Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways - 2024/2025

Distance: 40 miles • Allow 2 hours
Total elevation gain: 5,675–7,800 feet

This scenic circle was one of the original drives developed by the city of Denver in the early 1900s to help Coloradans experience nearby mountain parks. The byway begins with drama as it follows the old Lariat Trail (known as Lookout Mountain Road), which rises 2,000 feet from the historic downtown of Golden to the top of Lookout Mountain. Views of Denver’s skyline and a stop at the Buffalo Bill Grave and Museum offer impressive scenery and intriguing history. The route continues, weaving its way to mountain parks as well as Evergreen Lake. Visitors can get a taste of that era’s comfy summer-home living at the nearby Hiwan Homestead Museum, which includes a restored 17-room log mansion. As the byway comes down out of the mountains it winds through the town of Morrison and passes Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre, one of the world’s foremost outdoor concert venues. The byway continues to the north and makes a stop at Dinosaur Ridge, a segment of the 220-foot tall Dakota Hogback where dinosaur tracks are visible in the hardened stone. Significant geological heritage can also be found nearby at the historical I-70 Point of Geological Interests trails, built during the original construction of I-70.