Frontier Pathways Scenic and Historic Byway (original) (raw)
Frontier Pathways Scenic and Historic BywayBy Ways2021-08-24T14:08:48-04:00
Frontier Pathways Scenic and Historic Byway
State: Colorado
Length: 103 miles / 164.8 km
Time to Allow: You’ll want to give yourself at least 4 hours to see everything this Byway has to offer.
Take the family on an outdoor educational experience to explore the Frontier Pathways Scenic and Historic Byway. The byway span 103 miles forking off in three different directions in south-central Colorado. It dips to the east slightly towards Kansas and down towards New Mexico, making it an excellent location for those who want to explore by care from those states as well as from Oklahoma and Texas.
With three different starting points, you can choose to begin in Westcliffe, Pueblo, or Colorado City. Let’s start in Westcliffe, an area rich with mountain peaks, including the Challenger, Kit Carson, Humbolt, and Crestone. The area offers several trails and pack trips along with the Alvarado campground. It’s a great place to go if you ever dreamed of taking a tour on the back of a llama. If you would rather try river rafting, tubing, or horseback riding at the Music Meadows Ranch.
Westcliffe is also the darkest town in Colorado as it’s surrounded by mountains. For this reason, many people chose this location for stargazing, which you can do at the Smokey Jack Observatory. Visit in July or September to get awesome bluegrass and acoustic music festivals. The town also offers plenty of recreational options for mountain lovers, including smaller waterfalls sure to delight your senses along with beautiful plants and wildlife.
Moving east to Pueblo, the city is known as the “Steel City” as it’s one of the longest and leading producers. A river runs through the town close to the streets making for a beautiful riverwalk without off-roading. The paved road goes about a mile long near downtown, with shops, restaurants, and art available. You could easily spend a week in this town or simply stop for a nice afternoon.
Head over to Lake Pueblo for year-round recreations, including boating and fishing. For trout fishing, the Arkansas River to the west of town offers great options. Find several other hiking trails near town, too, for plenty of adventure. In the fall, visit Pueblo for a variety of fairs, rodeos, and festivals, ready to make any trip spectacular. Catch a race too at the I-25 Speedway.
The southern fork of the byway lands in Colorado City near Beulah Valley. Find the Lake Colorado City State Park for camping and recreation. For smaller visits, Ruddick Park offers a great place for a picnic and for kids to play. Otherwise, the small town offers the Heart of West Texas Museum to explore local history.
In the middle of the trail between all three landmark towns sits Bishop Castle in Rye, Colorado. The castles made of stone offers soaring towers, bridges, gorgeous views, and even a fire-breathing dragon! No other castle in the world looks quite like this unique architectural marvel. Rye also offers a Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center, tons of unique restaurants, campgrounds, and golf courses. Find other unique sights nearby, including Pike and Sand Isabel natural forests, Hogback Mountain, and Table Mountain.
More Colorado Byways
You can check out additional Byways in Colorado by clicking on the list of byways below, or by going to the Colorado Byways home section. To find even more of scenic byways in the United States, visit our scenic byways map.