Travel West Through Colorado
Leaving Las Vegas end of April for Indiana summer house. Have not decided going North and take the 70 to Grand Junction and then cut down 550 and Evenually 50 or 70 West. I assume most snow cleared....
Forum Discussion
TexasShadow wrote:
ditto to taking 50 through Colorado via Grand Junction, Montrose, Gunnison, Pueblo, etc. Unless there is a major snow storm looming. then you're better off to head west from Vegas to Flagstaff then up 89 to 160 to Cortez to Pagosa Springs and up to Alamosa and over to I 25.
^^^^^This.
Either way, you'll have a pass to go over, just a matter of your preference.
On US 50, you'll have Monarch Pass to go over. It's not overly difficult as CO passes go. At the top, there's a gift shop/restaurant, and during the tourist season, there's an aerial tram that runs to the summit to the south, and the views from there are some of the best in Colorado. Monarch tops out at about 11,300 ft. Once you're over, it's a beautiful drive heading eastbound all the way to the plains.
On US 160, there's Wolf Creek Pass, which tops out at about 10,800 ft. There's a significant climb on the west side and significant decline on the east side, but there's also climb lanes. If you stay on US 160 through Alamosa and on to I-25, you'll have one more pass, North La Veta, but it's certainly not difficult, topping out at about 9500 ft. Yeah, it's still a pass, but not bad. There is a long decline, though not steep, heading down toward Walsenburg.
