 50 was designated as Lake Tahoe - Eastshore Drive, a National Scenic Byway.

Major intersections

:Note:

Milepost A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the rou ...

s in Nevada reset at county lines; the start and end mileposts for each county are given in the county column.

References

External links

AARoads: Nevada 28
{{DEFAULTSORT:028 Lake Tahoe National Scenic Byways Nevada Scenic Byways State highways in Nevada

Nevada State Route 28 State Route 28 (SR 28) is a state highway in Douglas County, Carson City, and Washoe County in western Nevada, United States, that runs along the northeastern shore of Lake Tahoe. SR 28 connects U.S. Route 50 (US 50) in ...