U.S. Route 385 (US 385) is a spur of

U.S. Route 85 U.S. Route 85 (US 85) is a north–south United States Highway that travels in the Mountain and Northern Plains states of the United States. The southern terminus of the highway is at the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas, connecting ...

that runs for 1,206 miles (1,941 km) from Deadwood, South Dakota to

Big Bend National Park Big Bend National Park is an American national park located in West Texas, bordering Mexico. The park has national significance as the largest protected area of Chihuahuan Desert topography and ecology in the United States, and was named after ...

in Texas.

Route description

, - , TX , 545 , 877 , - , OK , 36 , 58 , - , CO , 317 , 510 , - , NE , 181 , 290 , - , SD , 122 , 196 , - , Total , 1206 , 1941

Texas

US 385 is designated as a part of the La Entrada al Pacifico trade corridor from

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

in Fort Stockton to

Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with Interstate 10, I-10 in Scroggins Draw, Texas, and ending at an interchange with Interstate 95, I-95 in Flo ...

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

. The section from Fort Stockton to McCamey runs concurrently with US 67. From McCamey, the route proceeds to Crane in Crane County. From Crane to Odessa, US 385 intersects with U.S. Highway 62 in Seminole and continues northward to Brownfield, where US 385 continues northward towards Levelland and crosses by

Texas State Highway 86 State Highway 86 (SH 86) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Texas that runs from Texico to Estelline. This route was designated on August 21, 1923 as the renumbered SH 5A. On September 17, 1923, the section from Estelline to Turkey was ...

in Dimmitt, as well as

U.S. Highway 84 U.S. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–west U.S. Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it had been extended all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short dista ...

in Littlefield. From Littlefield, US 385 continues northward until it crosses Interstate 40 and then goes in a half circle to

Hartley Hartley may refer to: Places Australia *Hartley, New South Wales *Hartley, South Australia **Electoral district of Hartley, a state electoral district Canada *Hartley Bay, British Columbia United Kingdom *Hartley, Cumbria *Hartley, Plymou ...

, where US 385 joins

U.S. Highway 87 U.S. Highway 87 (US 87) is a north–south United States highway (though it is signed east–west in New Mexico) that runs for 1,998 miles (3,215 km) from northern Montana to southern Texas, making it the longest north-south roa ...

. US 385 and US 87 follow a northwest track until the two meet

U.S. Highway 54 U.S. Route 54 (US 54) is an east–west United States Highway that runs northeast–southwest for from El Paso, Texas, to Griggsville, Illinois. The Union Pacific Railroad's Tucumcari Line (former Southern Pacific and Rock Island Lines "Gold ...

then split, with US 385 continuing northward until it exits Texas at the

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

border. On rural US 385, the speed limit is 75 mph in all counties going south of Gaines County starting between Seminole and Andrews down to US 90 in Marathon.

Oklahoma

, US-385 runs through

Cimarron County Cimarron County is the westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its county seat is Boise City, Oklahoma, Boise City. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 2,296, making it the leas ...

at the end of the

Oklahoma panhandle The Oklahoma Panhandle (formerly called No Man's Land, the Public Land Strip, the Neutral Strip, or Cimarron Territory) is a salient in the extreme northwestern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, consisting of Cimarron County, Texas Count ...

. Fourteen miles north of the border, it joins with US-56, US-64, and US-412. The three highways run northeast into the county seat, Boise City. In the middle of town, the highways come to a traffic circle surrounding the Cimarron County Courthouse. The traffic circle serves six highways (with most passing through): U.S. Routes 56, 64, 385 and 412, and State Highways 3 and

325 __NOTOC__ Year 325 ( CCCXXV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Proculus and Paulinus (or, less frequently, year 1078 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 3 ...

. After leaving the circle, US-385 heads northward, overlapping US-287 and SH-3, the state's longest state highway. SH-3 ends at the state line while US-287/385 continue north into Colorado. The section of US-385 that overlaps SH-3 is also signed as Governor George Nigh's Northwest Passage, after the governor of Oklahoma responsible for improvements to the corridor.

Colorado

U.S. 385 passes north–south through the easternmost counties of Colorado. It enters the state south of Campo on an overlap with

U.S. Route 287 U.S. Route 287 (US 287) is a north–south (physically northwest–southeast) United States highway. At long, it is the second longest three-digit U.S. Route, behind US 281. It serves as the major truck route between Fort Worth and Ama ...

. The overlap continues north until Lamar. At Lamar, the route turns east on an overlap with

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 Atlanti ...

and this overlap ends in

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

. The highway turns north at Granada and meets Interstate 70 at Burlington and Interstate 76 at Julesburg. The highway leaves Colorado northwest of Julesburg.

