U.S. Route 50 Alternate (California)

U.S. Route 50
US 50 highlighted in red
Route information
Defined by
Maintained by Caltrans
Length	108.624 mi (174.813 km)
Existed	1926 – present
Major junctions
West end	I-80 in West Sacramento
	I-5 / SR 99 / I-80 Bus. / SR 16 in Sacramento SR 49 in Placerville SR 89 in South Lake Tahoe
East end	US 50 at Nevada state line
Location
Counties	Yolo, Sacramento, El Dorado
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Replaced State highways in California Interstate U.S. State Pre-1964 History Unconstructed Deleted Freeway Scenic ← SR 49 SR 51 →

U.S. Route 50 (US 50) in the state of California runs east from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento to the Nevada state line in South Lake Tahoe. Portions within Sacramento carry hidden Interstate 305. The western half of the highway in California is a four-or-more-lane divided highway, mostly built to freeway standards, and known as the El Dorado Freeway outside of downtown Sacramento. US 50 continues as an undivided highway with one eastbound lane and two westbound lanes until it reaches the canyon of the South Fork American River at Riverton. The remainder of the highway, which climbs along and out of the canyon, then over the Sierra Nevada at Echo Summit and into the Lake Tahoe Basin, is a mainly two-lane road.

The US 50 corridor is a historic one, used by many 49ers who came to California during the Gold Rush as well as the Pony Express. In 1895, part of the present-day route was designated as California's first state highway, and it was later designated as one of two routes of the Lincoln Highway across the Sierra Nevada. Much of US 50 was constructed during the initial construction of the California state highway system.