Overlanding

Colorado

Camp Bird Road, Ouray, Colorado

Why Colorado sits at the center of American overlanding

Colorado is the highest state in the country. The U.S. Geological Survey puts its mean elevation at about 6,800 feet, the highest of any state, its low point at 3,315 feet on the Arikaree River and its high point at 14,433 feet on Mount Elbert. The state climate office counts 58 mountains of 14,000 feet or more, and says roughly three quarters of the nation’s land above 10,000 feet lies inside Colorado’s borders.

What makes that matter to a driver is how much of it is public, and how much of it has a road. Federal agencies manage 24.1 million acres here, 36.3 percent of the state. The Forest Service holds 14.5 million of them and the Bureau of Land Management another 8.3 million. Across that ground run more than 13,500 miles of national forest road open to motor vehicles, about 2,950 miles of motorized trail and 6,987 miles of BLM route.

The result is a state where a stock four-wheel drive can cross a 12,800-foot pass in the morning and be in a town with fuel and a hot meal by afternoon. The Alpine Loop alone links Lake City, Silverton and Ouray over two passes above 12,600 feet. That mix of altitude, legal access and nearby services is hard to find anywhere else in the country.

It is also an unusually well signed state. The Colorado Department of Transportation runs 26 scenic and historic byways, 13 of them designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, which it says is more national designations than any other state holds, alongside 10 national forest scenic byways and two BLM back country byways. Our build of the Recreation.gov database counts 350 federal campgrounds a vehicle can reach here. The weather is the limit rather than the map: statewide precipitation averages 18.1 inches a year, but Wolf Creek Pass at 10,850 feet averages nearly 400 inches of snow, and summer afternoon temperatures drop about 4 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit for every thousand feet you climb.

Colorado by the numbers

Mean elevation, the highest of any state 2: 6,800 ft; An approximate figure from the USGS
Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado 3: 14,433 ft; Lake County. The lowest point is 3,315 feet
Mountains of 14,000 feet or more 4: 58; The USGS list of named summits has 56 in Colorado, more than any other state
Acres of federal land 1: 24.1M; 36.3 percent of the state
Acres of national forest and grassland 5: 14.5M; Eleven national forests, part of a twelfth, and two national grasslands
Acres of BLM public land 7: 8.3M; Two national monuments and three national conservation areas
Miles of national forest road open to motor vehicles 12: 13,500+; Plus about 2,950 miles of motorized trail
Miles of BLM route open to motor vehicles 13: 6,987; Roads and trails managed for public motorized use
Federal campgrounds a vehicle can reach 44: 350; 305 Forest Service, 23 BLM and 22 National Park Service. 246 can be booked ahead and 69 are first come only
Federally designated byways, of 26 in the state 45: 13; CDOT says that is more national byway designations than any other state. Add 10 national forest scenic byways and two BLM back country byways
Average annual precipitation statewide 4: 18.1 in; From 7 inches in the San Luis Valley to over 60 inches in a few mountain locations. Wolf Creek Pass averages close to 400 inches of snow
Acres in the Weminuche, the largest wilderness in Colorado 47: 499,771; Three quarters the size of Rhode Island by the Forest Service’s comparison, and closed to every vehicle and bicycle

Public land: who holds it and what that means

Colorado’s 24.1 million federal acres are split among five agencies: the Forest Service with 14,490,250 acres, the BLM with 8,344,829, the National Park Service with 679,044, the Department of Defense with 421,149 and the Fish and Wildlife Service with 183,145.

The Forest Service manages its Colorado land through seven offices: the Arapaho and Roosevelt; the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison; the Medicine Bow-Routt; the Pike-San Isabel; the Rio Grande; the San Juan; and the White River. On every one of them the Motor Vehicle Use Map, not the road itself, decides where you may legally drive.

BLM Colorado’s 8.3 million acres include Browns Canyon and Canyons of the Ancients national monuments and the Dominguez-Escalante, Gunnison Gorge and McInnis Canyons national conservation areas. The Park Service has four national parks here (Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde and Rocky Mountain) among 13 units, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife runs 43 state parks.

The forests are not interchangeable, and their own pages say so. The White River covers 2.3 million acres across five ranger districts and holds the Gore, Tenmile, Sawatch and Elk ranges as well as the Flat Tops, with eight wilderness areas over more than a third of its acreage, 11 ski areas and 10 peaks above 14,000 feet; the Forest Service calls it the top recreation forest in the nation, and its Dillon Ranger District, 312,000 acres in Summit County, takes 8.5 million visits a year. The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison run to over 3 million acres between 5,800 and 14,309 feet with five peaks above 14,000. The San Juan covers about 1.8 million acres from high desert mesa to alpine peak. The Arapaho and Roosevelt, with the Pawnee National Grassland, hold 1.5 million acres across five districts in north central Colorado.

Wilderness is where a legal road ends, and Colorado has a great deal of it. The Weminuche in the San Juan National Forest is the largest wilderness in the state at 499,771 acres, and the forest states the rule plainly: no motorized or mechanized traffic, bicycles included, under the 1964 Wilderness Act, and no possession of motorized equipment either. On the Pike-San Isabel alone there are nine congressionally designated wilderness areas covering over 385,000 acres. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve adds about 150,000 acres in the San Luis Valley, running from 7,520 feet near San Luis Lakes to 13,604 feet on Tijeras Peak, with a dunefield of roughly 30 square miles.

One trap for visitors: state trust land. The State Land Board owns 2.8 million acres, about four percent of Colorado, and it is closed to the public unless a parcel is leased for recreation. About 973,000 acres are enrolled for seasonal hunting and fishing only. That is not permission to camp or drive.

Source 1

Roads and trails open to vehicles

The Forest Service’s Motor Vehicle Use Map data shows at least 13,515 miles of national forest road and 2,951 miles of motorized trail inside Colorado. About half of the road mileage (6,997 miles) is open only part of the year, so check the dates for the road you want. Of the motorized trail mileage, about 205 miles are open to full-size four-wheel-drive vehicles; most of the rest is for motorcycles and ATVs.

The BLM’s national route data adds 6,987 miles managed for motor vehicles: 6,104 miles of road and 883 miles of trail.

These are counts of what the agencies publish, not of what is passable today. Both layers are on the public land map on this page, and the forest figures leave out segments that cross the state line, so the true totals are slightly higher.

Over the top of all that sits a signed touring network. Colorado runs 26 scenic and historic byways through a state commission working with the Forest Service, the BLM and local byway groups, and 13 of them are designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, which CDOT says is more national designations than any other state holds. Ten are national forest scenic byways and two are BLM back country byways. They are not all pavement. The West Elk Loop carries a 31-mile gravel section over Kebler Pass that closes in winter, the Colorado River Headwaters byway finishes on gravel through Upper Gore Canyon, the Flat Tops Trail runs 82 miles of working country between Meeker and Yampa, and the Alpine Loop and the Gold Belt Tour are back country byways with vehicle limits written into them.

