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Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway, Idaho Springs, CO

Photo: JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sightseeing

Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway

A 49-mile mountain drive in Clear Creek and Jefferson counties that climbs to near 14,000 feet, ending above timberline with views across the Front Range.

Idaho Springs, CO

About Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway

This designated scenic byway runs from the Idaho Springs area toward a summit above 14,000 feet, which the state describes as the highest paved road in North America. The route passes through ponderosa and juniper hills, open meadows, and spruce forests before reaching alpine terrain with wildflowers, lichens, pikas, marmots, mountain goats, and alpine lakes. Bighorn sheep are often spotted here. Weather can change quickly at any time of year, so visitors should prepare for wind, rain, lightning, snow, and hail. Vehicle entry requires a reservation made through recreation.gov, and large vehicles are discouraged on the steepest, narrowest stretch.

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  • #mountain-drive
  • #alpine
  • #wildlife
  • #highest-paved-road

What's around here?

The closest stops to Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Tours
    Family Favorite

    Georgetown Loop Railroad

    $25–$50

    A narrow-gauge train that loops through the Colorado Rockies past a historic Silver Rush mining town.

    8.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Colorado Adventure Center

    $50+

    Zipline, ropes course and whitewater rafting basecamp in Idaho Springs, 35 miles west of Denver.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    12 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Attractions
    Outdoor Adventure

    Mighty Argo Cable Car

    $25–$50

    Year-round gondola from downtown Idaho Springs to a mountain summit with hiking, biking, and views of the historic Argo Mill.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    13 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Sightseeing

    Argo Gold Mine and Mill

    $25–$50

    A preserved 1900s gold mill and mine tunnel in Idaho Springs, with guided tours and gold panning.

    13 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing

    South Park Rail Como Project (Como Roundhouse)

    Check prices

    A stone railway roundhouse in Como, Colorado, built in 1881, being restored by the South Park Rail Society into a railway history museum.

    23 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    Family Favorite

    Dinosaur Ridge

    No admission fee

    Walk a paved ridge road past more than 250 dinosaur tracks and Jurassic bones still set in the rock.

    24 mi awayMore like this

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