The Middlegate Shoe Tree

No one can say for certain how it started. The most-repeated local legend, told by the family that runs nearby Middlegate Station, is that a newlywed couple argued on their wedding night, and the groom threw his bride's shoes into the tree to keep her from leaving. They made up, the story goes, came back to add their children's shoes, and others followed until the branches filled.

Whatever the true origin, the ritual took hold. Passing drivers on one of the emptiest highways in the country would stop, tie their laces together, and heave a pair up into the cottonwood, leaving a small mark of themselves in a place where there is otherwise nothing but sagebrush and sky. Over the years the shoes numbered in the hundreds.

In late December 2010, vandals sawed down the original tree, and the news traveled fast among road-trippers and locals who had come to love it. The people of Middlegate salvaged part of the trunk and turned it into tabletops that still sit in the station's bar, keeping a piece of the original alive.

The story did not end there. A second cottonwood had already been growing beside the old one, and by the mid-2010s people had begun tossing their shoes into the new tree, laces knotted the same way. The comeback of the shoe tree became its own small legend, a reminder that a good roadside tradition is harder to kill than one tree.

The shoe tree sits on US-50 across central Nevada, a route a 1980s magazine article dubbed the Loneliest Road in America, meant as a warning and embraced by Nevada as a badge of honor. The highway crosses one wide desert valley and mountain range after another, with long gaps between the small towns of Fallon, Austin, Eureka, and Ely.

That emptiness is the whole appeal. Driving it, a shoe-covered cottonwood standing alone in the sage is exactly the kind of human, slightly absurd landmark that makes the vastness feel less lonely. It is one of a scattering of oddities, from a leaning outhouse to old mining camps, that reward travelers willing to take the slow road across the middle of Nevada.

The tree is an unmarked pullout beside the highway, with no services, so top off your fuel and carry water before the long stretches between towns. If you want to take part, bring an old pair of shoes to add to the branches, and take only photos otherwise.

A few miles west, Middlegate Station is the nearest outpost for food, fuel, restrooms, and the tabletops made from the old tree, a fitting place to hear the story. The stop itself is quick, but on a long desert drive it is the kind of small, strange, human moment that people remember long after the miles blur together.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

The Middlegate Shoe Tree, along US Route 50 near the tiny stop of Middlegate in central Nevada, is a famous and quirky roadside landmark, a lone desert tree festooned with hundreds of pairs of shoes tossed into its branches by passing travelers. A beloved oddity of the Loneliest Road in America, the shoe tree grew from a tradition of travelers flinging their shoes up into the branches, creating a whimsical, ever-growing display in the empty desert. Tied to local lore and the road-trip culture of the lonely highway, it is a memorable and offbeat stop. With its shoe-laden branches and roadside charm, the Middlegate Shoe Tree offers a quirky destination in Nevada.

The Middlegate Shoe Tree became covered in shoes through a tradition among travelers on the lonely US Route 50 of tossing a pair of shoes up into the branches of a lone desert tree, a whimsical ritual said to have started with a local tale and grown over the years into hundreds of pairs. The custom turned an ordinary desert tree into a famous roadside landmark and a symbol of the quirky culture of the Loneliest Road in America. The ever-growing display draws curious travelers. This offbeat tradition makes the Middlegate Shoe Tree a beloved curiosity in Nevada.

You can stop to see and photograph the famous shoe-laden tree, marvel at the hundreds of pairs hanging in its branches, learn the local lore behind the tradition, and enjoy a memorable, offbeat break on a drive across the lonely US Route 50. The whimsical shoe tree, the quirky roadside tradition, and the empty desert setting are the draws, making it a fun and memorable quick stop for road-trippers. The nearby Middlegate Station offers a rustic bite. With its shoe tree and roadside charm, the Middlegate Shoe Tree offers an entertaining stop in Nevada.

The milder months of spring and fall offer the most comfortable weather for the long, remote drive along US Route 50 and a stop at the shoe tree, while summer can be hot and winter cold in the high desert. Daylight is best for seeing and photographing the shoe-laden branches, and the remote dark skies are excellent for stargazing at night. For the most comfortable travel on the Loneliest Road, aim for spring or fall to visit the Middlegate Shoe Tree in Nevada.

The Middlegate Shoe Tree is along US Route 50 near Middlegate in central Nevada, within reach of the Sand Mountain Recreation Area, the Grimes Point petroglyphs, and the historic towns and desert scenery of the Loneliest Road, with Fallon and the Reno area to the west. That makes the Middlegate Shoe Tree a quirky stop to combine with Sand Mountain, the US Route 50 attractions, and the other sights of central Nevada on a visit to the state.