The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison publish their own list of scenic travel corridors, which is the most useful single page in the state for deciding what a vehicle can do. It grades them: the Owl Creek and Ohio Pass roads are surfaced, Lower Taylor Canyon is paved, and Canyon Creek to Yankee Boy, Ophir, Imogene and Black Bear are all listed as high-clearance four-wheel-drive roads.

National forest road and trail mileage, by forest

01Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests: 2,767 miles of road, 1,090 of motorized trail
02Pike and San Isabel National Forests: 2,643 miles of road, 633 of motorized trail
03Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests: 2,613 miles of road, 123 of motorized trail
04Rio Grande National Forest: 1,591 miles of road, 354 of motorized trail
05San Juan National Forest: 1,497 miles of road, 459 of motorized trail
06White River National Forest: 1,427 miles of road, 6 of motorized trail
07Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest: 937 miles of road, 272 of motorized trail
08Manti-La Sal National Forest: 41 miles of road, 2 of motorized trail

Source 12

When to go

The high passes set the calendar. Ouray County starts clearing snow in May and tries to have Engineer and Imogene passes open by July 4. The Forest Service lists June as the season of use for Ophir Pass and July for Imogene and Black Bear, and says Mosquito Pass is usually open for only six to eight weeks after the snow melts in July. Backcountry Discovery Routes recommends July through September for its Colorado route and warns that snow can block the high passes into July.

Lower and paved roads open earlier. Medano Pass Primitive Road in Great Sand Dunes usually opens fully in mid to late May and stays open until late November. Trail Ridge Road historically opens on Memorial Day weekend, and the road to the top of Mount Blue Sky is open from Memorial Day through Labor Day only.

Summer afternoons belong to the weather. The National Weather Service in Pueblo says thunderstorms typically develop in the Colorado mountains after 11 a.m., so plan to be coming down off a pass by late morning. An enclosed, hard-topped vehicle is safe shelter from lightning. A tent is not.

Several roads publish their gates rather than leaving it to weather. The Forest Service prohibits motor vehicles on the Webster Pass road from April 1 to June 30 every year to stop spring damage, and gives July 1 as its typical opening. The Rollins Pass road is closed from November 15 to June 15, and the Arapaho and Roosevelt add that snow usually holds it shut until late June or early July. Boreas Pass is open to highway-legal vehicles from May to October and closed at Summit County’s discretion, generally October to May. Guanella Pass shuts on or about November 26 and reopens on Memorial Day weekend, at Naylor Lake on the Clear Creek County side and Burning Bear Campground on the Park County side. The Forest Service gives June as the season of use for Last Dollar Road and says the Canyon Creek and Yankee Boy road is usually open by mid-June, while Owl Creek Pass should be open by June.

Paved passes have their own calendar. CDOT opened Independence Pass on CO 82 at noon on May 21 in 2026, and the five seasons before that it opened between May 22 and May 31. Great Sand Dunes says the Medano Pass road usually opens fully in mid to late May and stays open through the end of the fourth rifle season near the end of November. Rocky Mountain National Park runs timed entry from late May to mid October, which is a fair proxy for the months its high road is busy. On the western slope, the Flat Tops Trail closes for winter at about mile point 31 on the Meeker side and at Dunkley Pass on the Yampa side.

How much snow there is to wait out depends entirely on where you are. Statewide precipitation averages 18.1 inches a year, from about 7 inches in the middle of the San Luis Valley to over 60 inches at a few mountain locations, and the annual snowfall at Wolf Creek Pass averages close to 400 inches and has exceeded 600. The same climate office gives the rule of thumb that makes camp planning easy: summer afternoon temperatures fall about 4 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit per thousand feet, so July afternoons in the 70s and 80s down in the valleys are in the 50s and 60s up where the passes are.

Source 16

Where a vehicle may stop for the night

Our build of the Recreation.gov database finds 350 federal campgrounds in Colorado that a vehicle can reach: 305 Forest Service, 23 BLM and 22 National Park Service, of which 246 can be booked ahead and 69 are first come only. That is a large number for one state, and it matters here because the dispersed camping rules are tightening in the places people actually go.

The free, park-anywhere version of national forest camping is no longer the rule everywhere. In Summit County the White River has limited dispersed camping on national forest land to designated sites only, with over 60 of them marked by a numbered post in areas such as North Rock Creek, Boreas Pass Road, Peru Creek, Spruce Creek and McCollough Gulch; the forest notes they are free but not generally suitable for RVs or trailers. On the Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger District a seven-day summer stay limit applies to popular roads including Homestake, Muddy Pass and Red Sandstone, Piney Guard and Shrine Pass, and on Forest Road 703 at Homestake campers must use a self-contained system and pack out solid human waste.

On the Pike and the San Isabel the limit is written as a radius rather than a site: camping at any location within the same 20-mile radius for more than 14 days within any continuous 30-day period is prohibited, and on the Pike you may not camp within 100 feet of a lake, stream, pond or river unless you are in a developed recreation site or a designated dispersed site. The Leadville Ranger District allows motorized dispersed camping within one car length of a designated route where it is not prohibited, unsafe or damaging, and closes the Turquoise and Twin Lakes recreation areas to it.

State parks are the alternative when you want a marked site with water. Colorado Parks and Wildlife runs 43 of them, with camping at 30, cabins at six and yurts at six. State trust land is not an alternative: it is closed unless a parcel is leased for recreation.

Source 44

What the passes ask of a vehicle

Low range, then length, then tires. The Park Service requires a low-range transfer case by law on Medano Pass Primitive Road and turns all-wheel-drive and two-wheel-drive vehicles back at the Point of No Return, 1.1 miles in. The BLM calls the Alpine Loop a four-wheel-drive road and CDOT repeats it. The Forest Service lists Canyon Creek to Yankee Boy, Ophir, Imogene and Black Bear as high-clearance four-wheel-drive roads, says Tincup Pass requires four-wheel drive, recommends high clearance and four-wheel drive for Last Dollar Road and for the Rollins Pass trailhead road, and recommends four-wheel drive for Webster Pass.

Length is the quiet limit. Gunnison County says Schofield Pass is for high-clearance four-wheel-drive trucks and not for long wheelbase vehicles. The Forest Service strongly recommends a short wheelbase for the one-way switchbacks on Black Bear Pass. CDOT allows no vehicle over 25 feet on Phantom Canyon Road on the Gold Belt Tour and prohibits commercial and recreational vehicles of 35 feet or longer on Independence Pass between mile point 47.2 near Aspen and mile point 84.2 near Twin Lakes, for tight curves, steep inclines and narrow lanes. Vehicles over 30 feet are restricted on the highway up Mount Blue Sky. Boreas Pass is open to highway-legal vehicles only.

