State Route 431 (SR 431), commonly known as the Mount Rose Highway, is a highway in

Washoe County, Nevada Washoe County () is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 486,492, making it Nevada's second-most populous county. Its county seat is Reno. Washoe County is included in the Reno, NV Metropolitan Statist ...

, that connects

Incline Village Incline Village is a census-designated place (CDP) on the north shore of Lake Tahoe in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The population was 8,777 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Reno− Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Until the 2 ...

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 ...

with

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 th ...

. The highway, a

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 sc ...

, takes its name from Mount Rose, which lies just off the highway. Prior to 1976, the highway existed as State Route 27. SR 431 Scenic Overlook of Lake Tahoe

Route description

The highway begins along the northeast shore of

in the city of

, at an intersection with SR 28. The highway scales the

Carson Range The Carson Range is a spur of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California and western Nevada that starts at Carson Pass and stretches north to the Truckee River near Verdi, Nevada. Geography The mountain range is about 50 miles (80 km) long a ...

, a spur range of the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...

, until reaching a meadow that is used as an access for the

Mount Rose Wilderness The Mt. Rose Wilderness is a protected wilderness area in the Carson Range of Washoe County, in the northwesternU.S. state of Nevada. It is located between Lake Tahoe and Reno, Nevada. The Mt. Rose Wilderness, including Mount Rose, covers ...

. Along the western ascent is a view area with directional markers pointing to several notable peaks in the Sierra Nevada range that surround Lake Tahoe. The highway crests the Carson Range at

Mount Rose Summit Mount Rose Summit is a mountain pass located in the Carson Range near Mount Rose and Slide Mountain, northeast of Incline Village, Nevada, United States.Google Earth images. The pass is traversed by State Route 431, which is the highest poi ...

. The Nevada Department of Transportation has claimed in several places this is the highest summit open year-round in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, . Both the east and west approach to the summit feature hairpin curves. On the eastern approach to the summit, the highway passes by the Mount Rose Ski Area and features overlooks with views of both Reno and the

Washoe Valley The Washoe Valley is a geographical region in the United States covering in southern Washoe County in the state of Nevada. Located between Reno and Carson City, it is named for the Washoe people, Native Americans who lived there before the arr ...

. After several serpentine bends the highway arrives at an area of Reno called Galena. In Galena, the highway has a junction with Interstate 580 and

US 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road ...

. It terminates at a junction with US 395 Alt. and SR 341, which continues towards

Virginia City Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. Virginia City developed as a boom ...

History

The road has existed at least as far back as 1950 as an access to the ski areas of Mount Rose. At that time it was a dirt road only passable by automobile in the summer months. Approximately of SR 431 was designated as the Mount Rose Nevada Scenic Byway by the Nevada Department of Transportation on June 27, 1996. Rapid growth in the Reno area has put strain on the corridor served by the highway. This has prompted

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

s to push for restrictions on future development along the corridor.

Major intersections

References

External links

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TravelNevada - Mt. Rose Scenic Byway

431 Year 431 ( CDXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Bassus and Antiochus (or, less frequently, year 1184 ''Ab urbe c ...

Transportation in Washoe County, Nevada

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links