Hernando and Sumter counties State Road 50 begins at
US 19 and
County Road 550 in the former
City of Weeki Wachee. The first intersection around the east side of the city limits is with Deltona Boulevard(
CR 589), which can be found on the opposite side of the West Hernando County Public Library. From here the road is mostly lined with residential properties to the south and sparse commercial offices ranging from a Hernando County Firehouse, to an office for the
Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative, to random medical offices. East of Nightwalker Road and July Avenue, SR 50 enters land owned by the
Southwest Florida Water Management District, and the right-of-way for a set of power lines. From there, the road becomes the official northern border between
Spring Hill and unincorporated
Brooksville as it approaches the Sand Hill Scout Reservation. Immediately after the entrance to the aforementioned Boy Scout Camp, the road intersects Oak Hill Hospital on the opposite side. Shortly after the hospital, SR 50 climbs a hill and intersects with the gateway to
High Point. From this point on, SR 50 is a symbol of the suburban sprawl that defines Hernando County. It also contains a series of disconnected frontage roads similar to those on US 19. Though most of the stores along these frontage roads consist of mini-malls, medical offices, and the occasional automotive repair shop, three major shopping centers can be found at the intersection with Mariner Boulevard, which is designated as
CR 587 south of SR 50. East of those three major shopping centers is a
Wal-Mart Supercenter and a
Sam's Club Warehouse on the same side of the street. The Sam's Club is just west of the intersection of Sunshine Grove Road(CR 493) and Twin Dolphin Road, where SR 50 crosses the right-of-way for another set of power lines. While SR 50 climbs a hill and then descends, Twin Dolphin runs parallel to the eastbound lane as it climbs its own hill but then terminates at the same eastbound lane before SR 50 intersects CR 585(Barclay Avenue) and the entrance to
Brookridge. From here the road runs along the southern edge of Brookridge until it intersects Oak Avenue, just before it passes under a pedestrian/bicycle bridge west of the interchange
Suncoast Parkway, and instantly intersects
CR 570(Wiscon Road), where the road curves to the northeast. Curving back to direct east, SR 50 intersects another former section at
CR 484 and then serves as the northern terminus for CR 583(California Street). The right-of-way for the frontage road on the south side terminates in just east of Colorady Street, then the road descends towards Lykes Dublin Road and passes by Brooksville Regional Hospital, which moved out of the City of Brooksville in the first decade of the 21st century. The road then curves northeast towards the City of Brooksville. A right-of way for another frontage road was built on the north side of SR 50 in front of the hospital, and was assumed to be for nurses quarters for the hospital. This roadway was intended to stretch as far east as Mobley Road. Neither the road nor the nurses quarters have been built as of this writing. At the southern end of CR 485 and the west end of
State Road 50A, SR 50 takes a sharp right turn and joins
US Truck Route 98 around downtown Brooksville, but never truly leaves the city limits. Curving to the southeast near the Hernando County Sheriff's Department headquarters, the remainder of the former rural characteristics of Brooksville can still be found, until it approaches
US 41 where hidden
State Road 700 secretly joins the road. Climbing another hill, the road turns direct east again where it passes in front of a pair of churches before the intersection of County Road 445(Main Street) and Mitchell Road, and then an at-grade crossing with
CSX's
Brooksville Subdivision. After the intersection with
CR 581, the road turns northeast as it approaches the intersection of Jasmine Boulevard, but more importantly
US 98 and the eastern terminus of SR 50A, as well as the eastern terminus of US Truck Route 98. From here the speed limit increases to 60 miles per hour. It moves primarily southeast through farmland and wooded swampland. US 98/SR 50 finally turns straight east again when it runs between a pair of lakebeds before the intersection with CRs 484 and
541. At this point, the road moves up and down a series of hills but first passes by communities such as
Rolling Acres and
Hill 'n Dale, where a residential frontage road can be found on the north side. The hills continue along the road, but along more farms and sparsely populated areas, among them
Wildlife Lane. One trailer park can be found just west of Lockhart Road, which is the site of numerous dog shows. Entering the unincorporated community of
Ridge Manor West, the road approaches some hotels, gas stations and restaurants serving motorist and tourists on
Interstate 75. US 98-SR 50 is the only interchange along I-75 in Hernando County, and until the completion of the reconstruction of the interchange in September 2019, the left-turn lanes leading to the on-ramps were notoriously short. Directly east of I-75 is a development that shares the community's namesake as well as one shopping center. The road takes one last drop, only to rise again and officially enter
Ridge Manor at the intersection of Kettering Road and Croom-Rital Road which leads to a trailhead for the
Withlacoochee State Trail US 98-SR 50 pass under a bridge for this trail. At the crossing over the
Withlacoochee River, two former sections of the road exist on the east side of the river; Paul N. Steckle Lane, and Ridge Manor Boulevard. The shorter Paul N. Steckle Lane exists on the north side and contains a Hernando County Firehouse, local residences, and one entrance to the
Cypress Lake Preserve. Ridge Manor Boulevard begins on the south side, and crosses over to the north side east of the firehouse and west of the Hernando County Eastside Solid Waste Convenience Station. When US 98 turns southeast toward
