Gold Belt Byway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Gold Belt Byway is a national scenic byway located entirely within the state of Colorado in the United States of America. The byway received its name because it runs through Colorado's gold country. It connects the gold mining districts to each other and to the Arkansas Valley.

Contents 1 History 2 Roads 2.1 Phantom Canyon Road 2.2 Shelf Road 2.3 High Park Road 2.4 Teller County Road 1 3 Major Landmarks 4 Towns Along Route 5 External links

[edit] History

The Gold Belt Byway is made up mostly of roads that connected mining towns to the Arkansas Valley. On the byway you will see many abandoned mines, buildings, and towns that prospered during the Colorado Gold Rush. Along the byway you will see numerous buildings that have been unchanged since the mines went bust. Although gold is no longer the main mining export of this region many mines still exist.

[edit] Roads

The Gold Belt Byway contains many roads. Most of them are dirt roads that are narrow and run through canyons and other geological features.

[edit] Phantom Canyon Road

Phantom Canyon Road is a scenic road that connects Cañon City and Victor. The road goes through Phantom Canyon. The road has two tunnels and elevated bridges. It has many camp locations. It was originally the route of a railroad that connected Florence and Cripple Creek. The route contains many narrow roads and high wooden bridges. The road is unpaved.

[edit] Shelf Road

Shelf Road is a portion of the byway going through Fourmile Canyon. It was originally used as a stagecoach road. The cliffs of the canyon near Shelf Road offer some of the best sport climbing in Colorado.

[edit] High Park Road

High Park road was the first route to connect gold mines with the Arkansas Valley. Unlike Shelf Road and Phantom Canyon road it doesn't run through a canyon and is paved. High Park Road is located in area where cattle ranching takes place.

[edit] Teller County Road 1

Teller County Road 1 was the first stagecoach route to Cripple Creek and thus it is called County Road 1.^{[citation needed]} It is a paved road. It offers diverse views of scenery. For example along the road are steep mountains and rolling hills where cattle graze.

[edit] Major Landmarks

Major landmarks along the route include the following:

• Pikes Peak
• Royal Gorge
• Phantom Canyon

[edit] Towns Along Route

Important towns along the byway include:

• Cripple Creek
• Victor
• Florence
• Cañon City
• Florissant
• Divide

[edit] External links

• Gold Belt Byway
• Byways.org

v • d • e Protected Areas of the State of Colorado Federal National Parks: Black Canyon of the Gunnison • Great Sand Dunes • Mesa Verde • Rocky Mountain National Monuments: Canyons of the Ancients • Colorado • Dinosaur • Florissant Fossil Beds • Hovenweep • Yucca House National Historic Sites: Bent's Old Fort • Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Trails: Old Spanish Trail • Pony Express Trail • Santa Fe Trail National Recreation Areas: Arapaho • Curecanti National Conservation Areas: Gunnison Gorge • McInnis Canyons National Wildlife Refuges: Alamosa • Arapaho • Baca • Browns Park • Monte Vista • Rocky Mountain Arsenal • Two Ponds National Forests: Arapaho • Grand Mesa • Gunnison • Pike • Rio Grande • Roosevelt • Routt • San Isabel • San Juan • Uncompahgre • White River National Grasslands: Comanche • Pawnee National Wilderness: Black Canyon of the Gunnison • Black Ridge Canyons • Buffalo Peaks • Byers Peak • Cache La Poudre • Collegiate Peaks • Comanche Peak • Eagles Nest • Flat Tops • Fossil Ridge • Great Sand Dunes • Greenhorn Mountain • Gunnison Gorge • Holy Cross • Hunter-Fryingpan • Indian Peaks • James Peak • La Garita • Lizard Head • Lost Creek • Maroon Bells-Snowmass • Mesa Verde • Mount Evans • Mount Massive • Mount Sneffels • Mount Zirkel • Neota • Never Summer • Platte River • Powderhorn • Ptarmigan Peak • Raggeds • Rawah • Sangre de Cristo • Sarvis Creek • South San Juan • Spanish Peaks • Uncompahgre • Vasquez Peak • Weminuche • West Elk National Scenic Trail: Continental Divide Trail State State Parks: Arkansas Headwaters • Barr Lake • Bonny Lake • Boyd Lake • Castlewood Canyon • Chatfield • Cherry Creek • Cheyenne Mountain • Crawford • Eldorado Canyon • Eleven Mile • Golden Gate Canyon • Harvey Gap • Highline Lake • Jackson Lake • James M. Robb - Colorado River • John Martin Reservoir • Lake Pueblo • Lathrop • Lone Mesa • Lory • Mancos • Mueller • Navajo • North Sterling • Paonia • Pearl Lake • Ridgway • Rifle Falls • Rifle Gap • Roxborough • San Luis • Spinney Mountain • St. Vrain • Stagecoach • State Forest • Staunton • Steamboat Lake • Sweitzer Lake • Sylvan Lake • Trinidad Lake • Vega • Yampa River State Forest: Colorado State Forest State History: Byers-Evans House • Colorado History Museum • El Pueblo • Fort Garland • Fort Vasquez • Georgetown Loop • Healy House and Dexter Cabin • Pearce-McAllister Cottage • Pike Stockade • Trinidad • Ute Indian Museum Other National Historic Landmarks: Beaver Meadows • Burlington Carousel • Black Hawk • Central City • Colorado Chautauqua • Cripple Creek • Durango-Silverton Railroad • Georgetown • Granada • Leadville • Lindenmeier Site • Lowry Ruin • Mesa Verde • Pikes Peak • Pike's Stockade • Raton Pass • Shenandoah-Dives Mill • Silver Plume • Silverton • Telluride • U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Area National and Regional Trails: American Discovery Trail • Colorado Trail • Continental Divide Trail • Great Divide Trail • Kokopelli's Trail • Paradox Trail • Tabeguache Trail Scenic and Historic Byways: Alpine Loop • Cache la Poudre-North Park • Colorado River Headwaters • Dinosaur Diamond • Flat Tops • Frontier Pathways • Gold Belt • Grand Mesa • Guanella Pass • Highway of Legends • Lariat Loop • Los Caminos Antiguos • Mount Evans • Pawnee Pioneer • Peak to Peak • San Juan Skyway • Santa Fe Trail • Silver Thread • South Platte River Trail • Top of the Rockies • Trail of the Ancients • Trail Ridge • Unaweep/Tabeguache • West Elk Loop Colorado Department of Natural Resources (web)