Not everything needs a truck. Shrine Pass Road is described as passable by all but the lowest passenger cars. Owl Creek and Ohio Pass are graded as surfaced roads, Ohio Pass an easy two-wheel-drive one, and the San Juan Skyway and the Grand Mesa byway are paved state highways. Trail Ridge Road and the highway to the top of Mount Blue Sky are paved as well. Reading the agency’s own grading before you go is the difference between a good week and a recovery.

Then there is sand, which Colorado has in one place and takes seriously. Great Sand Dunes tells drivers to reduce tire pressure to about 20 psi if the sand on the Medano road is dry and soft, and to reinflate with their own compressor before driving over rock in Medano Canyon; a free air station near the southern entrance runs 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the warmer months. Carry the compressor. The road crosses Medano Creek nine times on the way to the pass, so the same trip asks for a water crossing plan as well.

Source 23

Passes and routes

Alpine Loop Back Country Byway

12,800 ft 63 miles

Lake City, Silverton and Ouray

The BLM calls it a 4x4-only road and lists it at 63 miles (its 2023 brochure says 65). It crosses Engineer Pass at 12,800 feet and Cinnamon Pass at 12,620. The brochure gives 28 miles from Animas Forks to Lake City over Cinnamon and 26 miles back over Engineer. 14

Vehicle
High-clearance four-wheel drive

Season
Summer. Closed in winter; Ouray County aims to open its passes by July 4
Imogene Pass

13,114 ft

Telluride and Ouray

Tomboy Road climbs from Telluride to 13,114 feet and joins Camp Bird Road on the Ouray side. The Forest Service opens it to all motor vehicles but strongly recommends a high-clearance four-wheel drive. 17

Vehicle
High clearance and four-wheel drive strongly recommended

Season
July, per the Forest Service. Ouray County aims to open it by July 4
Black Bear Pass

12,840 ft

US 550 at Red Mountain Pass, down to Telluride

The Forest Service calls it very technical. The switchbacks above Bridal Veil Falls are one-way downhill, and a short wheelbase is strongly recommended for them. 18

Vehicle
High clearance, short wheelbase, four-wheel drive. Not for inexperienced drivers

Season
July, per the Forest Service
Mosquito Pass

13,182 ft

Alma and Fairplay to Leadville

Steep and very rocky, and rated moderate to difficult by the Forest Service. Its auto tour covers the 9 1/2 miles from the Fairplay side to the 13,182-foot summit. 20

Vehicle
High-clearance four-wheel drive recommended

Season
Usually six to eight weeks after the snow melts in July
Ophir Pass

11,814 ft

US 550 north of Silverton to Ophir

Rated a generally easy four-wheel-drive road. One narrow half-mile shelf on the Ophir side makes passing difficult. The same forest’s scenic travel corridors page puts the crossing at 11,789 feet, 25 feet lower than its own road page; the road page figure is used here. 19

Vehicle
High clearance and four-wheel drive recommended

Season
June, per the Forest Service
Last Dollar Road

10,000 ft

Ridgway and Telluride, west of CO 62 and CO 145

Forest Road 638, which the Forest Service offers as a scenic alternative to the paved highway between Ridgway and Telluride. It runs through rural ranch country before climbing into spruce, fir and aspen, and the forest lists it at an elevation of 10,000 feet. The warning is specific and worth taking at face value: the road is extremely slippery when wet, and portions can become impassable in wet conditions. 55

Vehicle
High clearance and four-wheel drive recommended

Season
June, per the Forest Service
Canyon Creek and Yankee Boy Basin

Ouray south on County Road 361, the Camp Bird Road, into Yankee Boy Basin below Mount Sneffels

The Forest Service lists this as a high-clearance four-wheel-drive road on the Ouray Ranger District, through a high-walled canyon and old mine sites to wildflower basins below the Mount Sneffels Wilderness. It says medium to high clearance vehicles are required to reach the basin and four-wheel drive is recommended beyond it to the Mount Sneffels trailhead, with the last mile gravel and rough. Ouray County clears its high-country roads from May and tries to have them open by July 4. No agency page read for this guide publishes a length or a summit elevation for it, so neither is given. 56

Vehicle
High-clearance four-wheel drive. Medium to high clearance to reach the basin, four-wheel drive recommended beyond it

Season
Usually open by mid-June, per the Forest Service
Schofield Pass

Crested Butte north up the Gothic Road to Marble

County Road 317 runs north from Crested Butte about 10 miles to the forest boundary and on over the pass, which Gunnison County describes as the high point on the Gothic Road linking Marble and Crested Butte. The county is blunt about it: accessible only by high-clearance four-wheel-drive trucks, with treacherous sections, and it warns drivers not to be lulled by the easy and beautiful stretches that lead into the upper Crystal River gorge. The county publishes no elevation for the pass itself, so none is given here. 57

Vehicle
High-clearance four-wheel-drive trucks only. Not for long wheelbase vehicles

Season
Closed except for one to two months in late summer, because of snow or mud
Shrine Pass Road

Vail Pass on I-70 to the town of Redcliff

Forest Road 712, a dirt road off exit 190 at Vail Pass that runs down to Redcliff and can be driven in either direction. It gives views of Mount of the Holy Cross in the Sawatch Range and access to the Shrine Mountain trail and the Holy Cross overlook 3.7 miles along. The White River lists a trailhead elevation of 8,669 feet at the site rather than a summit figure, so no pass elevation is given here, and the forest applies its Eagle-Holy Cross seven-day summer camping limit to the road. 58

Vehicle
Passable by all but the lowest passenger cars
Webster Pass

12,098 ft

Montezuma, in Summit County, south over the Divide toward Handcart Gulch

Forest Development Road 285 climbs to 12,098 feet from the old mining town of Montezuma, seven miles up County Road 5 from US 6 past Keystone. The Forest Service closes it in spring to prevent road damage, with over-the-snow machines exempt, and says it connects with other four-wheel-drive roads in the area. Dispersed camping is available along it. 59

Vehicle
Four-wheel drive recommended

Season
Typically July 1. Motor vehicles are prohibited from April 1 to June 30 every year
Boreas Pass

11,488 ft 21 1/2 miles

Breckenridge to Como, over the Continental Divide

A graded county road on the bed of the Denver, South Park and Pacific, once the highest narrow-gauge railroad in the country, which ran here from 1872 to 1938. Because it is a railroad grade it climbs at about 3 percent, which makes it one of the gentler ways over the Divide in Colorado. The Forest Service auto tour covers 21 1/2 miles from Como to Breckenridge, the White River puts the summit at 11,488 feet and gives 10.4 miles from there down to Como, and Summit County limits dispersed camping along the road to numbered designated sites. 60

Vehicle
Highway-legal vehicles only

Season
Open to highway-legal vehicles May to October, then closed at Summit County’s discretion
Rollins Pass

