Traveling Through Nevada’s Loneliest Highway
Cathedral Gorge, Great Basin, and The Loneliest Highway
I travel so much for work that travel has become a constant state of being for me. I often tell people I’m going on a trip, but I don’t think they understand that my trips aren’t vacations. My trips rarely mean I’m taking time off. Instead, they mean driving long hours, settling down in a small town or off-grid, and taking in some natural wonder as I type away on my computer. If I do take a break, it’s usually scouting an area for future wedding ceremony sites and recommended activities.
Don’t get me wrong, I travel to some amazing places for work. And I absolutely love it. But I also relish the chance to completely separate from work and enjoy a journey for its own sake, like when I drove America’s Loneliest Highway for the fun of it.
The Loneliest Highway
My husband and I enjoy horror movies. That might seem odd to some people, but we seriously do appreciate the storytelling, suspense, mystery, and magic of the horror genre.
One night, Isiah and I were watching Horror in the High Desert, a found-footage scary movie focused on Nevada’s Loneliest Highway. It was genuinely scary, but Isiah just kept saying, “Wow, I want to go there. Look how pretty it is!” And that was the kind of quirky origin of our road trip. Go figure.
US Route 50 was nicknamed “the Loneliest Highway” by Life Magazine in 1986. Admittedly, there is some debate about whether that’s accurate—but whatever the real stats are, I can tell you we barely saw any vehicles during our week-long trip on Nevada-Highway 50.
What we did see was miles of driverless road, open ranges speckled with cows or crows, storm clouds rolling over mountains and plains, and little bits of crumbling architectural history… It was all so intoxicating as we listened to our music and chatted about life.
Here are a few notable experiences along the way.
The Open Road and Our Snowy Overnight at a Castle
We pulled the car over, from time to time, to check out a historical marker or wonder at petroglyphs that were hundreds of years old. We also introduced ourselves to rock hounding, which I had no idea would immediately spark a deep interest in me.
At night, we’d cozy ourselves in our trusty camper van, “Clyde”, feeling safe and sound with one exception. No, it’s nothing too scary. But we did car camp near an old castle tower near Austin, Nevada. The road was a bit steep and winding, but nothing we aren’t used to. What we aren’t used to, though, is snow! When we woke up, we found ourselves absolutely surrounded by several inches of snow. It was beautiful, but also a bit daunting when we realized we had to drive out of that situation.
Cathedral Gorge State Park
Okay, so this isn’t on Highway 50. But it was still part of the trip!
Driving along the road to the hidden Cathedral Gorge State Park, you’d never believe it was actually there. Miles of mostly empty land and chaparral don’t seem like they’d give way to mud slot canyons. But they do end in this epic spot just hours from Las Vegas.
Isiah and I had the most fun ever just navigating every possible path at Cathedral Gorge State Park. Endlessly interesting geological shapes, caves, and slot canyons can be found here in the most unexpected, rich sandy tones. We were treated to even more beauty watching the sunset on a rather cloudy day, accentuating the intricate shapes.
Great Basin National Park
I’ll have to make it back to Great Basin National Park one of these days. That’s because I feel like I missed out on so much of what the park has to offer. But that’s what happens when it snows enough to close half the park.
While I didn’t get to hike any summits or see the bristlecone pines that only grow at 10,000 feet of elevation, we did see some other fun things. Like long caves, beautiful skies, petroglyphs, and snowy trails.
So, while I’m happy we made it here, it’s still on the to-do list.
Extraterrestrial Highway
No trip through Nevada is complete without some weird art and alien attractions. Personally, I’m a fan of kitsch. I’ll go out of my way to see the weirdest stuff you can find, so long as it doesn’t include The Thing in Arizona—psst, super not worth it!
So, naturally, we checked out all the fun things to do along the extraterrestrial highway, such as the Alien Research Center, Little A'Le'Inn, and everything in between. You better believe we listened to some alien-themed podcasts in between each stop, just to make sure we were in the right headspace for this leg of our adventures.
No, we did not make it out to Area 51, and we didn’t see any UFOs. We did see and hear some military aircraft, so that’s cool. And no, we didn’t Naruto run into the Groom Lake air base since we haven’t gotten the clearance for that…yet.
Nevada Travel & Adventure Elopements
All in all, we’d totally visit Nevada’s Loneliest Highway again, adding new stops and old stops along the way.
Maybe you want to elope or get married on this underrated slice of Americana. You can take advantage of Nevada’s hot springs, off-roading, quirky local culture, otherworldly art, and geological wonders.
If that sounds like the perfect wedding day for you and your special someone, contact me! I can help you make the most of your wedding-day adventure and capture stunning elopement photography you’ll cherish for years.
Austin, Nevada
Ely, Nevada
Great Basin National Park
Extraterrestrial Highway
Cathedral Gorge State Park
