Take in breathtaking views of the Colorado Mountains, the Great Unconformity, and a seven-mile wooden trough bolted to the canyon wall.
The Unaweep-Tabeguache Scenic Byway is a 5-hour or longer drive from Whitewater to Placerville by means of Route 141 and 145. Side trips can add many miles to what is one of the most breathtaking travels anywhere in the Colorado Mountains. This 133-mile drive intersects the Uncompahgre Plateau through the Unaweep Canyon. Start the trip on Route 141 in the town of Whitewater. Enter the Unaweep Canyon and make a very short stop at the Grand Valley Overlook. The view here is spectacular. Next, take a left and follow Divide Road which climbs 2 miles to a cattle guard, where you can view the Great Unconformity, a unique line between Precambrian granite and Triassic sandstone that represents a 2.2 billion-year gap in geological history. Read more . . .
Colorado’s San Juan Skyway is a one- to two-day trip that circles from Ridgeway through Ouray, Silverton, Durango, Cortez, Dolores, Telluride, and Placerville. The “round” trip begins at Ridgeway State Park, four miles north of Ridgeway. Driving south on U.S. 550 along the Uncompahgre River brings you past a number of hot springs. The Ouray Hot Springs, a municipal pool, is at the north part of Ouray. Continuing on U.S. 550 reveals superb waterfalls which run off the cliffs into Uncompahgre Gorge. At the heap of the gorge lies a breathtaking view of the Red Mountains. At the top of Red Mountain Pass, you begin a 10-mile descent toward the town of Silverton. The pass bottoms out in the Animas River Valley, where a left turn onto Route 110 leads into the old mining town of Silverton.