12,233 ft 15 miles from Winter Park to the Divide

Winter Park east to the Continental Divide. The Needle’s Eye Tunnel has collapsed, so it is no longer a through route by vehicle

County Road 80, Forest Road 149, leaves US 40 about a mile south of Winter Park and climbs 15 miles to 12,233 feet on the Divide, giving access to the Indian Peaks and James Peak wildernesses, the Moffat Railroad sites and the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. The Forest Service says you may hike or bike around the collapsed Needle’s Eye Tunnel to the Forest Road 149 that leads down to Rollinsville, which is the plain way of saying a vehicle cannot cross. 62

Vehicle
High-clearance four-wheel drive highly recommended

Season
Closed November 15 to June 15, and snow usually holds it shut until late June or early July
Buffalo Pass

Steamboat Springs northeast to Walden, over the Park Range

National Forest Road 60, about 15 miles of scenic dirt reached from Routt County Road 36 north of Steamboat Springs and then County Road 38. The Forest Service describes it climbing from sagebrush and gambel oak into lodgepole, aspen and spruce-fir, with elevations running from 6,700 feet in Steamboat Springs to 10,400 feet at Summit Lake Campground, which usually does not open until mid July because of the altitude. No summit elevation is published for the pass itself, so none is given here. 63

Vehicle
Dirt road, with no published vehicle class

Season
Mid-June to November
Owl Creek Pass Road

10,114 ft

The Cimarron Ridge country, on the Ouray Ranger District of the Uncompahgre National Forest

A surfaced Uncompahgre National Forest road over a 10,114-foot pass under the Cimarron Ridge, with the 12,152-foot monolith of Courthouse Mountain and 11,781-foot Chimney Rock above it. It is the gentlest of the Ouray Ranger District’s scenic travel corridors, and Ouray County lists Owl Creek Pass among the high-country roads it clears from May with the aim of opening by July 4. 54

Vehicle
Surfaced road

Season
Should be open by June, per the Forest Service
Gold Belt Tour Back Country Byway

131 miles

Cañon City, Florence, Florissant, Cripple Creek and Victor, by Shelf Road, Phantom Canyon and High Park Road

Three legs form a loop of about 131 miles: Phantom Canyon on an old railroad bed, Shelf Road on the 1892 stagecoach toll road, and paved High Park Road. CDOT says Phantom Canyon climbs 4,550 feet in about 30 miles and that both Phantom Canyon and Shelf Road are narrow and rugged in places, with one stretch of Shelf Road clinging to a canyon wall 200 feet above the stream bed. It has been a BLM Back Country Byway since 1989 and a National Scenic Byway since 2000, and the BLM applies a 14-day stay limit on the public land along it. 64

Vehicle
Four-wheel drive recommended on Upper Shelf. No vehicles over 25 feet on Phantom Canyon Road

Season
CDOT allows about five hours for the loop
Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway

82 miles

Meeker and Yampa, across the White River Plateau on County Road 8

Eighty-two miles through the heart of the original White River Plateau Timberland Reserve, the second unit of what became the national forest system, and past Trappers Lake, where development was banned decades before the 1964 Wilderness Act. CDOT calls it a working byway of active mines, ranches and timber ground and gives two pieces of advice that tell you what kind of road it is: fill the tank in Yampa or Meeker, and stay off it when it is wet. 66

Vehicle
CDOT allows two hours and warns that the roads are muddy when wet

Season
Closed in winter on the west side at about mile point 31 and on the east side at Dunkley Pass
Kebler Pass, on the West Elk Loop

205 miles for the loop, with 31 miles of gravel over the pass

Crested Butte west to Paonia and the North Fork valley, within a loop through Carbondale, Hotchkiss, Crawford and Gunnison

CDOT puts the West Elk Loop at 205 miles and six to eight hours, anchored by Mount Sopris at one end and Black Canyon of the Gunnison at the other, with access to the White River and Gunnison national forests, Curecanti National Recreation Area and Crawford and Paonia state parks. The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison give the loop as 204 miles on their own corridors page. The part that matters to a driver is the 31-mile gravel section over Kebler Pass, which closes for the winter. 67

Vehicle
Gravel. CDOT publishes no vehicle class for it

Season
The gravel section over Kebler Pass is closed in winter
Colorado River Headwaters Byway

80 miles

Grand Lake to State Bridge, by Granby and Kremmling

Eighty miles down the Colorado from its source at Grand Lake, Colorado’s largest natural lake, ending on a gravel road through Upper Gore Canyon. CDOT’s own note is the useful one: the road between Kremmling and State Bridge has a gravel surface and limited visitor services. It was designated a National Scenic Byway in 2005 and is one of the 13 America’s Byways in the state. 68

Vehicle
Gravel between Kremmling and State Bridge, where visitor services are limited

Season
CDOT allows two hours
San Juan SkywayPaved

236 miles

Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Ridgway, Telluride, Dolores, Mancos and Cortez in a loop

The paved loop the rest of this list hangs off. CDOT puts it at 236 miles past Mesa Verde National Park and five million acres of national forest, and names the Ouray to Silverton segment the Million Dollar Highway; the Forest Service calls it a paved state highway winding 236 miles through five million acres of the San Juan and Uncompahgre, and applies the Million Dollar Highway name to the whole loop. The U.S. Secretary of Transportation designated it an All-American Road, the highest level, in 1996. CDOT’s advice for summer is the Weather Service’s: be ready for afternoon thundershowers. Nearly every four-wheel-drive road in the San Juans, including the Alpine Loop, Imogene, Black Bear, Ophir and the Yankee Boy road, leaves this loop somewhere. 72

Vehicle
Any car

Season
CDOT allows six hours and tells drivers to ask about road conditions in winter
Grand Mesa Scenic and Historic BywayPaved

63 miles

I-70 at Mesa south over the Grand Mesa to Cedaredge

Sixty-three miles from the canyon of Plateau Creek up onto the Grand Mesa at about 11,000 feet, past more than 300 stream-fed lakes, with the Lands End Overlook on the rim. A paved state highway between I-70 and Cedaredge, in the words of the Forest Service, which gives the same 63 miles as CDOT, though the Lands End Road entry on the same page calls the byway 55 miles. It was designated a National Scenic Byway in 1996. 73

Vehicle
Any car. Services between Cedaredge and Mesa are limited

Season
CDOT allows two hours. The Grand Mesa Visitor Center opens Memorial Day weekend and closes the last Sunday in September
Hagerman Pass

11,925 ft

Leadville to Basalt, by Ruedi Reservoir

From Leadville the road crosses the pass into the White River National Forest and follows the Fryingpan valley to Highway 82. The Forest Service calls it very rough. 21

