US-50 road conditions
Yes — US-50 is open, with no chain controls in effect.
Checked against Caltrans District 3 and NDOT. Confirm at Caltrans before you travel.
Storm alerts
A notification on this device when chain control starts, changes or lifts, or a road closes or reopens. Pick your roads:
An alert is a heads-up that something changed, not a road report, and it can arrive a few minutes after the change. Before you drive, check Caltrans QuickMap or Nevada 511 (nvroads.com), or call 511. A few alerts a day at most; no account, no email, and you can turn them off here any time (what we keep).
Reno and Carson City to South Lake Tahoe and on to Sacramento, over Spooner and Echo Summit.
US-50: questions answered
- Echo Summit Chain Control Now: Do I Need Chains on Hwy 50?
- Chain Control Levels R1 R2 R3 Explained
- Reno to Sacramento Road Conditions: I-80 vs US-50
- US 50 When I-80 Is Closed: Alternate Route Guide
- Reno to Tahoe: Which Road Is Open Right Now
- Are Snow Socks Legal in Tahoe Chain Controls?
- Cable Chains, Snow Socks or Link Chains for Tahoe?
- Car Rental at Reno-Tahoe Airport (RNO): A Winter Guide
Webcams by town: South Lake Tahoe webcams and Carson City webcams.
Weather at Echo Summit
- Today
- Sunny
- Temperature
- 46°F
- Wind
- 7 to 10 mph
- Zone
- CAZ136
This forecast could not be refreshed on the last run and may be out of date.
Snow, next 72 hours at Echo Summit: none · How much snow is Echo Summit getting →
Forecast read
Cameras and chain-control points on US-50
36 cameras and 15 chain-control points. Click a camera marker to open it.
What to know in winter
Echo Summit is the pinch point on the California side; Spooner handles the Nevada side of the lake.
If it closes: I-80 is the alternate west; SR-207 Kingsbury Grade is the short way over from the Carson Valley.
This road crosses the state line, and the two states do not use the same system. On the California side Caltrans posts R-1, R-2 and R-3. On the Nevada side NDOT posts two conditions and has no third level; its exemption threshold is 10,000 lb rather than California’s 6,000.
Where the line is: Caltrans over Echo Summit and along the south shore; NDOT from the state line at Stateline over Spooner Summit to Carson City.
And this road is stricter still. On these roads Nevada goes further than its statewide rule: when a chain requirement is in place, the only vehicles allowed through without chains are four-wheel or all-wheel drive with snow tires.
Textile snow socks count as chains in California and are approved in Nevada, except on three Tahoe roads where NDOT's rule names chains: are snow socks legal in chain controls. Which to buy: cable chains, snow socks or link chains.
Chain-control points, highest first
Caltrans does not control the whole road at once. Controls go up at whichever point matches the snow level, which is why the same storm produces controls in different places on different days.
No controls are up anywhere on US-50 right now.
All 15 control points on US-50
| Point | Elevation | Near | Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Echo Summit (Holding only) | 7,401 ft | South Lake Tahoe | Clear |
| Chiapa (Holding only) | 6,453 ft | South Lake Tahoe | Clear |
| Meyers | 6,341 ft | South Lake Tahoe | Clear |
| Twin Bridges | 6,158 ft | Twin Bridges | Clear |
| Strawberry | 5,728 ft | Twin Bridges | Clear |
| Wright's Lake | 5,515 ft | Kyburz | Clear |
| Fred's Place | 4,957 ft | Kyburz | Clear |
| Pollock Pines (Sly Park) | 3,982 ft | Pollock Pines | Clear |
| Sand Flat | 3,953 ft | Kyburz | Clear |
| Fresh Pond | 3,641 ft | Pollock Pines | Clear |
| Saw Mill Under Crossing | 3,641 ft | Camino | Clear |
| Riverton | 3,231 ft | Pollock Pines | Clear |
| Riverton (unselect for split control) | 3,231 ft | Pollock Pines | Clear |
| Camino Heights | 2,926 ft | Placerville | Clear |
| Placerville East City Limits(Pointview) | 2,240 ft | Placerville | Clear |
15 control points, collapsed from 26 feed records — Caltrans lists each point once per direction.
Cameras on US-50
The passes on US-50
Echo Summit webcam
No chain controls at Echo Summit (Caltrans). Checked .
Spooner Summit webcam
No chain controls at Spooner Summit (NDOT). Checked .
Every pass camera in the Sierra, with its chain control →
Ski resorts reached by US-50
Every Tahoe resort's opening day, snow and forecast →
Other roads
- I-80
Sacramento to the Utah line, over Donner Pass and then across northern Nevada.
- SR-431 Mt Rose
The Mt Rose Highway, Reno to Incline Village — the highest year-round pass in the Sierra Nevada.
- SR-267
Truckee to Kings Beach over Brockway Summit.
- SR-28
The north and east shore road, Tahoe City to Incline Village and on to Spooner.
- SR-89
The west shore, Tahoe City past Emerald Bay to South Lake Tahoe, and north to Truckee and Sierraville.
- US-395
The north–south spine through Reno and Carson City, running south past Gardnerville toward the Eastern Sierra.
- SR-207
Kingsbury Grade, the short climb from the Carson Valley to Stateline and South Lake Tahoe.
- SR-88 Carson Pass
Carson Pass, from the Carson Valley over to Jackson and the Central Valley.
- Reno city cameras
.
Chain-control status and closures: Caltrans District 3 (public domain) and Nevada DOT / nvroads.com. Camera images: Caltrans (public domain) and Nevada DOT / nvroads.com. Weather: National Weather Service — not an official NWS product. Always confirm at roads.dot.ca.gov or nvroads.com before you travel.