Western slopes of Colorado

[rvdivers]

Curious about Colorado State routes 139 from Rangely to Grand Junction...then continuing south on State Route 141 to Dove Creek and eventually into Cortez and down thru N.M. to I-40. On my maps these roads don't show mountainous but hey it's the backside of some glorious mountains. We are a 40' Class A towing. We try to avoid going through big cities when going south (i.e. Denver and SLC) and have never taken this route.
Thanks for any and all assistance!

[Brassica]

Second Chance wrote:
I never travel in places like Colorado or northern New Mexico without checking my route(s) in The Mountain Directory
The Mountain Directory
Rob

Inside: ** A highway patrol officer in Oregon told us that in the summer an average of one motorhome per week burns to the ground while trying to climb Cabbage Hill on I-84 east of Pendleton. ** :E

[rvdivers]

Thanks for input. We decided to go through Moab! Always appreciate the input!

[valhalla360]

paulj wrote:
On Google Maps set the `terrain` mode to see where there are mountains. Zoom in to see details, all the way to Streetview.

Even better, download Google Earth. It's a little more clunky than Maps but once you select directions, if you right-click on the route, you can select "profile".

This brings up a graph of the grades along the route. Take bridge crossings with a grain of salt. If you see a really short very steep "V" its usually showing the ground level rather than the bridge but otherwise does a great job.

If you change to walking directions in Google Maps, you can get a profile but they often won't let you walk on freeways or they try to get you away from roads, so it's not as convenient.

[paulj]

On Google Maps set the `terrain` mode to see where there are mountains. Zoom in to see details, all the way to Streetview.

139 crosses Douglas Pass, 8400 ft. From the map the tightest turns are on the south side.

In a recent thread I found that the main grade on 141 is the climb out of the river at Slick Rock Hill.

According to the Bike routing option this route has total climb and drop of 12000 ft. The alternative through Moab is up/down 10000. A third option is Lizzard Head Pass south of Telluride. This has more climb (15000), but is often recommended as the alternative to 550 between Oray and Durango.

[Second_Chance]

I never travel in places like Colorado or northern New Mexico without checking my route(s) in The Mountain Directory (I use the downloadable version on a Windows laptop). It tells you almost everything you need to know about routes you are considering.

The Mountain Directory

The cost is reasonable - I highly recommend it.

Rob

[agesilaus]

141 on the northern side is a spectacular canyon with towering cliff. During a rainfall there are many waterfalls. A river follows the other side of the road. Supposedly there are campground on top the mesa.