Peak to Peak Scenic and Historic Byway overview

St. Catherine's Church (CO) [1]

Welcome to the showcase of the Front Range. Less than an hour from Denver, Boulder, or Fort Collins, this 55-mile-long route provides matchless views of the Continental Divide and its timbered approaches. The string of popular attractions along the way - Rocky Mountain National Park, Golden Gate Canyon State Park, Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, and Eldora Ski Resort - combine recreation with nature preservation.

Mount Meeker Pullout (CO) [2]

Located in Colorado's high country where gravel roads criss-cross the main highway, this byway leads to lakes, trailheads, campgrounds, and ghost towns at Hesse and Apex. Mountains dot the landscape all along the byway, providing spectacular sights year-round. From wintry snow-capped magnificence to spring's innocence and revival, there is always something to inspire and take your breath away.

The Peak to Peak Scenic and Historic Byway also traverses an area rich in early Colorado history. The area was once a mining belt of valuable gold and silver deposits. Today, you can explore the past at Caribou, one of Colorado's ghost towns found about 5 miles west of Nederland or pan for gold at one of the panning locations off the byway. Estes Park boasts an extension of the Stanley Museum housed in the Stanley Hotel. Here, you can learn more of the Stanley family and its influence on Estes Park in the early 1900s. Towns along the way offer cultural activities as well. Home to the summer opera festival, Central City is also rich in period architecture.

Mount Meeker Pullout Overlook (CO) [3]

Established in 1918, Peak to Peak is Colorado's oldest scenic byway. Its attractions and popularity have justified Peak to Peak Magazine's comment, "many call it one of the most beautiful mountain roads in the country."