State Route 3 was the original designation for SR 208, SR 266 and SR 429. It was also the original designation for sections of

US 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6) or U.S. Highway 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the Grand Army of the Republic, American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the United States Numbere ...

US 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 95 U.S. Route 95 (US 95) is a major north–south United States Highway in the western United States. It travels through the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho, staying inland from the Pacific Coast. US 95 b ...

, Alternate US 95,

US 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395), also known as U.S. Highway 395, is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that traverses the inland areas of the western states of California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. It travels for over from a junctio ...

, and SR 430. SR 3 was one of Nevada’s original state highways, first appearing on official state highway maps in the late 1920s. Originally called the “Bonanza Highway”, it ran from

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

to the California state line west of

Lida Lida is a city in Grodno Region, western Belarus, located west of Minsk. It serves as the administrative center of Lida District. As of 2025, it has a population of 103,262. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuanian name ''Ly ...

. Soon after being commissioned, SR 3 started going through changes, becoming shorter and less important as a major highway in the process.

Route description

SR 3 began at the California state line west of Lida and took a circuitous route to Carson City and Reno. The route ran as follows: *California state line east of Oasis, CA east on present day SR 266 to SR 5 (now US 95), south of Tonopah *North on present-day US 95 through Goldfield, Tonopah, Coaldale, Mina and

Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...

to Schurz *West on present-day Alternate US 95 to

Yerington Yerington is a city in Lyon County, Nevada, United States. The population was 3,121 at the 2020 census. It is the current county seat of Lyon County, with the first county seat having been established at Dayton on November 29, 1861. It is nam ...

*South and west on present-day SR 208 to the junction of US 395 at Holbrook Junction *North on US 395 through

Gardnerville Gardnerville is an unincorporated town in Douglas County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the county seat of Minden. The population was 6,211 at the 2020 census. U.S. Route 395 runs through the center of Gardnerville. State Route 207, kno ...

and

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

to Carson City *Route 3 forked at Carson City, with one branch following modern US 50 to

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...

and the other branch along US 395 terminating at

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

with then State Route 1

History

Dates are based on when changes appear on official Nevada state highway maps unless otherwise noted. SR 3 first appears on official state highway maps in the late 1920s. By the mid-1930s, it was undergoing changes that would shrink it and eventually divide it into two separate highways. In 1935, US 395 was extended into Nevada and routed concurrently with SR 3 from Reno to Holbrook Junction. In 1937,

was extended into Nevada and routed concurrently with SR 3 between Tonopah and Coaldale. By 1941, the northern terminus of SR 3 was truncated to the junction with US 395 at present-day Holbrook Junction, eliminating the duplication of route numbers between there and Reno. A major change occurred in 1940. US 95 was extended into Nevada and replaced SR 3 from the junction with SR 5 south of Goldfield north to Schurz. SR 3 was now a discontinuous highway. The northern section ran from Schurz to Minden. The southern section ran from south of Goldfield to the California state line via Lida. Another major change occurred in 1941 when Alternate US 95 (initially mislabeled on state maps as US 95) replaced the section of SR 3 from Schurz to Yerington. From 1941, SR 3 remained largely unchanged until 1978 when it was replaced in a statewide highway renumbering project. The northern section from Minden to Yerington was renumbered as SR 208. The southern section from US 95 to the California state line was renumbered as SR 266.

References

{{cite map , publisher = Nevada State Highway Department , title = Official Highway Map of Nevada , year=1978–1979

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: * 003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) * 1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway * ''O03 (O2)'' and other related blood type alleles in the AB ...

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 95 U.S. Route 395