Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Infobox road/errors".[[Category:Infobox road temporary tracking category 1|$ Template:Infobox road/meta/mask/country Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway]]Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".[[Category:Infobox road instances Template:Infobox road/meta/mask/category]] The Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway is a Script error: No such module "convert". National Forest Scenic Byway and Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway located in Clear Creek and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. The byway ascends to Script error: No such module "convert". of elevation near the Script error: No such module "convert". summit of Mount Blue Sky,Template:Efn making it the highest paved road in North America (beating the Script error: No such module "convert". Pikes Peak Highway by only Script error: No such module "convert"..) The byway visits Echo Lake Park, the Mount Goliath Natural Area, the Dos Chappell Nature Center, and Summit Lake Park on its way to the summit. A fee is charged to travel State Highway 5 to the summit and vehicles over Script error: No such module "convert". long are not allowed, although they are allowed on State Highway 103 which reaches its highest elevation of Script error: No such module "convert". at Juniper Pass.

The byway connects to the Lariat Loop Scenic and Historic Byway at Bergen Park.

Route

The byway begins at the Idaho Springs Visitor Center. Take Exit 241 off Interstate 70 for 1 mile. Stop at the Visitor Center for information, then continue on Miner Street to 13th Avenue which is State Highway 103 and continues on State Highway 5 through a corridor between the Mount Evans Wilderness where it ends near the summit of Mount Blue Sky. The byway is Script error: No such module "convert". in length and gains over Script error: No such module "convert". of elevation. Achieving a final elevation of Script error: No such module "convert"., this is the highest paved road in North America.

File:EvansByway.jpg
The Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway approaching the summit

The road was originally planned by the Denver Mountain Parks system to link Summit Lake Park and Echo Lake Park to their lower altitude parks in the foothills. As originally planned, the road ran from Bergen Park near Evergreen to Echo Lake, and then to the summit, while the road from Echo Lake down into Chicago Creek Canyon was a secondary branch. From the start, the road was planned in terms of the scenic vistas along the way.[1] The route was set by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., and for a while, between 1915 and 1920, it was to be the primary access road for a proposed National Park comprising much of what is now the Mount Evans Wilderness Area.[2]

There is a park fee charged if using parking lots and facilities along the upper portion of the byway. Prior to 2012, the Forest Service was charging anyone entering the highway at the entrance to Highway 5.[3] This portion of the byway is often narrow, with sudden dropoffs that have no guardrails. It is typically accessible from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, although the amount of access and specific dates vary depending on the weather and road conditions. Construction for improvements to Highway 5 closed the highway in September 2024, and the highway will remain closed for all of 2025.[4]

This route was designated a National Forest Scenic Byway on July 1, 1993 by the US Forest Service and has also been designated a Colorado Scenic Byway by the Colorado Department of Transportation.

See also

Notes

Template:Notelist

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. ↑ J. E. Murphy, A Motor Road on the Skyline of America, Popular Mechanics Vol XXXI,(1919); page 280.
  2. ↑ William Wyckoff, Creating Colorado: The Making of a Western American Landscape, 1860-1940, Yale University, 1999; pages 85-86
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

External links

Template:Sister project

Script error: No such module "navbox". Script error: No such module "Navbox". Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:Portal bar Template:Authority control Script error: No such module "Coordinates".

Retrieved from "http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=Mount_Blue_Sky_Scenic_Byway&oldid=3170283"