As the name suggests, the road tours the area where the biggest gold boom ever occurred in Colorado, passing through Cripple Creek, Florence, McCourt, Adelaide, Wilbur, Victor and more. The entire stretch is 131 miles and, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), roughly takes five hours to complete. Leaving Buena Vista on Highway 24 and heading to Florissant, you’ll near the start of the first scenic byway of the trip - the Gold Belt Tour. Stop in for an outdoor movie at Comanche Drive-In, where films are played with the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains (and it might be the highest drive-in theater in the country, at almost 8,000 feet). ![]() In this town, you’ll find the Arkansas River, gorgeous hiking trails, lakes and a whole host of other outdoor pursuits. Heading south on Highway 285 from Denver, you’ll reach the town of Buena Vista. Photo courtesy of Royal Gorge Bridge & Park. Take note that some scenic byways are only open seasonally (especially this year with more snowpack and summer snowstorms in the high country) and most of them have lower speed limits than highways and interstates. Each segment is connected to another segment, although there are multiple routes to take in some instances. From the Pawnee Grasslands in the north to the Santa Fe Trail in the south, each stretch holds its own stories, landscapes and things to do, which we’ve explained. And that screams road trip potential, to us.Īlthough the dedicated few might take it upon themselves to drive on every single Colorado scenic byway, we’ve made a mapped guide to discovering and exploring 10 of them, in succession. That means Colorado holds more nationally recognized byways than any other state. Colorado has 26 designated scenic byways, 11 of which are America’s Byways. Some might say that the only way to travel through America is via scenic byways - or roads that hold archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational or scenic significance. We are also going to include a few additional experiences that you can enjoy dependent on how much time you have in and around the national park.If you’ve ever taken a road trip, you know there is a fine balance between getting from point A to point B and enjoying the journey. As mentioned, we only had one day exploring the Rocky Mountains, so let’s take a look at exactly what you can experience in less than 24 hours. ![]() Unsurprisingly, we opted for the Beaver Meadows option, not only because it was the most convenient to access but also because it gave us an opportunity to explore two different areas of the Rocky Mountains. Wild Basin – Located 19 miles south of Estes Park on highway 7.Fall River Entrance – Located 4 miles west of Estes Park on highway 34.Beaver Meadows – Most popular entrance located just a couple of miles from Estes Park on highway 36.You have a couple of options available to you if none of the roads are closed as follows: ![]() ![]() Not only can you explore the inherent beauty of the Rocky Mountains, you can also enjoy a town known as “base camp” for this national park. Dependent on which direction you are visiting the Rocky Mountains will likely determine which part of the park you can see but undoubtedly, the most iconic route is from Estes Park.
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