Vehicle
High-clearance four-wheel drive recommended
Tincup Pass

St. Elmo to Tincup

Forest Road 267 starts a quarter mile beyond the bridge in St. Elmo, 16 miles west of Nathrop on County Road 162. The Forest Service does not publish an elevation or a season for it, so neither is given here. 22

Vehicle
Four-wheel drive required
Medano Pass Primitive Road

10,040 ft 22 miles

Great Sand Dunes to the Wet Mountain Valley and Highway 69

A rough 22-mile road that fords Medano Creek nine times. The Park Service requires a low-range transfer case and bans all-wheel-drive and two-wheel-drive vehicles beyond the Point of No Return. 23

Vehicle
High-clearance four-wheel drive with low range. All-wheel drive is not allowed

Season
Usually mid to late May until late November
Rimrocker Trail

160 miles

Montrose to Moab, Utah, by Nucla

Fuel is available at Nucla, roughly halfway. The trail’s own site recommends the Nucla to Moab portion for high-clearance four-wheel drives and OHVs only. 24

Vehicle
Four-wheel drive and high clearance recommended west of Nucla

Season
Closed in winter. In 2026 it reopened on April 20
Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route

745 miles

Four Corners to the Wyoming border, by Telluride, Lake City, Buena Vista, Gypsum and Steamboat Springs

Backcountry Discovery Routes says the whole route is at least double-track, stays above 8,000 feet most of the time and tops out on California Pass at nearly 13,000 feet. 25

Vehicle
Built for adventure motorcycles. Drivable in a four-wheel drive

Season
July through September
Trail Ridge RoadPaved

12,183 ft 48 miles

Estes Park to Grand Lake

The Park Service calls it the highest continuous paved road in the United States. The earliest opening on record is May 7 and the latest June 26. 26

Vehicle
Any car. Timed-entry reservations at peak hours

Season
Historically opens Memorial Day weekend and closes in autumn
Mount Blue Sky Scenic BywayPaved

14,130 ft 28 miles

Idaho Springs to the top of Mount Blue Sky

It climbs more than 7,000 feet in 28 miles. The Forest Service and CDOT both call it the highest paved road in North America. 27

