Connors Pass

Connors Pass is the high point on US-50 in Nevada, the road Life magazine once called "the Loneliest Road in America." The signed summit reads 7,722 ft, which makes it the second-highest highway pass in the state after the Mt. Rose Highway (NDOT). It crosses the Schell Creek Range in White Pine County, out in Great Basin country, on a two-lane road that climbs hard and then drops the same way.

One thing makes this crossing different from most. Three U.S. routes run together over the summit as a single road: US-6, US-50, and US-93. They split a few miles southeast at Majors Place, where US-93 turns south toward Pioche and Las Vegas while US-50 keeps east toward Great Basin National Park and the Utah line. So when weather shuts the pass, it pinches three highways at once. Ely, the county seat about 22 miles northwest of the summit, is the last full-service town before you climb.

This is a year-round highway, not an alpine pass that gates shut for the season. It gets temporary closures and chain control during winter storms, then reopens. Grades run up to about 8% with numerous curves (dangerousroads.org), and at 7,700 feet on an exposed ridge the weather can turn fast. There is no truck-escape ramp anywhere on this section, so plan your descent and your brakes before you start down.

• Signed summit elevation is 7,722 ft; some databases list 7,729 ft (NDOT summit sign; dangerousroads.org)
• Highest point on US-50 in Nevada and the state's second-highest highway pass after the Mt. Rose Highway (NDOT)
• Three U.S. routes run concurrently over the top: US-6, US-50, and US-93 (NDOT summit sign)
• Grades run up to about 8% with numerous curves (dangerousroads.org)
• Ely sits about 22 miles northwest and is the last full-service town; US-93 south from Majors Place runs about 80 miles to Pioche with almost nothing between (roadtripusa.com)
• Studded snow tires are legal October 1 through April 30, a fair proxy for the winter-traction season (NDOT)
• No truck-escape ramp on this section; Nevada's escape ramps are all in the west (NDOT)

There is no fixed seasonal gate on Connors Pass. It is a year-round U.S. highway, and chain control comes and goes with the storms. As a practical window, studded snow tires are legal in Nevada from October 1 through April 30 (NDOT), which is about when winter traction matters here. When a highway is posted for traction devices, Nevada law requires chains or snow tires, and vehicles over 10,000 lb GVW must chain up while that requirement is in effect (NDOT "Nevada Traction Device Requirements"). Nevada 511 and nvroads.com post the live level, with wording like "Chains or Snow Tires Required" or "Chains Required, All Vehicles except 4-wheel drive with Snow tires." The pass closes situationally, not on a calendar: a winter storm brings snow, ice, high wind, or whiteout, NDOT or NHP closes or chain-controls the road, and it reopens when conditions clear. Watch 511 (dial 511, or 1-877-NV-ROADS out of state) and the NHP road-hazards page at roadhazards.nv.gov before you climb.

The corridor over Connors Pass carries a lot of road history for one lonely stretch. It follows the Lincoln Highway, America's first transcontinental auto road, dedicated October 31, 1913 (Lincoln Highway Association). Before the cars, the same route carried the Pony Express and the Central Overland line (dangerousroads.org). US-50 itself was created with the original U.S. Highway System in 1926, though in Nevada the route had already shown up as State Route 2 on state maps as far back as 1919 (Wikipedia, U.S. Route 50 in Nevada).

The pass takes its name from Colonel P.E. Connors, who established Fort Ruby; you will also see it spelled "Conners," and the Majors Place junction was once called "Connors Station" (dangerousroads.org). In the 1970s the eastern half of the road over the pass, toward Majors Junction, was substantially realigned, and the old alignment is still partly traceable (socalregion.com). The nickname came later: in July 1986 Life magazine ran a piece calling the Nevada stretch of US-50 "the Loneliest Road in America." It was meant as a knock. Nevada tourism turned it into a slogan (Wikipedia, U.S. Route 50 in Nevada).