Pawnee Pioneer Trails Scenic BywayLength: 128 miles - Driving Time: 3 hoursSpecial Considerations: No services, avoid road between Grover and New Raymer when wet Special Features: Pawnee National Grasslands, Pawnee Buttes |
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![]() At the Pawnee Pioneer Trails Scenic Byway Visitor Center in Sterling |
The Pawnee Pioneer Trails Scenic Byway travels the rugged Colorado Piedmont, a wide open region anchored by the Pawnee Buttes. This is the shortgrass prairie found by frontiersman, cattle ranchers and homesteaders. Railroad towns sprang up, flourished and declined in the wind, drought and isolation. The communities that remain are as tough and resilient as the land they occupy. The Pawnee Buttes rise about 250' above the plains, visible for miles in all directions. For many thousands of years they have acted as guideposts for traveling Native Americans, mountain men and pioneers. Today, the area around the Pawnee Buttes is prime farming and ranching land while the immediate area of the buttes is a refuge for pronghorn, coyote, prairie dogs and hundreds of different species of birds. |
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| Photo in the Pawnee Pioneer Trails Visitor Center courtesy of Sally Pearce. Photo of the Pwnee Buttes is from the "Discover Colorado" brochure printed by the Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways Commission. Topo map courtesy of National Geographic Topo! Text is available for re-use under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. |