Vehicle
Any car under 30 feet. Reservation required

Season
Summit road open Memorial Day through Labor Day

Rules worth knowing

Seventeen forests and seven grasslands, from one region: The Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Region, headquartered in Lakewood, comprises 17 national forests and seven national grasslands, and it calls the White River the top recreation forest in the nation. When a question is about a Colorado forest road, the answer comes from the forest and then the district, and the region is only the index. 49
The White River is 2.3 million acres and eleven ski resorts: The White River National Forest covers 2.3 million acres across five ranger districts, with eight wilderness areas, eleven ski resorts and ten peaks over 14,000 feet. It is the forest most Colorado trips touch, and the reason its dispersed camping rules have tightened year after year. 48
The most visited ranger district in the country is in Summit County: The 312,000-acre Dillon Ranger District covers National Forest System land in Summit County and draws 8.5 million annual visitors, which the Forest Service says makes it the most visited ranger district in the country. Every rule about designated sites and stay limits there exists because of that number. 50
The GMUG spans 5,800 to 14,309 feet: The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests hold over three million acres from plateaus to peaks, with elevations from 5,800 to 14,309 feet and five summits above 14,000. That range is why one forest can have a road open in April and another still gated in July. 51
The San Juan is 1.8 million acres in the southwest corner: The San Juan National Forest encompasses about 1.8 million acres in the southwestern corner of Colorado, which is the country behind Durango, Silverton and Pagosa Springs. It is the forest with the most mining-era road network still open to vehicles. 52
The Arapaho and Roosevelt run 1.5 million acres across five districts: The Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland encompass 1.5 million acres across five districts in north central Colorado. They are the closest national forest ground to Denver and Fort Collins, and the first to fill on a Friday afternoon. 53
Dispersed camping guidance differs by forest: The White River publishes its camping and cabins page with the designated-site rules that now apply in Summit County; the San Juan publishes its own dispersed camping guidelines separately. Two adjoining forests can take different positions on where a vehicle may sleep, so read the forest you will actually be on rather than a general Colorado rule. 31
The San Juan writes its dispersed rules down: The San Juan National Forest publishes dispersed camping guidelines as their own page rather than leaving them to a forest order, which makes it one of the easier forests in the state to plan around. Read them before the trip: the distances from water and roads are specific. 32
Pike and San Isabel: 14 days in 30 inside a 20-mile radius: The Pike National Forest occupancy order prohibits camping at any location within the same 20-mile radius for more than 14 days in any continuous 30-day period, and camping within 100 feet of any lake, stream, pond or river unless in a developed recreation site or a designated dispersed site. The 20-mile radius is the part people miss: moving five miles down the road does not restart the clock. 78
On the Leadville district, one car length from the route: Dispersed camping is authorised on National Forest System land in the Leadville Ranger District except where specifically closed, and motorised dispersed camping is authorised within one car length of designated routes where it is not prohibited, unsafe or causing resource damage. It is not allowed in the Turquoise and Twin Lakes recreation areas. 79
Nine wilderness areas on the Pike and San Isabel alone: The Pike-San Isabel forests hold nine designated wilderness areas covering over 385,000 acres, and federal regulation prohibits motorised and mechanised use in all of them. A wilderness boundary is the hardest line in this guide: no vehicle, no bicycle, no exceptions. 77
Boreas Pass Road is a railroad grade at three percent: The Boreas Pass Road trailhead sits at 11,488 feet on what was a railway, which is why the grade stays near three percent the whole way up. The road runs roughly May to October. It is the gentlest high pass in the state and the best introduction to Colorado altitude for a loaded vehicle. 61
Guanella Pass closes about 26 November: The 22-mile Guanella Pass road is seasonally closed on or about 26 November and reopens on Memorial Day weekend, at Naylor Lake on the Clear Creek side and Burning Bear Campground on the Park County side. Those two named gates are where the closure actually sits, which is worth knowing if you are approaching from one side only. 69
Independence Pass bars anything 35 feet or longer: The Department of Transportation prohibits commercial and recreational vehicles 35 feet or longer between mile point 47.2 near Aspen and mile point 84.2 near Twin Lakes, because of tight curves, steep inclines and narrow lanes. Recent openings give a sense of the season: 27 May 2021, 26 May 2022, 25 May 2023, 31 May 2024, 22 May 2025 and 21 May 2026. 85
Maroon Bells needs a reservation from the day the road opens: Parking reservations are required for the whole season as soon as the road opens on 15 May, at ten dollars. The shuttle runs from 27 May to as late as 24 October depending on weather, every 15 minutes from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. out of Aspen Highlands. Private vehicles may drop passengers between 6 and 8 a.m. without a parking reservation, but a one-way shuttle return must be booked in advance, and there is no cell service at the site to book from. Commercial drop-offs are not allowed at any time. 75
The Gold Belt Tour holds a 14-day stay limit: The Gold Belt Tour Back Country Byway runs about 131 miles through the Gold Belt Recreation Management Area, where the BLM sets a 14-day stay limit. Phantom Canyon climbs 4,550 feet in a short 30 miles and bars vehicles over 25 feet; four-wheel drive is recommended on Upper Shelf Road, one stretch of which clings to a canyon wall 200 feet above the stream bed. 65
The BLM’s conservation lands are a separate system here too: Colorado’s BLM national conservation lands, including its national monuments, conservation areas and wilderness study areas, are managed under their own plans rather than under the general BLM rules. Check the unit’s page before assuming the 14-day dispersed camping position applies inside one. 8
The Park Service units, and what they ask: Colorado’s national park units each run their own access rules, from Rocky Mountain’s timed entry to Great Sand Dunes’ open dunefield. The Park Service state page is the index; the unit page is the rule. Do not carry a rule from one to another. 9
Great Sand Dunes spans 7,520 to 13,604 feet: The park covers about 150,000 acres, with a main dunefield of approximately 30 square miles, and runs from 7,520 feet near San Luis Lakes to 13,604 feet at Tijeras Peak. The dunes are the reason people come and the mountains behind them are why the weather changes so fast. 86
Colorado Parks and Wildlife runs 43 state parks: The state runs 43 parks, with camping at 30 of them, 41 cabins across six parks and 12 yurts across six. It is a large second system beside the federal land, and in the high country it often holds the only developed camping with water. 83
The Keep Colorado Wild Pass is 29 dollars at registration: A Keep Colorado Wild Pass costs 29 dollars added to a vehicle registration and gives car, bike and foot entry to all Colorado state parks. It does not grant access to national or local parks, state wildlife areas or state trust lands. The standard annual state parks pass is 80 dollars for anyone not buying at registration. 82
What Colorado Parks and Wildlife actually manages: The agency is responsible for the state parks, state wildlife areas and the wildlife itself, which is three different sets of rules under one name. A state wildlife area is not a state park, and the Keep Colorado Wild Pass says so explicitly. 10
Afternoon lightning is the summer hazard above treeline: The Weather Service’s outdoor lightning guidance is the one piece of safety advice that shapes a Colorado day more than any road rule: be off the high ground before the storms build. In practice that means starting early, turning around on a schedule rather than on a feeling, and treating the vehicle as the safest place to be. 35
The byways are a partnership, not one agency: The Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways Commission works with the Forest Service, the BLM and local byway groups, which is why a byway’s length, season and surface can be published in two or three places with different numbers. Where they differ, this guide states both and says who published each. 46
Where the measured elevations come from: Where this guide gives an elevation that no agency publishes, it is read from the 3D Elevation Program surface at the coordinates the Geographic Names Information System holds for that place, and it is labelled as our own reading. Where an agency publishes a figure, the agency’s is used and ours is named beside it. 36
Find the forest before you ask the question: The region publishes a finder for its 17 forests and seven grasslands, which is the fastest way to work out which unit owns the road you are looking at. Colorado’s forests abut one another for hundreds of miles, and a road can change management twice in an afternoon. 6
The traction law on I-70: From September 1 through May 31 every year, the passenger vehicle traction law is in force on I-70 between Dotsero and Morrison, and CDOT can switch it on for any other state highway. As updated in fall 2025, an all-wheel or four-wheel-drive vehicle needs winter, all-weather or mud-and-snow tires with at least 3/16 inch of tread. Any vehicle that does not meet that needs chains or an approved alternative traction device on two or more drive tires. 28
The OHV permit applies to plated trucks too: A street-legal, plated vehicle needs a Colorado OHV permit when it is driven for recreation on a designated OHV trail or open area, whether or not you live here. Out-of-state OHVs need the permit but not Colorado registration. Colorado Parks and Wildlife lists the permit at $26.25, valid April 1 through March 31. 29
Dispersed camping limits change with the land: On BLM land in Colorado the limit is 14 days in any 30-day period at one location, after which you must move at least 30 air miles. The White River National Forest allows 14 days in 30 and then a move of at least 20 miles, with 7-day limits in some areas. The San Juan National Forest allows 16 days and then a move of at least 5 road miles. Check the office for the ground you are on. 30
State trust land is closed unless posted open: Trust land looks public on a map and is not. The State Land Board says it is not open to the public unless a parcel is leased for recreation, and the large hunting and fishing lease held by Colorado Parks and Wildlife allows only that, in season. 11
Fire restrictions are set county by county: The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control keeps a statewide page of fire bans and restrictions and tells travelers to confirm with the county sheriff, the local fire department or the federal land office, because each sets its own. 33
Stay the trail: Colorado’s Stay The Trail program, whose steering committee includes Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the BLM and the Forest Service, asks drivers to keep to routes designated for their vehicle, drive over obstacles rather than around them, stay on the trail when passing, yield to people on foot, bike or horse, and respect width limits. 34
Driving to Maroon Bells needs a booking: The White River National Forest requires a reservation to visit the Maroon Bells Scenic Area and its trailheads, whether you come on the shuttle or in your own vehicle, and that includes overnight parking for anyone backpacking into the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. Fees are charged for parking and shuttle reservations and for high season overnight stays in the wilderness permit zones, where an advance permit from Recreation.gov is required; outside those zones you self-register at the trailhead. A reservation to camp at Silver Bar, Silver Bell or Silver Queen takes the place of a parking reservation at Maroon Lake. The forest’s own reservation announcement fills in the operating pattern: parking reservations are required for the whole season from the day Maroon Creek Road opens on May 15, at $10 a vehicle; the shuttle runs from Aspen Highlands every 15 minutes between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., from late May to as late as late October depending on weather; private vehicles may drop passengers between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. without a parking reservation but only with a one-way shuttle return booked in advance, because there is no cell service up there to book one; and commercial drop-offs, taxis, hotel shuttles and ride services included, are not allowed at any time. 74
Rocky Mountain National Park runs on timed entry: From late May to mid October a timed entry reservation is required to drive into Rocky Mountain National Park during part of the day. There are two permits. Timed Entry plus Bear Lake Road covers the whole park and applies from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Timed Entry covers everything except the Bear Lake Road corridor and applies from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Each permit gives a two-hour window to enter, with no set time to leave, and one reservation covers a vehicle rather than a person. The reservation itself costs a $2 non-refundable Recreation.gov processing fee, and a valid entrance fee or park pass is still required on top of it, every hour of every day. Reservations are released in batches through the season, so book the window before you plan the drive over Trail Ridge Road. 76
Wilderness is where the road ends: A designated wilderness boundary closes the ground behind it to every vehicle and to bicycles. The San Juan National Forest states it for the Weminuche, at 499,771 acres the largest wilderness in Colorado: no motorized or mechanized traffic under the 1964 Wilderness Act, and no possession of motorized equipment or mechanized transport either. The Pike-San Isabel puts the same federal regulation in a list, prohibiting motor vehicles, motorboats, motorized equipment, bicycles, hang gliders, wagons, game carts, portage wheels and aircraft landings across its nine wilderness areas and over 385,000 acres. These lines sit right beside roads people drive: the Yankee Boy road runs to the edge of the Mount Sneffels Wilderness, and Rollins Pass threads between the Indian Peaks and James Peak wildernesses. Where the boundary is not obvious on the ground, the forest’s Motor Vehicle Use Map settles it. 47
Gates, not guesswork, close the high roads: Many Colorado road closures are calendar dates published in advance rather than judgments made on the day. The Forest Service prohibits motor vehicles on the Webster Pass road from April 1 to June 30 each year and gives July 1 as the typical opening. Rollins Pass is closed November 15 to June 15. Boreas Pass is open to highway-legal vehicles May to October and closed at Summit County’s discretion, generally October to May. Guanella Pass closes on or about November 26 and reopens on Memorial Day weekend at Naylor Lake and Burning Bear Campground. The Flat Tops Trail closes on the west side at about mile point 31 and on the east side at Dunkley Pass. On the state highways, CDOT opened Independence Pass at noon on May 21 in 2026 and in the five seasons before that opened it between May 22 and May 31. Check the managing agency for the road you want; a locked gate in June is normal here, not a fault. 59
Dispersed camping is becoming designated camping: In the busiest parts of Colorado the Forest Service has replaced open dispersed camping with numbered sites. Summit County national forest land is now limited to designated sites only, with over 60 of them in areas such as North Rock Creek, Boreas Pass Road, Peru Creek, Spruce Creek and McCollough Gulch, marked by a numbered post, free to use and generally not suitable for RVs or trailers. On the Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger District a seven-day summer stay limit applies to Homestake, Muddy Pass and Red Sandstone, Piney Guard and Shrine Pass roads, and Forest Road 703 at Homestake requires a self-contained camper system and packing out solid human waste. On the Pike and the San Isabel the prohibition is on camping at any location within the same 20-mile radius for more than 14 days within any continuous 30-day period, and on the Pike you may not camp within 100 feet of a lake, stream, pond or river unless you are at a developed or designated site. The Leadville Ranger District allows motorized dispersed camping within one car length of a designated route. 80
Fee areas, and the two passes that cover them: Plenty of the best ground here charges at the gate. The America the Beautiful pass covers entrance fees and standard amenity day-use fees on land managed by the National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, BLM, Bureau of Reclamation and Army Corps of Engineers, and depending on how a site charges it covers either one private vehicle fee or four per-person fees. The annual version is $80 for U.S. citizens and residents and $250 for non-residents, with free or reduced passes for people 62 and over, current military and Gold Star families, visitors with a permanent disability, fourth graders and federal recreation volunteers. The passes are non-refundable, non-transferable and cannot be replaced if lost, and you have to show photo identification with one. What no pass covers is a reservation: Rocky Mountain charges its $2 Recreation.gov processing fee for timed entry on top of a valid entrance pass. For state ground the equivalent is the Keep Colorado Wild Pass, $29 added to a Colorado vehicle registration unless you opt out, against $80 for the standard annual state parks pass. It gives entry by car, bike or foot to every Colorado state park, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife says it does not grant access to national or local parks, state wildlife areas or state trust lands, and does not cover camping, fishing or hunting. 81
Avalanche country has a state forecaster: Winter travel in the Colorado mountains is governed by snow that moves. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center is a program of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, and it says that since 1950 avalanches have killed more people in Colorado than any other natural hazard and that Colorado accounts for one third of all avalanche deaths in the United States. It began as a federal research programme, moved into state government in 1983, and joined the Colorado Department of Transportation’s highway safety programme in 1993; about half its funding still comes from an intergovernmental agreement with CDOT to provide training and forecasting for highway maintenance operations. Read its forecast for the zone you are heading into before you leave pavement in winter, and remember that the same snow closing a highway for control work is the snow above the road you wanted to camp on. 84

