Cortez, CO to Colorado Springs with 39' 5th wheel

fanrgs wrote:
How much time do you have and how badly do you want to avoid high mountain passes? If you don't want any steep passes, you have to go south all the way to I-40, east to I-25, and north on I-25 to Colorado Springs. You still have to go over Raton Pass, but it is on an Interstate, is less than 8,000 feet, and is not especially steep. However, that is going to be one long trip!

The shortest, quickest route is the one Joe B. outlined. Wolf Creek Pass is much better now than it once was, with climbing lanes and wide shoulders. But the west side is still quite a climb.

Another, less-traveled option would be to take US 491 to Shiprock, NM, then go east on US 64 to Chama, NM. At Chama, you take Highway 17 to Antonito, CO, then US 285 north to Salida. But you still have to cross Cumbres Pass on Hwy. 17 and Poncha Pass on US 285 and it is considerably longer than US 160. You could also continue east from Chama on US 64 to its intersection with US 285 and avoid all but Poncha Pass. But, again, that route adds even more miles.

These are GREAT alternative suggestions! Of particular note, if you take the route through Chama and pick up Hwy 17 to Antonito -- Hwy 17 parallels the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad for a goodly portion of this drive, so the grades are not overly challenging. There's actually 2 passes (Cumbres and La Manga) but again, they really are not difficult. You drop down from La Manga into a really nice valley and follow that down to Antonito. It's a really beautiful drive.

How much time do you have and how badly do you want to avoid high mountain passes? If you don't want any steep passes, you have to go south all the way to I-40, east to I-25, and north on I-25 to Colorado Springs. You still have to go over Raton Pass, but it is on an Interstate, is less than 8,000 feet, and is not especially steep. However, that is going to be one long trip!

The shortest, quickest route is the one Joe B. outlined. Wolf Creek Pass is much better now than it once was, with climbing lanes and wide shoulders. But the west side is still quite a climb.

Another, less-traveled option would be to take US 491 to Shiprock, NM, then go east on US 64 to Chama, NM. At Chama, you take Highway 17 to Antonito, CO, then US 285 north to Salida. But you still have to cross Cumbres Pass on Hwy. 17 and Poncha Pass on US 285 and it is considerably longer than US 160. You could also continue east from Chama on US 64 to its intersection with US 285 and avoid all but Poncha Pass. But, again, that route adds even more miles.

I'd opt for the Highway 160 to I-25 route. Wolf Creek Pass is the only tough pull.

You will find several long pulls, no matter how you go. I like the route the skipper outlined as well. East on Hwy 160 over Wolf Creek Pass (10K + in altitude. to Monte Vista and turn north on Hwy 285 to Poncha Springs and Hwy 24 on into the Springs. You will go over Poncha Pass, 9,000+ and Wilkerson Pass on Hwy 24, at just over 9,000 as well. Not any low altitude passes east to west across Colorado but this one is safe for most drivers. Just don't expect to be able to hold highway speeds while pulling these passes and keep your speed under control on the downside as well, by using gearing and your exhaust brake if you have one.

You could also run across on Hwy 160 to Walsenburg and go north on Interstate 25. Not sure it would take any longer to do this route. When you get to Salida area, you can also go east on Hwy 50 into Pueblo and north on the Interstate. No matter which route you chose, you will have to go over some high passes.

We lived in Ouray, prior to moving here to the swamp country of Florida. Our route of choice out of Ouray, not Cortez as you are needing, was to Montrose, east on Hwy 50 to the Canon City area and cut up NE from Penrose on Hwy 115 to the Springs. Highway 24 from the Salida area is a much more scenic, IMHO, way to get to the Springs. You can run into a bit of traffic on 24 from Woodland into the Springs, at times, as Woodland has become a bedroom community of Colorado Springs. My wife grew up in the Springs and her family moved to Woodland, where she attended high school, so for old times sakes, we often have to drive through that area. LOL

There are many ways to cut across Colorado. Out of Cortez, you could take Hwy 145 north over Lizard Head, a 10,000 + pass, but a nice road with shoulders, in most places, go by Telluride to Placerville, cut east on Hwy 62 to Ridgway, north to Montrose on 550, then east on Hwy 50. This is my preferred route in winter time when the storm clouds are dumping white stuff everywhere.

Use2bBandman wrote:
I have some concerns as to the best way to get from Cortez, CO/Mesa Verde NP over to Colorado Springs. I have a 39'5th wheel and am trying to locate the easiest pull over the mts. Any experiences on that route, please reply.

160 should be the easy way over - we usually will run up to Salida and then take 24 into the Colorado Springs.

BOL,