SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The Highway 50 Association has been celebrating America’s past since 1949 with the annual Wagon Train from South Lake Tahoe to Placerville.
Ten wagons and horses will leave Round Hill, Nevada, on Sunday, May 31, and travel along US50 to the Lake Tahoe Historical Museum, where they will have a lunch break at approximately 11 a.m. (timing depends on the speed of the wagon train). The public is invited to stop by, meet the horses and participants.
The Highway 50 Association was formed in 1946 at a meeting at Whitehall, where there were resort owners and businessmen from the American River Canyon and the South Shore. They put money together to promote the first highway in the state. Highway 50 was at one time called Highway 1.
The canyon was not only the route of gold miners heading east to the silver mines in Virginia City, but also the Overland Stage, pioneer stagecoaches, Snowshoe Thompson, the Pony Express, and then the first overland telegraph line from Placerville to Carson City.
That meeting resulted in what would be a one-time-only Wagon Train to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Gold Rush in 1949. Many locals and visitors wanted the wagon train to return again, so in 1951, there was a second event. The Hwy 50 Association was formed, and the wagons and trains have been riding through the Sierra ever since. Some years it started as far east as Virginia City and ended as far west as Sacramento, but South Lake Tahoe, Pollock Pines-Camino, and Placerville have been the mainstays of the trip.
Itinerary
Saturday – May 30, 2026
3 pm Rendezvous
Registration, Dinner, Information sharing
Round Hill Village, Round Hill, Nevada
Sunday – May 31, 2026
Round Hill Village to Celio Ranch, Meyers, CA
Monday – June 1, 2026
Celio Ranch to Tamarack Pines Cutoff, CA
Overnight near the top of Echo Summit, Sierra Nevada
Tuesday – June 2, 2026
Tamarack Pines Cutoff to Kyburz, CA
Wednesday – June 3, 2026
Kyburz, CA to Fresh Pond, CA. A full day in the American River Canyon
Thursday – June 4, 2026
Layover Day with Potluck Dinner at Fresh Pond Assn Appreciation Gathering with participants and friends, Raffle, Auction, and Association Awards Presentations
Friday – June 5, 2026
Fresh Pond to Pollock Pines, CA. Pollock Pines Community Center Celebration
Saturday – June 6, 2026
Pollock Pines to Placerville, CA. Placerville Main St to End of Trail at Placerville Cinema Parking Lot
For more information, visit https://www.hwy50wagontrain.com/wagontrain.html.
