Spotlighting Scenic & Historic Byways

Bob Wilson, CDOT Communications Manager

DENVER – Colorado’s Scenic & Historic Byways are being highlighted through various channels this summer, as the tourist season shifts into high gear.

First, a new exhibit at Denver International Airport is highlighting all 26 of the state’s Scenic & Historic Byways.  Two photos of each designated route are being displayed to entice travelers after they land.  The photos are displayed at the A Gates, Y-Juncture Gallery, located past the A-security checkpoint through October 2018.

Second, combining Byways with bicycling is the focus of the newly designed Bicycle and Byways map, published by the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT).  The map serves as a guide for selecting routes best suited to the interests and abilities of sightseers.  State and federal roadways also are color coded by shoulder width and traffic volume, with the Scenic and Historic Byways easily identified by yellow highlights and reference numbers.  The map also is available on-line, providing an information “zoom in” about resources and amenities in local communities.

Third, Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways and other organizations are joining together to host the international Preserving the Historic Road 2018 Conference this September in Fort Collins.  The conference is bringing together many groups, with a primary focus on the future of historic roads in the United States and around the world.  CDOT’s Economist Oana Deselnicu, PhD, will be discussing how the state’s economy is enhanced as part of the Benefits of Colorado’s Scenic and Historic Byways presentation.  For more conference information, please visit www.historicroads.org

Eleven of Colorado’s 26 byways are designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation as America’s Byways®, which gives Colorado more national designations than any other state.

The Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways program isn’t just a list of roads connecting one place to another. The 26 Byways have been carefully selected by the Colorado Byways Commission to awe, instruct, delight, inform, physically challenge, soothe, and bolster the physical and spiritual health of the thousands of travelers who traverse Colorado’s chosen trails.  Always evolving, the Colorado Byways has several fresh ventures to announce. 

As documented in the January 2017, Strategic Plan for the Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways Commission

To order maps, other publications or for more information about the Scenic and Historic Byways, please visit www.ColoradoByways.org.