Colorado
San Juan Highway
Colorado Byways
Colorado established the Scenic and Historic Byways Program in 1989. Over the span of three decades, the program has designated 26 Colorado routes showcasing the state’s exceptional scenic, ecological, cultural, and historic Byways Commission, and in collaboration with the Colorado Department of Transportation.
Key Points
- Colorado is home to 26 scenic byways, including 13 national scenic by-ways and 13 state scenic byways.
- The travel industry directly impacts the employment of 171,000 Col-oradans and $6.3 billion in wages.
- Grants sourced from the National Scenic Byways Program for Colorado from 1991 through 2012 totaled $17,945,194.
- A 2016 economic analysis of the state’s economy determined cumula-tive visitor spending while traveling the byways from 2009 to 2014 at nearly $4.8 billion.
Colorado Byways
Map Key:
- All-American Roads
- National Scenic Byways
- State Scenic Byways
All-American Roads
National Scenic Byways
State Scenic Byways
Byways Provide Access to Public Lands
Colorado byways provide access to the state’s most spectacular public lands, including four national parks, 36 state parks, 13 national recreational trails, eight national forests, and eight national monuments.
About the National Scenic Byways Program
The National Scenic Byways Program, established by Congress in 1991, recognizes historic, scenic, and culturally important roads, all of which promote economic development and tourism in communities around the U.S. There are more than 1,200 byways in all 50 states.
All scenic byways exhibit one or more of six core intrinsic qualities — scenic, historic, recreational, cultural, archaeological, or natural. For a road to be named a national scenic byway, it must first be designated a state, tribal, or federal agency scenic byway. Once achieving that, a road may apply for national scenic byway designation, but its intrinsic quality must be of regional significance. All-American Roads are the very best of the national scenic byways, demonstrating at least two intrinsic qualities of national significance.