Reservations
Tools & Resources
Travel Extras
AAA Travel
1-866-581-1209
Mon-Fri: 8:30-5:30
Sat: 9:00-1:00
|
|
Exploring Colorado's Scenic Byways
No time to take a long cross-country road trip this year? Colorado has 10 nationally-designated scenic byways, and a host of state-designated scenic byways that can be experienced over a long weekend or just to take in on a days adventure.
What is a byway? The National Scenic Byway program is a grass-roots collaborative effort established to help recognize, preserve and enhance selected roads throughout the United States. The National Scenic Byways Program is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration.
The definition of "scenic" reaches beyond breathtaking natural vistas. "America's Byways" representing natural and man-made panoramas, electrifying neon landscapes; ancient and modern history, native arts and culture, and scenes of friends, families and strangers sharing their stories.
Following is information about some of Colorado's byways — both national or state designated. Please get or confirm details before taking a trip. The official website is: www.byways.org or http://www.coloradobyways.org/
NORTHWEST
Colorado River Headwaters Byway
Length: 69 miles / 111.0 km
Drive Time: 90 minutes to drive or 3-6 hours to enjoy this byway
What's neat along the route: Kauffman House Museum — built in 1892 and operated as a hotel until 1946. This hotel, the only remaining log hotel built in Grand Lake prior to 1900, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places because of its log architecture and because its first owner was a typical example of the men who joined the westward movement, drawn by the mining, trapping, fishing and tourist phase of the Grand Lake community and Grand County, Colorado.
Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway
Length:480 miles / 772.5 km
Drive Time: 10 hours
What's neat along the route: Some of the world's most significant dinosaur fossil quarries and museums are clustered along this route. Dinosaur Journey in Fruita is a hands-on interactive museum containing real fossils, cast skeletons and robotic displays of dinosaurs.
NORTH CENTRAL
Cache La Poudre - North Park
Length: 101 miles / 162.5 km
Drive Time: 3 hours
What's neat along the route: White water rafting along the Cache la Poudre River, horseback riding, fishing and hiking. North Park, once a favorite bison grazing ground, remains heavily populated with deer, antelope, elk, moose, beaver, and coyote; migrating waterfowl flock to the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge.
Lariat Loop
Length: 40 miles / 64.4 km
Drive Time: 2 hours
What's neat along the route: In Golden, the Colorado Railroad Museum, The Astor House, Clear Creek History Park and Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum will keep you busy, then on to the Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave, the Boettcher Mansion and Hiwan Homestead Museum in Evergreen. In Morrison you'll find Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, Dinosaur Ridge and Morrison Historic District.
NORTH EAST
Pawnee Pioneer Trails
Length: 125 miles / 201.2 km
Drive Time: 3 hours
What's neat along the route: Pawnee National Grassland is an internationally recognized area to watch for birds of prey. Hawks and falcons nest in the rocky cliffs at Pawnee Buttes. Bird-watchers can take the Pawnee Buttes Trail to glimpse these amazing predators and the Buttes also!
South Platte River Trail
Length: 19 miles / 30.6 km
Drive Time: 30 minutes
What's neat along the route: Thousands of Fifty-Niners passed this way to Denver and the mines beyond in the early days of the Pikes Peak rush. The 19-mile loop includes stops at the site of the only Pony Express station in Colorado, where 15-year-old William F. Cody — Buffalo Bill — signed in as a rider; the location of old Fort Sedgwick, established in 1865 to guard westward migrants from Indian raids; and the spot where Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Sioux warriors attacked a detachment of cavalrymen to avenge the Sand Creek Massacre. The route also follows the old Lincoln Highway, the first coast-to-coast automobile road in the United States.
SOUTH WEST
Trail of the Ancients
Length: 480 miles / 772.5 km
Drive Time: 9 hours
What's neat along the route: Hovenweep National Monument and Mesa Verde National Park both contain dense clusters of Anasazi remains, and the Anasazi Heritage Center in Dolores offers background and interpretive information. One branch of the byway leads to the Four Corners Area, connecting Utah's Trail of the Ancients byway. Mesa Verde, Spanish for "green table", offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people who made it their home for over 700 years, from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1300. Today, the park protects over 4,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings. These sites are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States.
San Juan Skyway
Length: 233 miles / 375.0 km
Drive Time: 5 hours
What's neat along the route: If byways could claim royal lineage, this one would probably rule them all. Start with the major towns along the route — Durango, a well-preserved descendant of the Old West; picturesque Telluride, renowned for world-class skiing and film, jazz, and bluegrass festivals; and Silverton and Ouray, Victorian jewels tucked in deep alpine valleys. Add another crown — Mesa Verde National Park, home to one of the densest collections of prehistoric ruins in the U.S. — and five million acres of undisturbed national forest. Then there are the roads themselves, snaking through the woods in the shadow of impressive 14,000-foot peaks. The segment from Ouray to Silverton is called the "Million Dollar Highway." But you can't put a price tag on this experience.
The San Juan Skyway was designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation as an All-American Road, the highest level of designation, in 1996. It is one of ten America's Byways designated in Colorado.
SOUTH CENTRAL
Los Caminos Antiguos
Length: 129 miles / 207.6 km
Drive Time: 3 to 4 hours
What's neat along the route: The Great Sand Dunes, the Sangre de Cristo Range, Colorado's oldest surviving community or the state's oldest church, Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Conejos, Fort Garland Museum, Cumbres/Toltec Scenic Railroad and the San Luis Lakes State Park.
Silver Thread Scenic Byway
Length: 75 miles / 120.7 km
Drive Time: 2 hours
What's neat along the route: At the height of Colorado's mineral rush, this byway was once a thoroughfare of prospectors and entrepreneurs, boasting towns of thousands of people and thriving businesses. Now only a shadow of its crowning glory, this stretch of highway still attracts visitors with alluring vistas, wild adventures, lively recreation, and fascinating historical sites. Creede offers numerous attractions for visitors seeking history and cultural experiences. Tour the town's historic mining district on the 17-mile Bachelor Loop and learn about mining and its influences on the town by visiting the Creede Underground Mining Museum. This small town also houses the renowned Creede Repertory Theater, a popular attraction available May through September.
----------- ----------- ------------- ----------------- ------------- ------------ ------------ ----------- --------------------
AAA Travel Tip:
Scenic highways are annotated on AAA State maps by a green dotted line — a handy planning tool for traveling in an unfamiliar area.
TripTik Travel Planner
|
|
= Members Only