Looking for a the best week-long Colorado road trip this summer? Colorado has some of the coolest road trips in the country. If you want scenic views, dispersed camping, charming towns, and sometimes harrowing roads, take a Colorado road trip. Even though the rivers were the West’s first highways (including BV’s very own Arkansas River) with transportation on canoes and wagons instead of cars and trucks, these road trips all stick to paved highways. Each of these journeys has rivers, hot springs, mountains, and restaurants galore it’s what makes Colorado the best! Lets explore some week-long road trips through the
- Northern Mountains – Silverthorne to Steamboat to Dinosaur National Monument
- Central Mountains – Breckenridge to Leadville to Buena Vista to Crested Butte
- Southern Mountains – Durango to Silverton to Ouray to Telluride
Northern Mountains – Silverthorne to Steamboat to Dinosaur National Monument (192 miles)
Start this adventure in Silverthorne. But zig when everyone else zags and leave the bustle of I-70 behind. Follow Highway 9 along the Blue River until it flows into the Colorado River near the town to Kremmling. Keep your eyes peeled to the west where the rugged and roadless Gore Range rises above the valley. Next, follow Highway 40 over Rabbit Ears Pass and the Continental Divide. Stop in Steamboat Springs and have some fun, maybe along the Yampa River, one of the last, unrestricted, free-flowing rivers in the West.
The Yampa will be your companion almost all the way to your final destination at Dinosaur National Monument. Here you’ll see deep canyons, dinosaur fossils, and wild horses. This stretch of road is some of the most remote in Colorado and you’re more likely to see elk (this area has the largest elk herd in the U.S.) than people.
Central Mountains – Breckenridge to Leadville to Buena Vista to Crested Butte (127 miles)
Begin in Breckenridge (maybe after taking some great, short hikes) and make your way toward Leadville. Travel over Fremont Pass and see the humble headwaters of the Arkansas River. Get a glimpse into Colorado’s past in Leadville’s historic downtown. You can spot Leadville’s gritty, hard-nosed locals who make a living above 10000 feet, by their Melanzana clothing – all handmade in Leadville. Next, follow the Arkansas River on one side, and the looming Sawatch Range on the other, to our home in Buena Vista.
Come in for a latte and famous breakfast burrito at Station 24 Café and get out of the car and into the water next door with The Adventure Company. Finally, you’ll take CR306 over Cottonwood Pass (make sure to stop at the top!) on to Crested Butte, one of the best places to see summer wildflowers.
Southern Mountains – Durango to Silverton to Ouray to Telluride (120 miles)
If you’re a nervous, backseat driver like some of us are, it might be best to take a nap for most of this trip or wait until Telluride to express your full views. The roads here are winding, steep, and spectacular. This drive is in the heart of the San Juan Mountains and will take you over Molas Pass and Red Mountain Pass before you drop into Ouray, often called Switzerland in America. You’ll be happy to pause and eat some world class food in Telluride and be thankful you’re not running the Hardrock 100 mile endurance race who’s wild and unfortunate competitors complete a similar 100-mile trip, but all on foot.
We love Colorado and all it has to offer. Summer is the best time to take a week-long road trip through Colorado. Let us know if you do decide to take one of these road trips or another! Feel free to contact us too, we’d love to hear from you! Tag us on Instagram with your road trip photos!
