Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways

The Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways program is a statewide partnership intended to provide educational, recreational and economic benefits to Coloradoans and visitors. These outstanding touring and vacation routes afford the traveler interpretation and identification of key points of interest and services while providing for the protection of natural resources.

Scenic and Historic Byways are nominated by local partnership groups and designated by the Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways Commission for their exceptional scenic, historic, cultural, recreational, and natural features. A couple of new Byways have been designated since I first published this list but now (2007), contemplation of new ones has been stopped. Some of the older ones have had "legs" fall off (for example: the Frontier Pathways leg from Westcliffe to Gardner) and some of the Byways' non-profit support and maintenance volunteer organizations have ceased operating but most of these Scenic and Historic Byways are in better "condition" than they were when they were first designated. Sally Pearce, the CDOT coordinator for the Scenic Byways program, has done an excellent job with scarce resources to help keep this important cultural, environmental and natural resource program operating. With her backing, we are slowly resurrecting that missing leg of Frontier Pathways (I mentioned this to the Custer County Chamber of Commerce in Westcliffe and the Huerfano County Tourism Advisory Board in Walsenburg and they are all on this bandwagon, too). And I understand that the Silver Thread has been extended to incorporate a leg from Lake City to Gunnison (we did that with the Scenic Highway of Legends, also, when we got the Apishapa Road included back in 2002). Now we're investigating adding State Highway 69 from Gardner to Walsenburg to that missing leg of Frontier Pathways (hint, hint)... And I also just learned that the Tops of the Rockies Byway has been extended across Independence Pass to Aspen (Yaay!)