U.S. Route 33

Until the 2008 truncation, between South Bend and Fort Wayne, US 33 was part of the Lincoln Highway, and some road signage still refers to "Lincolnway". From its new terminus at US 20 on the southeast side of Elkhart, US 33 is a winding road that cuts diagonally from northwest to southeast through Northeast Indiana and serves as Main Street or a portion of Main Street in several cities and towns, including Elkhart, Dunlap, and Churubusco.

The road is the main overland link between the Fort Wayne metropolitan area and South Bend metropolitan statistical areas. Until shortly after the Black Hawk War, Fort Wayne had been a major settlement, then a trading post and U.S. Army outpost in the Indiana Territory.

From Elkhart, U.S. 33 continues southeast passing through the suburbs of Dunlap and Midway before crossing State Road 15 and State Road 4, then continues southeast toward Benton as Lincolnway East.

Southeast of Benton, U.S. 33 intersects State Road 13 before joining with US 6 to become an east–west rural highway running for a few miles between just north of Lake Wawasee near Syracuse to Ligonier at the intersection of State Road 5, where US 33 splits from US 6 and turns south, joining SR 5 as a north–south road for a few miles before splitting off to the southeast toward Kimmell as it enters Noble County.

US 33 continues southeast through Noble County until it reaches Wolf Lake, where it serves as the northern terminus of State Road 109 before continuing until its intersection with State Road 9 at Merriam just north of the Whitley County line. In Whitley County, the road curves eastward to bypass Blue Lake before intersecting with State Road 205 in Churubusco near the county line with Allen County as it heads toward Fort Wayne.

On the west side of Fort Wayne, US 33 joins US 30 near Interstate 69, then follows the interstate south, intersecting with SR 14 and US 24 before turning east to follow the Interstate 469 bypass around the southwest side of Fort Wayne. At the intersection with SR 1 south of the Fort Wayne International Airport, I-469/US 33 turns to the northeast until it intersects US 27 at the Fort Wayne suburb of Hessen Cassel, where US 33 splits off to the southeast to follow US 27 as a combined highway toward Decatur.

At Decatur, US 33/US 27 becomes a north–south road before it intersects with US 224 and continues as such until US 33 splits off from US 27 south of Decatur and heads east toward the Ohio state line, intersecting SR 101 at Pleasant Mills along the way.

In Ohio, the highway runs at a generally southeast-northwest angle from the west-central to the southeastern part of the state, passing through mostly rural territory except for a significant portion running through downtown Columbus. Most of the route in the state, particularly east of Columbus, is expressway. The highway crosses over the Ravenswood Bridge into West Virginia.

View west along US 33 in Pendleton County, West Virginia

US 33 extends 248 miles (399 km) in West Virginia, from the Ohio River at Ravenswood to the Virginia state line atop Shenandoah Mountain west of Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Shortly after entering West Virginia and crossing the Ohio River, US 33 turns south, joining Interstate 77 to Ripley. The route then turns east from I-77, joining US 119 at Spencer, then passing through extremely rural areas of Roane, Calhoun, Gilmer, and Lewis counties.

US 33 Intersects Interstate 79 at Weston, West Virginia. From Interstate 79 east, US 33 is a four-lane highway, part of Corridor H of the Appalachian Development Highway System. The four-lane segment continues on through rural areas of Upshur, and Randolph counties, to just a couple miles past Elkins.

At Harding, US 250 joins US 33 for several miles after Elkins, where US 33 joins SR 55 and returns to a two-lane road, except for a seven-mile (11 km) section of four-lane across Kelly Mountain between Canfield and Bowden. Passing through the Monongahela National Forest, US 33 crosses the Eastern Continental Divide between Harman and Onego at about 3,240 feet (990 m) elevation, entering Pendleton County, then descends the Allegheny Front along Seneca Creek, skirting the north end of Spruce Mountain, at 4,861 feet (1,482 m) the highest point of the Allegheny Mountains.

US 33 then joins SR 28 at Seneca Rocks, West Virginia, and continues south in the Potomac River headwaters through scenic forest and farmland landscapes. Turning eastward from SR 28 at Judy Gap, US 33 crosses North Fork Mountain at about 3,600 feet (1,100 m), with a turnout on the western slope offering a scenic view of the Germany Valley below and the more distant Allegheny Front from Spruce Knob to Dolly Sods. US 220 joins US 33 for about half a mile in Franklin. After Franklin, US 33 continues eastward through rural areas, then climbs steeply to cross Shenandoah Mountain at Dry River Gap at about 3,450 feet (1,050 m) into Rockingham County, Virginia.

View east along US 33 just after entering Virginia from West Virginia in Rockingham County

U.S. Route 33 extends 139 miles (224 km) in Virginia from the West Virginia state line west of Harrisonburg across the Shenandoah Valley, Blue Ridge Mountains, and Atlantic Piedmont to Richmond. It enters Virginia from West Virginia on Shenandoah Mountain. After going down the mountain, it passes through the unincorporated community of Rawley Springs. After travelling 9 miles from Rawley Springs, reaches the Independent city of Harrisonburg and intersects major routes Virginia State Route 42, U.S. Route 11, and Interstate 81 before leaving the city. The 4-lane highway passes around the southernmost end of Massanutten Mountain, towards Elkton. There, it intersects U.S. Route 340. After leaving Elkton, the highway heads towards the Blue Ridge Mountains, once it gets to the mountains, it reduces to 2 lanes and becomes 3 lanes a few times. At Swift Run Gap it intersects Skyline Drive and enters Greene County. After going down the mountains, it goes back to 4 lanes and heads south of Stanardsville. After that, the route heads southeast towards U.S. Route 29 in Ruckersville. After that, it heads south east and enters Orange County. It heads east north of the Albemarle County line and intersects Virginia State Route 20 on a concurrency. After that, it goes through a small part of the Southwest Mountains towards Gordonsville. It goes on a roundabout with U.S. Route 15 and Virginia State Route 231. U.S. 33 heads east with U.S. 15 and into Louisa County.

From Richmond, "Route 33" continues east as Virginia State Route 33 across the Atlantic coastal plain through the Tidewater region of the Middle Peninsula to reach the Chesapeake Bay at Stingray Point just east of Deltaville.