How high is Colorado?

From Grand Junction at 4,591 feet to Mount Elbert at 14,433. Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.

Towns

Leadville The city calls itself the highest incorporated city in the United States. Hagerman Pass starts here and Mosquito Pass drops in from the east. 10,152 ft
Silverton South end of the Million Dollar Highway. Alpine Loop access on County Road 2; Ophir Pass leaves US 550 just north of town. 9,318 ft
Crested Butte At the upper end of Highway 135, on the West Elk Loop byway. 8,885 ft
Telluride At the head of a box canyon. West end of Imogene Pass and the bottom of the one-way descent from Black Bear Pass. 8,789 ft
Lake City On Highway 149 about 55 miles south of Gunnison. Eastern gateway to the Alpine Loop. 8,671 ft
Buena Vista On US 24 below the Collegiate Peaks. The road to St. Elmo and Tincup Pass leaves the valley at Nathrop, just to the south. 7,960 ft
Ouray North end of the Million Dollar Highway. Alpine Loop access on County Road 18, and the Ouray end of Imogene Pass. 7,786 ft
Gunnison On US 50 at the start of Highway 135 to Crested Butte. Highway 149 to Lake City leaves US 50 to the west. 7,703 ft
Salida On US 50 beside the Arkansas River, east of Monarch Pass. 7,084 ft
Steamboat Springs On US 40 in the Yampa Valley. The Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route passes through on its way to Wyoming. 6,731 ft
Durango Where US 160 meets US 550 on the San Juan Skyway. US 550 climbs north from here to Silverton and Ouray. 6,534 ft
Colorado Springs On I-25 at the foot of Pikes Peak, where US 24 heads west into the mountains. 6,035 ft
Montrose Where US 50 meets US 550. East end of the Rimrocker Trail and the gateway to Black Canyon of the Gunnison. 5,809 ft
Denver State capital where I-25 meets I-70. The I-70 mountain corridor starts just west at Morrison. 5,280 ft
Fort Collins Northern Front Range. East end of the Cache la Poudre byway up Poudre Canyon and over Cameron Pass. 5,004 ft
Grand Junction On I-70 in far western Colorado, about 250 miles west of Denver. Kokopelli’s Trail starts at Loma, just to the west. 4,591 ft

