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Lake Tahoe Circle Tour Part 2; California State Route 28 and Nevada State Route 28

After leaving the Gatekeepers Museum at the Truckee River I crossed the 1928 Fanny Bridge and headed east along the north shore of Lake Tahoe towards Nevada on California State Route 28


Part 1 of the Lake Tahoe Circle Tour Series pertained to; CA 89, former CA 188, Fallen Leaf Lake, Emerald Bay State Park, the Lake Tahoe Dam, and Gatekeepers Museum.

Lake Tahoe Circle Tour Part 1

Previously I discussed the histories of both CA 28 and NV 28:

"NV 28 is a 16.3 mile state highway beginning at US Route 50 in Douglas County which travels northwest around the shore of Lake Tahoe.  NV 28 crosses through the outer limits of Carson City and Washoe County before terminating at CA 28.

The route of NV 28 was apparently paved by 1932 and utilized previous logging roads that had been in use since the 1880s.  NV 28 first appears on the 1933 Nevada State Highway Map running from US Route 50 to the unsigned Legislative Route Number 39 at the California State Line.

1933 Nevada State Highway Map

CA 28 is an 11 mile State Route located entirely in Placer County from CA 89 in Tahoe City east to NV 28 at the State Line along the north shore of Lake Tahoe.  In 1954 California reassigned CA 28 to Legislative Route Number 39 to make a continuous multi-state route with NV 28 while the first CA 28 became CA 128.  The changes to CA 128 and the new assignment of CA 28 can be seen by comparing the 1953 to 1954 State Highway Maps.

1953 California State Highway Map

1954 California State Highway Map 

LRN 39 which became CA 28 was defined first in 1915 according to CAhighways.org

CAhighways.org on LRN 39 "

CA 28 eastbound is known as Lake Boulevard and begins at CA 89 in Tahoe City which is in the northwest corner of Lake Tahoe at the outlet to the Truckee River.  CA 28 is signed as a truck route until the eastern edge of Tahoe City.





CA 28 eastbound passes by Burton Creek State Park and drops to the north shore of Lake Tahoe to Cedar Flat.





CA 28 eastbound skirts through the small communities of; Carnelian Bay and Tahoe Vista before reaching the southern terminus of CA 267 in Kings Beach.  CA 267 is a short route northbound to Interstate 80 and CA 89 near Truckee in Nevada County.




Kings Beach is a fairly sizeable community of approximately 4,000 residents.  CA 28 eastbound travels through Kings Beach via two roundabouts.






CA 28 crosses through the small community of Brockway where it ends at NV 28 at the Nevada State Line at Washoe County.  NV 28 begins at the east terminus of CA 28 in the community of Crystal Bay.





NV 28 is signed as a Nevada scenic byway and winds around the north and east shore of Lake Tahoe to US Route 50.


NV 28 hugs the northern shore of Lake Tahoe where it enters Incline Village.





NV 28 has a junction with NV 431/Mount Rose Highway on a newly constructed roundabout.




Previously on my NV 431 blog I mentioned that the Mount Rose Highway has an overlook of the entirety of Lake Tahoe.  The detour is only about 2 miles from Incline Village and NV 28 which is well worth it in my opinion.


Much of the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe on NV 28 is part of Lake Tahoe State Park.  There was a major bike route construction project ongoing along NV 28 when I was passing through.


I stopped at the Sand Harbor Branch of Lake Tahoe State Park.  Sand Harbor is a beach along the northeast shore of Lake Tahoe and features aqua blue shallows along with unique granite rock formations.







NV 28 south of Sand Harbor enters the outskirts of Carson City the Nevada State Capital.  Carson City has been the State Capital of Nevada since it became a state in 1864 and is the only Independent City.  From 1861 to 1969 Carson City was the County Seat of Ormsby County.  Ormsby County was abolished in 1969 and consolidated into what is now known as the rural areas of Carson City which includes parts of Lake Tahoe.


There isn't much of note in Rural Carson City on NV 28 and it quickly enters Douglas County.


NV 28 passes by the Spooner Lake district of Lake Tahoe State Park before it terminates at US 50.  I turned westbound on US 50 headed back towards California from the terminus of NV 28.




Part 3 of this series covers the history of US 50 along the shore of Lake Tahoe and can be found here:

Lake Tahoe Circle Tour Part 3; US Route 50 and Cave Rock

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