COME TO LIFE on Scenic & Historic Byways Experience the beauty of Colorado’s 26 scenic byways, where every turn reveals breathtaking vistas, rugged mountain landscapes and hidden gems waiting to be discovered. With landscapes so captivating, you may never want to leave the comfort of your car. See Colorado Alpine Loop* Guide your 4x4 over high-elevation 1880s roads past thick-with-wildflower meadows, abandoned mines and ghost towns. Dinosaur Diamond Hunt for fossils and footprints made by massive dinosaurs and rock art left behind by early Indigenous people along sandstone canyons and mesas. Grand Mesa* Journey atop the world’s largest flattop mountain to see wide-open vistas and more than 300 stream-fed lakes. Cache la Poudre -North Park Travel alongside one of America’s few Wild and Scenic Rivers and watch for grazing moose, granite canyon walls and historic landmarks. Flat Tops Trail* Wind through lush river valleys, skirt the bountiful Flat Tops Wilderness, climb over two sky-scraping mountain passes and catch your breath in authentic ranching towns. Guanella Pass* Tour the preserved silver-mining town of Georgetown before rising in elevation to raw alpine wilderness. Collegiate Peaks* Take this old stagecoach route through rocky canyons carved by the Arkansas River and North America’s densest concentration of 14,000-foot (4,300-metre) peaks. Highway of Legends* Arc around the Spanish Peaks and geological marvels of the great dykes, where gold-seeking conquistadors — as well as Comanche, Pueblo and Tarahumara peoples — once travelled. Frontier Pathways Glimpse relics of frontier life along a route that climbs upward, with plants, animals and geology that change every 1,000 feet (304 metres). Colorado River Headwaters* Trace the upper reaches of the Colorado River, passing through verdant ranchland, the yellow-hued Gore Canyon and Colorado’s largest natural body of water, Grand Lake. Lariat Loop* Witness evergreens covering the foothills of the Rockies, curious crimson geology and even dinosaur tracks in an uplifted hogback rock formation. Gold Belt Tour* See canyons dotted with the petrified remains of life from 35 million years ago and find the history of “the greatest gold camp in the world.” Los Caminos Antiguos Drift through the San Luis Valley, a mystical basin of vast farmland, the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Great Sand Dunes. Mount Blue Sky* Travel the highest paved road in North America on a serpentine ride to the summit, passing alpine lakes, granite walls and twisted, ancient bristlecone pine. Pawnee Pioneer Trails Experience solitude and explore nature through birding, photography or hiking across rolling grassland, where delicate wildflowers bloom in spring. Peak to Peak* Get up close and personal with the Continental Divide, mining ghost towns, Victorian opulence and stunning views of Longs Peak. See page 8 for a byways map. Silver Thread scenic byway 38 COLORADO . COM ANDREW MAGUIRE
Colorado Holiday Guide UK English 2025: Page 38
