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Feature Article
Mini Tour: Three Fall Drives by Nancy Muenker Like the fortune seekers of yesteryear, we beeline for the high country as soon as we hear "there's gold in them thar hills"—aspen gold. Countless scenic drives thread through Colorado, showcasing fall color. We each have our favorites—Peak to Peak, Guanella Pass, the San Juan Skyway, to name a few. This Mini Tour highlights three beautiful routes that you may not have driven in recent years. Whether or not they show Colorado's most dazzling aspen color, they nevertheless remind us of how gorgeous our state is. Cache la Poudre-North Park Scenic and Historic Byway Tumbling waters, craggy peaks, lush forests and wildlife characterize this 101-mile scenic route between Fort Collins and Walden. As it heads westward, the road parallels the Cache la Poudre River, climbs over Cameron Pass, then enters mountain-rimmed North Park before ending at Walden. The river's French name means "hiding place for powder." According to lore, when caught in a blizzard, French fur trappers lightened their load by burying boxes of gunpowder (poudre) in a hiding place (cache) along the riverbank. Outstanding scenery, recreation and water quality earned the Cache la Poudre River its national designation as a Wild and Scenic River, thus protecting it from construction of new dams or diversions. Canyon walls squeeze the valley into a tight corridor called the Narrows. Sides of sheer granite soar 3,000 feet high. The river growls as it scours bedrock and careens around sharp bends. After passing the town of Rustic, about 30 miles west of 287, the byway reaches Arrowhead Lodge Visitor Center, housed in a former resort's log structure. The canyon floor broadens at Big Bend, known for its Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep viewing area. As the road climbs in elevation, pines and golden aspen cover the hillsides. River spray spews above the cascading 100-foot Poudre Falls. Past Chambers Lake, the jagged silhouette of Nokhu Crags heralds the ascent of Cameron Pass. After cresting at 10,276 feet, the road descends into the thick lodgepole woodlands of Colorado State Forest, our state's largest park. The drive then parallels Michigan River, which meanders through bogs, wet meadows and willow thickets—prime moose habitat. As the road enters North Park, the terrain transforms from thick forest to low, rolling hills carpeted with sagebrush. Towering ranges rim the expansive basin. During the time when large herds of wild buffalo grazed here, Ute Indians called it "Bull Pen." Cattle and hay fields now accent the landscape. Three miles before the byway's western point in Walden, the road borders the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, where waterfowl and other migratory birds nest and rear their young. A ridge-top overlook captures a view of the Illinois River squiggling southward through wetlands. A wildlife tableau awaits those who explore the refuge's nature trails and self-guided auto route. Gold Belt Tour Scenic and Historic Byway The Gold Belt Tour's network of four north-south roads resembles a short-handled pitchfork with three prongs. The 131-mile route traverses diverse mountain and meadow landscapes between Florissant and Cañon City. Depending on the segment, you cruise through vast ranchlands, wind through craggy canyons or creep along rock ledges chiseled from steep cliffs. Starting in Florissant, the road heads south on Teller One—the pitchfork handle—then courses through Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Some 35 million years ago, volcanic mudflows preserved tens of thousands of plant and insect fossils with astounding detail. The site also features huge, petrified tree stumps. After passing aspen-streaked Mueller State Park, the byway splits into the prongs—High Park, Phantom Canyon and Shelf roads. High Park Road veers southwest across mountain meadows and ranchlands flanked with ponderosa pines. In the distance, the snow-crested Sangre de Cristo Range rises from the plains. Phantom Canyon Road branches southeast on the rail bed of the former Gold Belt Line. A curved steel bridge and two tunnels through solid granite attest to the construction feats necessary to build the 19th-century railway. As the unpaved road descends 5,000 feet, it hugs sheer pink walls of Pikes Peak granite. Stands of Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir give way to lower-elevation forests of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir. Willows fringe Eightmile Creek. After 25 miles of curves, the byway opens onto a broad valley and enters Florence. From there, access Shelf Road—the center prong—by driving northwest to Cañon City. Heading due north to Cripple Creek, this segment passes through the Garden Park Fossil Area, where in the 1870s paleontologists uncovered an amazing number of massive, nearly complete dinosaur skeletons. When the byway enters a gorge, it reaches the lofty section called The Shelf. Vehicles inch along a rock ledge 200 feet above the valley. A dramatic vista of soaring granite walls, sheer drop-offs and a cascading creek unfolds. The gravel road then winds up a steep canyon. Piles of talus mark old entrances to some of the 500 mines that catacomb the area. Shelf Road reaches its northern terminus in the historic mining town of Cripple Creek. To the northeast, majestic Mount Pisgah and Pikes Peak jut into the sky. Grand Mesa Scenic and Historic Byway This scenic drive climbs more than a mile in elevation to the top of one of northwest Colorado's most impressive land formations—the Grand Mesa. The 63-mile route stretches from the junction of Interstate 70 and Colorado 65 (five miles east of Palisade, where the WineFest is being held Sept. 20) southeast to the ranching community of Cedaredge. From the north entrance, it parallels Plateau Creek through a steep canyon. In autumn, rabbitbrush blossoms with bright yellow flowers. The road twists upward into the Plateau Valley and through the community of Mesa. Scrub oaks and aspens carpet the plateau's slopes with hues of green, yellow and gold. Open-range cattle graze on the roadside. As it enters Grand Mesa National Forest, the highway climbs through golden aspen stands that are tinged scarlet red and fiery orange. Adding to the dramatic beauty, clouds may hang on the ridge and snow may fall, dusting the dark green forests with white. On top of the mesa, a 12-mile spur leads to Land's End. Vegetation changes from stands of spruce and fir to wide expanses of shrubs. Two restored cabins mark the former Raber Cow Camp, a summer base for wranglers while cattle grazed on the plateau. At the far edge of Land's End, a spectacular view of lower mesas, rolling hills and the Grand River Valley unfolds. On clear days, you can see the San Juan Mountains to the south, the La Sal Mountains to the west and the Bookcliff Mountains to the north. When mist veils the panorama, ethereal silhouettes of mesas and hills roll like waves to the western horizon. Back on the main road, the drive reaches Cobbett Lake, one of the plateau's 300 lakes teaming with trout. Nearby, housed in a log building, the Grand Mesa Visitor Center provides orientation to the area. From there, the byway begins its descent to Surface Creek Valley. Stands of aspen flow down the slopes. Their varied hues-lime green, lemon yellow, bullion gold and orange-form patterns like curved pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. As the elevation lowers, colorful scrub oaks intertwine with the aspens. Ranches, farms and orchards carpet the valley. The quaint town of Cedaredge crowns the scenic drive with Pioneer Town museum, AppleFest (first weekend of October) and shops offering fine art, crafts and antiques. Nancy Muenker is the author of Colorado Front Range History Explorer, a travel guidebook to the historic sites and attractions of our state's most populous region. »»» View additional fall drive options.
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