U.S. Highway 26 (US 26) is an east–west

United States Numbered Highway The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

that runs from

Seaside, Oregon Seaside is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The name Seaside is derived from ''Seaside House'', a historic summer resort built in the 1870s by railroad magnate Ben Holladay. The city's population ...

, to Ogallala,

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. When the U.S. Numbered Highway System was first defined, it was limited to

and

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

; by the 1950s, it continued into

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. The highway's eastern terminus is in Ogallala at an intersection with

Interstate 80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

(I-80). Its western terminus is south of Seaside at an intersection with US 101. Prior to 2004, the route's last were cosigned with US 101 from the highways' junction south of Seaside north to Astoria where its intersection with US 30 was also US 30's western terminus. Long segments of the highway follow the historic

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail crossed what ...

. At its peak, immediately before the establishment of the

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, or the Eisenhower Interstate System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Hi ...

, US 26 was in length and terminated in Astoria.

Route description

, - , OR , , - , ID , , - , WY , , - , NE , , - , Total ,

Oregon

Starting at a junction with US 101 near Seaside, US 26 heads southeast through the Coast Range to Portland. In the western Portland area, US 26 is a

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

known as the Sunset Highway. After passing through the Vista Ridge Tunnels, heading into

Downtown Portland Downtown Portland is the central business district of Portland, Oregon, United States. It is on the west bank of the Willamette River in the northeastern corner of the southwest section of the city and where most of the city's high-rise buildi ...

, it intersects with I-405 and runs along the Interstate southbound for about a half-mile () before exiting onto surface streets at the waterfront, meeting Oregon Route 43 (OR 43) at Macadam Avenue before crossing I-5. After crossing the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

and meeting at an incomplete interchange with OR 99E, US 26 then heads east on Powell Boulevard where it crosses I-205 and continues east to Sandy on what is known as the Mount Hood Highway No. 26, a four-lane divided highway that was supposed to be the Mount Hood Freeway, which was never built just south of Division Street. After passing through Sandy, US 26 (known there as the Mount Hood Highway) continues on toward Government Camp and Bennett Pass, where it eventually meets up with OR 35. The Mount Hood Highway continues north along OR 35, while US 26 heads southeast toward

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

, where it intersects with US 97. It then continues southeast to Prineville, where it meets OR 126 and heads east through John Day where it meets US 20 in

Vale A vale is a type of valley. Vale may also refer to: Places Georgia * Vale, Georgia, a town in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region Norway * Våle, a historic municipality Portugal * Vale (Santa Maria da Feira), a former civil parish in the municip ...

. The remainder of US 26 follows US 20 to the

state line.

Idaho

From the Oregon state line, US 26 continues to follow US 20 to

Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...

, with short concurrencies with US 95 near Parma and

I-84 Interstate 84 may refer to: * Interstate 84 (Oregon–Utah), passing through Idaho, formerly known as Interstate 80N * Interstate 84 (Pennsylvania–Massachusetts), passing through New York and Connecticut {{road disambiguation ...

at Caldwell. At Boise, US 26/US 20 merges with I-84 for about until Mountain Home, where US 20 splits from US 26/I-84. About later in

Bliss BLISS is a system programming language developed at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) by W. A. Wulf, D. B. Russell, and A. N. Habermann around 1970. It was perhaps the best known system language until C debuted a few years later. Since then, C ...

, US 26 splits from I-84, joining US 93 at

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshon ...

with the concurrent routes joining US 20 at Carey. US 20/US 26/US 93 skirt the north edge of

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a National monument (United States), U.S. national monument and national preserve in the Snake River Plain in central Idaho. It is along U.S. Route 20#Idaho, US 20 (Concurrency (road), concur ...

and then through

Arco Arco may refer to: Places * Arco, Trentino, a town in Trentino, Italy * Arco, Idaho, in the United States * Arco, Minnesota, a city in the United States * ARCO Arena in Sacramento, California, home of the Sacramento Kings Companies * ARCO (b ...

where US 93 splits north. Near

Idaho National Laboratory Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is one of the national laboratories of the United States Department of Energy and is managed by the Battelle Energy Alliance. Historically, the lab has been involved with nuclear research, although the labora ...

, US 26 again splits from US 20 to the southeast, proceeding to Blackfoot, where US 26 joins I-15 for about before splitting just south of

Idaho Falls Idaho Falls is the List of cities in Idaho, fourth most populous city in Idaho and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, Bonneville County. It is the state's most populous city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United St ...

toward

Alpine, Wyoming Alpine is a town in the northwest corner of Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States; adjacent to the Idaho border, the northwest end of the Alpine Airport's single runway extends into Idaho. The population was 1,220 at the 2020 census. Geograp ...