Trilby,
Dade City, and
West Palm Beach, SR 50 continues east and narrows down to two lanes. The final major intersection in Hernando County is with
US 301. After this, the road passes by a sand mine, and the right-of way for an abandoned segment of Ridge Manor Boulevard, before it crosses the CSX's
Wildwood Subdivision (part of the S-Line), and then serves as the northern terminus of
CR 575 which becomes a State Road once it enters Pasco County. SR 50 turns northeast and enters
Withlacoochee State Forest. Within the forest, the road crosses the Little Withlacoochee River, a tributary of the Withlacoochee River, where it crosses the Hernando-Sumter County Line. As SR 50 enters Sumter County, it continues to move further north, however at the intersection of
CR 478A, it turns back east before it enters
Tarrytown and eventually intersects
State Road 471 where one can find a clear view of a lumber mill. East of here, SR 50 runs along the north side of the former
Orange Belt Railway right-of-way. Both SR 50 and the railroad bed pass through the rural unincorporated communities of
Linden and then
Mabel, which serves as the northern terminus for the
General James A. Van Fleet State Trail. Access to the trail is available from both Sumter County Road 773 northwest of the trailhead as well as Southeast 121st Avenue northeast of the trailhead. The last intersection in Sumter County is CR 469, which takes motorists to
Center Hill. SR 50 crosses the Sumter-Lake County Line in the vicinity of a series of power lines.
Lake County and western Orange County in Clermont, in July 2011. The interchange was rebuilt by FDOT between 2012 and 2014. Upon entering Lake County, SR 50 maintains its rural surroundings as it runs through unincorporated communities such as
Sloans Ridge, but even after running through
Stuckey those characteristics diminish as the road moves further east. Within the City of
Mascotte, the name of SR 50 changes to West Myers Boulevard. After the former Orange Belt Railway right-of-way crosses the road, a multiplex with
State Road 33 begins at CR 33(Bluff Lake Road), where SR 50 suddenly becomes a four-lane divided highway named East Myers Boulevard. After the intersection with Atlantic Avenue, SR 33-50 also acquires the name Broad Street. These two names are shared until the road enters the city limits of
Groveland, and Myers Boulevard terminates. The divider is widened further at a BP gas station in a former fork in the road when SR 50 becomes a pair of one-way streets in Downtown Groveland. Eastbound SR 33-50 becomes Orange Street, while westbound SR 33-50 remains Broad Street. After passing by Lake David the road intersects
State Road 19. The two streets that carry two directions of SR 50 merge again at the east end of the multiplex with
State Road 33. Broad Street continues to take SR 50 further east as a four-lane divided highway. Roughly two blocks east of
CR 565A, the road crosses into the City of
Clermont, where it passes two developments before dipping down slightly and to the southeast to run over the
Palatlakaha River between Lakes Hiawatha and Palatlakaha, the latter of which has a trailer park on the eastbound lane. Motorists used to be able to see the bell towers of the Clermont Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church well before the intersection with
CR 561(12th Street). The church is on the northwest corner, but today both the church and its bell towers are obstructed by trees. Three intersections later at West Avenue the road turns directly east again in front of Center Lake to the north side and two blocks north of Lake Winona on the south side. After passing by Crystal Lake to the north SR 50 runs along the north edge of Lake Sunnyside, where it then runs southeast before reaching an unnumbered interchange with
US 27. . As the road crosses the Lake-
Orange County Line, it instantly enters the census-designated place of
Killarney. Here, SR 50 is officially named "West Colonial Drive." On both sides of the border are connecting roads to Old State Road 50, as well as trailheads for the
Lake Minneola Scenic Trail and
West Orange Trail. The road's time in Killarney is short-lived though as it enters
Oakland where it curves briefly to the northeast to encounter
Florida's Turnpike, and the recently rebuilt Exit 272. The road evolves into a total commercial strip in
Winter Garden, and serves as the terminus of County Road 545 north of
Tildenville. It also intersects such roads as County Road 535 as well as
State Road 537. The one and only interchange in Winter Garden is with
State Road 429's (Western Expressway's) Exit 23, but immediately after this interchange SR 50 enters
Ocoee where it intersects with Exit 267B on Florida's Turnpike, at another connector ramp without a crossing. The next major intersection in Ocoee is
State Road 439 (Bluford Avenue) in
Minorville, which also doubles as the western terminus of
State Road 526 and leads to Old Winter Garden Road. Right after the intersection of Blackwood Avenue and the grounds of the Health Central Hospital, the road intersects both Clarke Road and the connecting ramps to and from
State Road 408, which is considered Exit 1. Past this, the road heads south of the
West Oaks Mall. The final segment in Ocoee runs along more strip malls and cluster developments, then runs along a causeway over Lake Lotta before it enters
Orlando proper. The first intersection in Orlando is Good Homes Road, but then SR 50 goes over another causeway over Lake Sherwood. After this, the road intersects the still incomplete County Road 435(
Apopka-Vineland Road). Currently CR 435 is detoured at Hiawassee Road. Other major intersections in western Orlando include the northern terminus of
State Road 435 (Kirkman Road). Briefly, SR 50 runs through
Orlando Chinatown and then resumes the previous commercial strip. Important intersections include
State Road 423 (John Young Parkway). East of that intersection as SR 50 meets North Tampa Avenue the road narrows down to four lanes.
