Nevada State Route 431; the Mount Rose Highway

Back in 2016 I had a chance to drive Nevada State Route 431 from NV 28 at Lake Tahoe northeast to US 395A/NV 341 south of Reno.

NV 431 is a 24.4 mile State Highway and as the sign above states is reputed to be the highest all-year pass in the Sierra Nevada Range at 8,911 feet above sea level. The Mount Rose Highway has been a Signed State Highway for a long time first appearing on the Nevada State Highway Map in 1932 as NV 27.

1932 Nevada State Highway Map

Unlike nearby NV 28 the numbering of NV 27 was reassigned to NV 431 in 1976 during the Nevada State Highway renumbering. The new designation of NV 431 appears alongside NV 27 on the Mount Rose Highway on the 1978 Nevada State Highway Map.

1978 Nevada State Highway Map

NV 431 starts eastward from NV 28 on the northeast shore of Lake Tahoe in Incline Village at approximately 6,350 feet above sea level.

From Incline Village NV 431 begins to ascend quickly and has a massive vista of Lake Tahoe at the first major hairpin.

NV 431 quickly rises to the 8,911 feet Mount Rose Summit.

Truckee Meadows can be seen ahead from Mount Rose northeast on NV 431.

From Mount Rose NV 431 begins to descend rapidly crossing through the Mount Rose Ski Area. NV431 has a minor unsigned junction at NV 878/Slide Mountain Ski Bowl Highway.

The rapid descent of NV 431 to Truckee Meadows continues through a large number of wide switchbacks before straightening out on a steep descent.

NV 431 has a junction with US 395/I-580 before terminating at the junction of NV 341/US 395A.

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Old Stage Road; the "real" El Camino Real and predecessor route to US Route 101 on the San Juan Grade

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Part 1; the history of El Camino Real and Old Stage Road

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"In the valley we saw many antelopes and white grey geese. In the same valley we found an arroyo...and then came to a village in which I counted about twenty tule huts. But the only two people we saw were two Indians who came out to the road and presented us with thr…

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Part 1; the history of Railroad Square and the highways of Santa Rosa

Santa Rosa is the County Seat and largest City in Sonoma County. Santa Rosa was settled in 1833 in Alta California and was named after Saint Rose of Lima. When California became an American State, Sonoma County was one of the original counties. The original County Seat of Sonoma County was in Sonoma but it was soon moved to Santa Rosa by 1854. In 1867 Santa Rosa became an incorporated City as it was one of the few major communities north of San Francisco Bay.

Railroad service arrived to Santa Rosa in 1870 by way of the San Francisco & Northern Pacific Railroad ("SF&NP"). The SF&NP began construction from Petaluma northward in 1869. By 1…

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Part 1; the history of US Route 101 in Salinas

Salinas is presently the largest City in Monterey County and is the County Seat. Salinas lies within Salinas Valley and is located east of the namesake river. Originally El Camino Real originally was routed through Salinas Valley on a course towards the Monterey Peninsula. The route of El Camino Real was intended to solidify a path of travel between the Catholic Missions of Las Californias. In 1797 Mission San Juan Bautista was founded which led to a need for a spur of El Camino Real to be built from Salinas Valley over the Gabilan Range. This spur of El Camino Real would become what is now Old Stage Road. The split in the paths of El Camino Real roughly was located where the City of Salinas now sits.

In 1804 Alta California was formed out of the larger Las Californias but the junction of El Camino Real in Salinas Valley …

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