Wyoming

From Alpine, US 26 is cosigned with US 89 east and north to Hoback Junction, then cosigned with US 89, US 189, and US 191 to

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

. US 189 ends in Jackson, and the other three highways continue their concurrency through

Grand Teton National Park Grand Teton National Park is a national park of the United States in northwestern Wyoming. At approximately , the park includes the major peaks of the Teton Range as well as most of the northern sections of the valley known as Jackson Hole. G ...

up to Moran. At "Glacier View Turnout", a view of Teton Glacier, on the north of Grand Teton, can be seen. At Moran, US 26 turns east, concurrent with US 287. Crossing the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

at Togwotee Pass, US 26 passes through Dubois, the end of the Wyoming Centennial Scenic Byway, and at Diversion Dam Junction, US 26 and US 287 separate; US 26 continues southeast to Riverton, then northeast to Shoshoni. From Shoshoni to Casper, US 26 is cosigned with US 20. US 20/US 26 has a bypass north of Casper, the eastern half of which is concurrent with

I-25 Interstate 25 (I-25), also known as the Pan-American Freeway, is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 st ...

and US 87. US 20/US 26/US 87 parallels I-25 from Casper to Glenrock; east of Glenrock, US 26 (along with US 20 and US 87) is cosigned on I-25. US 26 follows I-25 to Dwyer Junction, where it turns east to continue along the Old

. US 26 passes through

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

Fort Laramie Fort Laramie (; founded as Fort William and known for a while as Fort John) was a significant 19th-century trading post, diplomatic site, and military installation located at the confluence of the Laramie and the North Platte Rivers. They joi ...

, Lingle, and Torrington before entering Nebraska. US 85 is concurrent with US 26 between Lingle and Torrington.

Nebraska

US 26 runs southeastward parallel to the

North Platte River The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately long, counting its many curves.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 21, 2011 I ...

. The largest city US 26 runs through in Nebraska is Scottsbluff, which is just 22 miles (35 km) from the Wyoming border. US 26 also goes past Chimney Rock National Historic Site. US 26 intersects with US 385 in

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnock River on Long Is ...

and then continues to its eastern terminus in Ogallala, Nebraska at

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one of the ori ...

. All told, there are of US 26 in the state of Nebraska.

History

U.S. Highway 320 (US 320) was part of the initial 1926 system, connecting US 20 in Shoshoni with US 87W in

Riverton, Wyoming Riverton is a city in Fremont County, Wyoming, United States. The city's population was 10,682 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous city in the county. History The city, founded in 1906, is an incorporated entity of the state of Wy ...

. It became Wyoming Highway 320 (WYO 320) in 1938, which was extended southwest to Lander in 1940 when US 287 (which had replaced US 87W) was realigned. The original part of US 320/WYO 320 became part of an extension of US 26 in 1950, and the rest of WYO 320 became part of WYO 789 in 1954.

Major intersections

;Oregon : south of Seaside : in Portland. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in Portland : in

. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

. The highways travel concurrently to John Day. : in

. The highways travel concurrently to Mountain Home. ;Idaho : north-northwest of

Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...

. The highways travel concurrently to southeast of Parma. : north of Caldwell. The highways travel concurrently to Caldwell. : in

. The highways travel concurrently through the city. : in Boise. I-84/US 26 travel concurrently to

. US 26/US 30 travel concurrently to west-northwest of Bliss. : in

. The highways travel concurrently to

. : in Carey. The highways travel concurrently to northwest of Atomic City. : in Blackfoot. The highways travel concurrently to

. : in

;Wyoming : on the Alpine Northwest– Alpine Northeast line. The highways travel concurrently to Moran. : in

Hoback Junction Hoback is a census-designated place (CDP) in Teton County, Wyoming, Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,176 at the United States Census 2010, 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson, Wyoming, Jackson, WY–Idaho, ID Jack ...

. US 26/US 189 travel concurrently to

. US 26/US 191 travel concurrently to Moran. : in Moran. The highways travel concurrently to west-northwest of Morton. : in Shoshoni. The highways travel concurrently to Orin. : on the Casper– Hartrandt city line. I-25/US 26 travel concurrently into Casper proper. US 26/US 87 travel concurrently to west-southwest of Dwyer. : southeast of Glenrock. The highways travel concurrently to west-southwest of Dwyer. : in Orin : in Lingle. The highways travel concurrently to Torrington. ;Nebraska : in

. The highways travel concurrently to Northport. : west of Ogallala. The highways travel concurrently to Ogallala. : in Ogallala. The roadway continues as .

References

External links

*
Endpoints of U.S. Highway 26
{{DEFAULTSORT:26 United States Numbered Highway System U.S. Route 26 U.S. Highways in Wyoming