Planning a road trip in SW Colorado?
You’ll find plenty to see and do on these scenic roadtrips
Story by Kathryn R. Burke
All content © San Juan Publishing Group, Inc, All rights reserved.
[SW Colorado] If you’re traveling by car, you can make a big loop from I-70 and Grand Junction and the Wine Country, then south to Montrose and the Black Canyon, a national park, then into Ouray County, where there are several hot springs, This is a good first stop, and the spot where you decide if you want to continue south on the Million Dollar Highway through Ouray and Silverton to Durango. Or, turn west and loop around past Telluride, Rico, and Dolores to Cortez… then back east again to Durango. The entire loop is known as the San Juan Skyway.
San Juan Skyway. While you can drive it in a day, you won’t have time that way to see much of it. Allow a couple of days to play and take in the sites. Be sure to allow time to ride the vintage Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, steaming daily from Durango. (May-October, it roundtrips to Silverton). The Skyway route also takes you past remnants of the native peoples who once inhabited this area.
Trail of the Ancients. The most famous along this route is Mesa Verde, a world heritage park, but there are other ancestrail ruins as well, some, like the ones at the Anasazi Heritage Center, in Dolores, offer interactive intrepretive exhibits. Nearby, Hovenweep is a haunting experience. As you wander windswept paths, you’ll swear you feel the “old ones.”
Grand Mesa. A designated “byway”m the route ( 63 miles long) travels between the towns of Mesa and Cedaredge with an extreme elevation change, The flat-topped Colorado National Monument tops out at 10,000 feet and the lower valleys in Grand Junction and Cedaredge are below 5000 ft. With 300 lakes and over 400 miles of trails, this area is a recreational paradise. While visiting this area, you might want to explore the Wine Country there. Many wineries have tasting rooms and some even offer tours.
, then heading south to Montrose and the Black Canyon, and from there, east to Gunnison, through some historic cattle country.
All of the communities you will visit also present various festivals throughout the year. The fall Colorado Moutain Winefest (Grand Junction area) is a lot of fun. So are art and music festivals. Telluride offers top name entertainment and several live music festivals. Several towns also have brewfests, and with microbrews more popular in Colorado than any other state, you don’t want to miss one. Telluride’s Blues and Brews draws people from around the world.
All summer long is a big celebration in SW Colorado. From spring through fall, the days are packed with festivals and events making it fun to break your scenic sojourn for a taste of local entertainment.
Most Colordo State Parks are seasonal, although there is limited access to most of them all year long. The state park system recently combined with the (former) Department of Wildlife, so their website is a trove of information about regional biology as well as geology.
The road trips suggested here use well-maintained highways open most of the time. Some are closed briefly for winter maintenance, such as “shooting an avalanche, and there may be summer delays due to road repairs and paving. It’s a good idea to check with the Colorado Department of Transportation before starting out. Also, please remember it gets dark early in the mountains – in any season, and wildlife love to cross the road without looking. Watch out for the deer or elk; they feed at dawn and dusk. Remember too, that the map is flat, but this country is not, so allow extra time for steep roads and sharp curves. Speed is not the point here. Scenery is. Take the time to enjoy it!
Photography in Slide Show
1. Balloons on an early May morning start of the Balloons and Blooms Festival, Ridgway, Colorado. ©James Burke
2. Visitors tour Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde. ©Leslie Doran
3. Music in the Mountains, on stage in Durango, Colorado. Courtesy Music in the Mountains.
4. Art music festivals happen all summer long in SW Colorado. ©Kathryn R. Burke
5. The 473 all dressed up in Bumblee paint scheme rides the Highline during Railfest in August. © James Burke
6. Mining contests are uniaue to SW Colorado, and many participants are active miners. © Laurie Cassleberry.
7. Music in the Park at the Ridgway Rendevous. © Kathryn R. Burke.
References & Links
Southwest Colorado travel guide (by county and by Scenic Byway
CO-Trip Colorado Road Information
Colorado Travel Planning Guide. Official state vacation guide.
Colorado State Parks & Wildlife