Originally called the “Bonanza Highway”, it ran 336.2 miles (541.1 km) from Reno to the California state line west of Lida.

Soon after being commissioned, SR 3 started going through changes, becoming shorter and less important as a major highway in the process.

SR 3 began at the California state line west of Lida and took a circuitous route to Carson City and Reno.

The route ran as follows: Dates are based on when changes appear on official Nevada state highway maps unless otherwise noted.

In 1935, US 395 was extended into Nevada and routed concurrently with SR 3 from Reno to Holbrook Junction.

The southern section ran from south of Goldfield to the California state line via Lida.

Another major change occurred in 1941 when Alternate US 95 (initially mislabeled on state maps as US 95) replaced the section of SR 3 from Schurz to Yerington.

From 1941, SR 3 remained largely unchanged until 1978 when it was replaced in a statewide highway renumbering project.