Nebraska

U.S. 385 passes north–south through the Nebraska Panhandle. It enters Nebraska south of

Chappell Chappell may refer to: Places * Chappell, Nebraska, United States * Chappells, South Carolina, United States * Chappell (crater) on the moon * Mount Chappell Island, Tasmania, Australia * North West Mount Chappell Islet, Tasmania, Australia Organi ...

and overlaps U.S. Route 30 between Chappell and

Sidney Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sidney (footballer, born 1972), full name Sidney da Silva Souza, Brazilian football defensive midfielder * ...

. At Sidney, it turns north, meeting U.S. Route 26 at Bridgeport. It passes through Alliance before intersecting U.S. Route 20 at Chadron. It exits the state northwest of Chadron. Throughout its entire length in Nebraska, US 385 is known as the Gold Rush Byway, one of nine scenic byways in the state.

South Dakota

U.S. 385 enters South Dakota south of Oelrichs. It is overlapped with

U.S. Route 18 U.S. Route 18 (US 18) is an east–west U.S. highway in the Midwestern United States. The western terminus is in Orin, Wyoming at an interchange with Interstate 25. Its eastern terminus is in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, US 18 run ...

between Oelrichs and

Hot Springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

. U.S. 385 turns north and enters Wind Cave National Park before turning west to go through Pringle. At Custer, it begins an overlap with

U.S. Route 16 U.S. Route 16 (US 16) is an east–west United States Highway between Rapid City, South Dakota and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The highway's eastern terminus is at a junction with Interstate 90/U.S. Route 14 (I-90/US 14), concu ...

, which ends near Hill City. U.S. 385 gradually turns in a northwesterly direction and ends at an intersection with

Deadwood Deadwood may refer to: Places Canada * Deadwood, Alberta * Deadwood, British Columbia * Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia United States * Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communiti ...

. Legally, the South Dakota section of U.S. 385, with the exception of concurrencies with U.S. 16 and U.S. 18 and a gap at Wind Cave National Park, is defined at South Dakota Codified Laws § 31-4-235.

History

Today's US 385 is the second route to bear the number. The original route eventually became part of US 87. This US 385 designation was decommissioned around 1935. The current US 385 first appeared in 1959. Originally, the route continued along US 287 north of Lamar, Colorado, splitting in Kit Carson to follow US 40 east to meet up with the present-day alignment in

Cheyenne Wells Cheyenne Wells is the Statutory Town that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Cheyenne County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 758 at the 2020 United States Census. History The community was named for th ...

. In South Dakota, in 2009, the South Dakota Department of Transportation designated US 16/US 385 between Custer and Hill City, which passes by the Crazy Horse Memorial, now being carved in the Black Hills. This segment of US 385 is also a part of the George Hearst Memorial Highway.

Major intersections

;Texas : The north entrance to

south-southeast of

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

: in Marathon. The highways travel concurrently to east of Marathon. : in Fort Stockton. The highways travel concurrently through Fort Stockton. : in Fort Stockton. I-10/US 385 travels concurrently to east-southeast of Fort Stockton. US 67/US 385 travels concurrently to McCamey. : in

: in Seminole. US 62/US 385 travels concurrently to Brownfield. : in Brownfield. The highways travel concurrently through Brownfield. : in Littlefield : in Springlake : in

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...

: in Vega : in

. The highways travel concurrently to

Dalhart Dalhart is a city in Dallam and Hartley counties in the U.S. state of Texas, and the county seat of Dallam County. The population was 7,930 at the 2010 census. History Founded in 1901, Dalhart is named for its location on the border of Dalla ...

. : in Dalhart ;Oklahoma : southwest of Boise City. The highways travel concurrently to Boise City. : north of Boise City. The highways travel concurrently to Lamar, Colorado. ;Colorado : south of

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

: in Lamar. US 50/US 385 travels concurrently to

. : in Granada : in

. The highways travel concurrently to east of Cheyenne Wells. : in Burlington : in Burlington. The highways travel concurrently through Burlington. : east of Idalia. The highways travel concurrently to northeast of Idalia. : in Wray : in Holyoke : in Julesburg : in Julesburg. The highways travel concurrently to west-southwest of Julesburg. ;Nebraska : in

. The highways travel concurrently to

. : in Bridgeport. The highways travel concurrently to Northport. : in Chadron. The highways travel concurrently to west of Chadron. ;South Dakota : in Oelrichs. The highways travel concurrently to

. : in Custer. The highways travel concurrently to east-northeast of Hill City. : in

References

External links

Endpoints of U.S. Highway 385
{{DEFAULTSORT:85-3 United States Numbered Highway System U.S. Highways in South Dakota U.S. Highways in Oklahoma 3