| Echo Summit | |
|---|---|
 View from Echo Summit towards Lake Tahoe. | |
| Elevation | 7,382 ft (2,250 m) |
| Traversed by |  US 50 |
| Location | El Dorado County, California,U.S. |
| Range | Sierra Nevada |
| Coordinates | 38°48′47″N120°01′48″W / 38.813°N 120.030°W /38.813; -120.030 |
| Topo map | |
| Reference no. | 1048 |
 Interactive map of Echo Summit | |
Echo Summit is amountain pass over theSierra Nevada in thewesternUnited States, located in easternEl Dorado County, California. At 7,377 ft (2,249 m) abovesea level, it is the highest point onU.S. Route 50 in California, which traverses it atpostmile 66.48 betweenTwin Bridges andMeyers, south ofLake Tahoe.
The "Sierra Nevada Southern Route" (aka the "Pioneer Route") of theLincoln Highway, the first road across theUnited States, was routed over nearbyJohnson Pass[citation needed] in 1913. The current alignment over Echo Summit was constructed between 1936 and 1939.[1]
The "Sierra Nevada Northern Route" of the Lincoln Highway went overDonner Pass.
Echo Summit is a trailhead for thePacific Crest National Scenic Trail.[2]
Echo Summit is notable for being the location (sometimes listed as "South Lake Tahoe") of the1968 U.S. Olympic track and field trials for men, held September 6–16, a month before the1968 Olympics inMexico City.[3][4][5][6][7] (The women's trials were at low altitude inLos Angeles County, atWalnut.)[8] The Echo Summit site opened in July as a training camp for high-altitude acclimation, with anelevation similar to theOlympic Stadium in Mexico.[6] The picturesque alpine location was on the cover of the July 1968 issue ofTrack and Field News.[9] The original men's trials were in Los Angeles in late June, but a second round of trials was added to the training camp.[10]
With amotel tax and financial support fromHarrah's Tahoe casino, a syntheticTartan track was purchased which was very similar to that to be used in Mexico City.[2] Installation was completed in early July and was designed to be easily dismantled and reinstalled, being moved the following summer to nearbySouth Tahoe Middle School where it survived until 2006. Installed southwest of the summit in the parking lot of a small ski area, hundreds ofPonderosa pine trees remained in the infield, densest on the north end. Thehigh jump pit was also surrounded by huge boulders.[2]Four world records were achieved at the trials.[11]
The location became aCalifornia Historical Landmark in 2014 with a roadside sign along Highway 50. At the time, this was only the fifth sports-related historical site in California.[12][13][14][2]
The ski area, known as Nebelhorn and later Echo Summit, closed twenty years later in 1988. It is now Adventure Mountain, a snow play area for sledding and tubing.[15][16]
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