Though passing through extremely remote and desolate areas of Nevada, the highway has recently gained fame as the primary route to access the Black Rock Desert, the site of the annual Burning Man festival.

The section of highway from Wadsworth to Nixon is named the Arthur S. Jackson Memorial Highway,[4] Jackson was a Paiute who was a heavily decorated soldier in World War II.

The highway ends 0.375 miles (0.60 km) north of crossing the Union Pacific Railroad's Feather River Route in Gerlach.

Just past where the official designation ends is the turn off for former State Route 34, which is used to access the large playa of the Black Rock Desert and the site of the annual Burning Man Festival.

Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons issued an August 18, 2010 proclamation declaring the road "to be America's Solar Highway".