ON THE ROAD AGAIN: COLORADO’S SCENIC BYWAYS While you will spend a lot of time in the car while bagging this handful of our 26 Scenic & Historic Byways (see page 74 for a full list), it’ll be worth it. on more itineraries We have even around you get will our website that — ease of a local Colorado with the places many visitors the to especially about! Visit don’t even know ColoRoadTrips . COLORADO.com/ BASECAMP: DURANGO From Durango, nearly every road out leads to a scenic byway. Start on the Trail of the Ancients , the first one designated for archaeological significance — it’s the site of cliff dwellings and petroglyphs of Ancestral Puebloans. You’ll also snap a photo at the Four Corners, where the boarders of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah meet at one point. Your next leg is the Tracks Across Borders . Chug along the routes of the state’s famed narrow-gauge railroads — pull-off to hop aboard the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad to give your driver a little respite. Next, you’ll head north along the San Juan Skyway , home to silver-boom towns and unbelievable San Juan mountain views. As you ride past the hamlets of Silverton, Telluride and Ouray, make sure to visit their historic downtowns full of Victorian-era architecture. On the same day, you could also swing the 65-mile Alpine Loop , which is only snow-free and accessible in the summer months. 82 / 1-800-COLORADO CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: CLIFF PALACE AT MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK, JIM DAVID; DURANGO & SILVERTON NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD, ERIC LINDBERG; GRAND MESA, JASON J. HATFIELD. SOUTHWEST:
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2020: Page 82