Downtown Orlando and vicinity US 17-
US 92-
US 441 (
Orange Blossom Trail) serves as the western end of the
U.S. Route 17/92 (
SR 500/
SR 600) concurrency. Here, US 17-92 (and SR 600) end their concurrency with US 441, and join SR 50, while US 441 and the Orange Blossom Trail move further northwest in Florida and beyond. A railroad line runs along the right side of this intersection, and the first feature along the US 17/92-SR 50 multiplex is a grade crossing. US 17/92 with SR 50 (and SR 600), meets the south end of Edgewater Drive and passes by Lake Dot Park and then Don Dudley Park before it crosses
Interstate 4 (
SR 400; Exits 83B & 84) then crosses the
SunRail tracks (former CSX A-Line) and
State Road 527 (Orange Avenue southbound and Magnolia Avenue northbound) before meeting
State Road 15(Mills Avenue), where US 17/92 turns north thereby marking the eastern end of US 17/92(SR 600) concurrency. Between Maguire Boulevard and Lake Barton, SR 50 runs along the northern border of
Orlando Executive Airport, however the view of the airport is obstructed by numerous stores and shopping malls. Along this stretch, the road passes north of
Colonial Plaza and south of
Orlando Fashion Square. Across from Lake Barton is the western terminus of Old Cheney Highway, a former section of SR 50. East of this intersection is Little Lake Barton, and SR 50 begins to curve to the northeast, but not as sharply as the former segment. Lake Barton stretches from the vicinity of this intersection to the southwest corner of
State Road 436 (Semoran Boulevard), which has had an interchange since 2010. The road continues its northeast curve into
Azalea Park as it passes by the nearby
Colonial High School named in honor of SR 50, it then intersects Old Cheney Highway a second time but then moves directly east again before the intersection with
State Road 551(Goldenrod Road)
East of Orlando and the Space Coast Though leaving Orlando, SR 50 remains in Orange County as it enters
Union Park, Here the road has one interchange with
State Road 417(Central Florida GreeneWay) at Exit 34, but signs also point towards State Toll Road 408. Entering
University Park, SR 50 intersects such major highways as
State Road 434 (Alafaya Trail), and then the eastern terminus of
State Road 408 at Exit 23, which is also the southern terminus of the Challenger Parkway at the
University of Central Florida. After crossing a bridge over the
Econlockhatchee River, the road curves to the southeast and passes through
Lockwood and then
Bithlo which is near the
Orange County Raceway complex, which includes the
Orlando Speed World Dragstrip and the
Orange Speed World Speedway. Further east within Bithlo, SR 50 serves as the western terminus of
State Road 520 at an interchange with no exit numbers. East of this interchange the road turns direct east again and passes through
Christmas, a rural community containing various Christmas shops, trailer parks and the Jungle Adventures Nature Animal Park which boasts of having "Swampy" the world's largest alligator. Before crossing the
St. Johns River, SR 50 runs along the northern border of the
Tosohatchee State Reserve. The westbound bridge over the river was built in 1967, while the eastbound bridge was built in 1971. After crossing the third bridge along the river, it enters
Brevard County and the name changes from East Colonial Drive to Cheney Highway. From here it runs along the southern border of the
Saint Johns National Wildlife Refuge, which terminates at the interchange with
Interstate 95 at Exit 215. SR 50 officially enters
Titusville after passing by the entrance to The Great Outdoors Golf and Recreational Vehicle Resort, west of the I-95 interchange. Immediately the road is lined with hotels gas stations and restaurants as it curves to the northeast to intersect
State Road 405, which serves as a half-loop around Titusville to
Kennedy Space Center. From here the road curves east again, and stays straight throughout most of the rest of the segment, with the exception of an area known as The Meadows between Hood Avenue and Moon Road. After the
Florida East Coast Railroad crossing,
NASA's
Vehicle Assembly Building is visible just before the east end of SR 50 at
US Route 1. ==History==