Passes, high roads and summits

Mount Elbert The highest point in Colorado. No road to the top 14,433 ft
Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway Idaho Springs to the top of Mount Blue Sky 14,130 ft
Mosquito Pass Alma and Fairplay to Leadville 13,182 ft
Imogene Pass Telluride and Ouray 13,114 ft
Black Bear Pass US 550 at Red Mountain Pass, down to Telluride 12,840 ft
Engineer Pass Alpine Loop Back Country Byway: Lake City, Silverton and Ouray 12,800 ft
Cinnamon Pass Alpine Loop, between Lake City and Animas Forks 12,620 ft
Rollins Pass Winter Park east to the Continental Divide. The Needle’s Eye Tunnel has collapsed, so it is no longer a through route by vehicle 12,233 ft
Trail Ridge Road Estes Park to Grand Lake 12,183 ft
Courthouse Mountain The monolith above the Owl Creek Pass road, on the Cimarron Ridge 12,152 ft
Webster Pass Montezuma, in Summit County, south over the Divide toward Handcart Gulch 12,098 ft
Independence Pass CO 82 between Twin Lakes and Aspen on the Top of the Rockies byway. Paved, closed all winter, and shut to vehicles 35 feet or longer 12,095 ft
Hagerman Pass Leadville to Basalt, by Ruedi Reservoir 11,925 ft
Ophir Pass US 550 north of Silverton to Ophir 11,814 ft
Chimney Rock The other landmark of the Cimarron Ridge, seen from the same drive 11,781 ft
Boreas Pass Breckenridge to Como, over the Continental Divide 11,488 ft
Cameron Pass Where the Cache la Poudre to North Park byway crosses out of the Poudre canyon beside State Forest State Park 10,276 ft
Owl Creek Pass Road The Cimarron Ridge country, on the Ouray Ranger District of the Uncompahgre National Forest 10,114 ft
Medano Pass Primitive Road Great Sand Dunes to the Wet Mountain Valley and Highway 69 10,040 ft
Last Dollar Road Ridgway and Telluride, west of CO 62 and CO 145 10,000 ft

Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates), retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.

Sources for this page

Congressional Research Service. Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), Table 2, data as of September 30, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
U.S. Census Bureau, from U.S. Geological Survey data. Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012, Table 366. Extreme and Mean Elevations by State. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
U.S. Geological Survey. Elevations and Distances in the United States, online edition. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
Colorado Climate Center, Colorado State University. Climate of Colorado. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
USDA Forest Service. Land Areas of the National Forest System, as of September 30, 2024, Table 4. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. Rocky Mountain Region: find a forest. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. Colorado state office. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. National Conservation Lands: Colorado. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
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Colorado Parks and Wildlife. What We Do. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
Colorado State Land Board. Public Access on Trust Land. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
USDA Forest Service. Motor Vehicle Use Map: Roads and Trails. Sum of gis_miles for MVUM road and trail segments that lie entirely inside the state boundary box (Colorado and Wyoming are bounded by lines of latitude and longitude). Segments that cross the state line are left out, so the figures are floors.. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. Ground Transportation Linear Features, public display. Sum of GIS_MILES by administrative state for routes managed for public or limited public motorized use.. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. Alpine Loop Back Country Byway. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
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Ouray County, Colorado. Off-Highway Roads in the High Country. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests. Tomboy Road - Imogene Road #869. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests. Black Bear Pass Road #648. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests. Ophir Pass Road #630. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Pike-San Isabel National Forests. Mosquito Pass Auto Tour, and the interpretive brochure it links to. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Pike-San Isabel National Forests. Hagerman Pass. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Pike-San Isabel National Forests. Tunnel Lake Trail #1439 (directions to the Tincup Pass road). Retrieved September 18, 2026.
National Park Service, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Medano Pass Primitive Road. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
Rimrocker Trail, Montrose County. About the Rimrocker Trail. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
Backcountry Discovery Routes. Colorado Backcountry Discovery Route. Retrieved September 18, 2026.
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Recreation.gov. Recreation Information Database (RIDB) full export. Federal campgrounds in Colorado a vehicle can reach, counted by managing agency.. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
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USDA Forest Service, San Juan National Forest. Weminuche Wilderness: 499,771 acres, the largest wilderness area in Colorado, closed to motorized and mechanized travel. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service. White River National Forest: 2.3 million acres, five ranger districts, eight wilderness areas, 11 ski resorts and 10 peaks over 14,000 feet. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. About the Area: 17 national forests and 7 national grasslands, and the White River as the top recreation forest in the nation. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, White River National Forest. New Dillon District Ranger arrives: the 312,000-acre Dillon Ranger District and its 8.5 million annual visitors. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service. Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests: over 3 million acres from 5,800 to 14,309 feet. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service. San Juan National Forest: about 1.8 million acres in southwestern Colorado. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service. Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland: 1.5 million acres across five districts. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests. Scenic Travel Corridors: the forests’ own grading of their scenic drives, with Owl Creek Pass at 10,114 feet. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests. Last Dollar Road #638. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Celebrating Wildflowers. Yankee Boy Basin: County Road 361, the Camp Bird Road, and the vehicle it asks for. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Gunnison County, Colorado. Schofield: County Road 317 and the Gothic Road between Crested Butte and Marble. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, White River National Forest. Shrine Pass Road TH #709: Forest Road 712 from Vail Pass to Redcliff. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, White River National Forest. Webster Pass Road TH #285: 12,098 feet, and the April 1 to June 30 motor vehicle prohibition. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Pike-San Isabel National Forests. Boreas Pass Auto Tour: 21 1/2 miles from Como to Breckenridge. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, White River National Forest. Boreas Pass Road TH #10: 11,488 feet, the 3 percent railroad grade and the May to October season. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests. Rollins Pass Trailhead, Continental Divide Trail access: 12,233 feet, the November 15 to June 15 closure and the collapsed Needle’s Eye Tunnel. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Celebrating Wildflowers. Buffalo Pass: National Forest Road 60 between Steamboat Springs and Walden. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Colorado Department of Transportation. Gold Belt Tour: 131 miles by Phantom Canyon, Shelf Road and High Park Road, with its vehicle limits. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Bureau of Land Management. Gold Belt Tour Back Country Byway and the Gold Belt Recreation Management Area, with its 14-day stay limit. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Colorado Department of Transportation. Flat Tops Trail: 82 miles between Meeker and Yampa, and its winter closure points. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Colorado Department of Transportation. West Elk Loop: 205 miles, with a 31-mile gravel section over Kebler Pass closed in winter. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Colorado Department of Transportation. Colorado River Headwaters: 80 miles from Grand Lake to State Bridge, gravel between Kremmling and State Bridge. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Colorado Department of Transportation. Guanella Pass: 22 miles, closed on or about November 26 and reopened on Memorial Day weekend. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Colorado Department of Transportation. Top of the Rockies: 115 miles, and Independence Pass climbing from 9,200 feet to 12,095 feet at the summit. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Colorado Department of Transportation. Cache la Poudre to North Park: 101 miles, and 10,276-foot Cameron Pass beside State Forest State Park. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Colorado Department of Transportation. San Juan Skyway: 236 miles, an All-American Road, with the Ouray to Silverton segment called the Million Dollar Highway. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Colorado Department of Transportation. Grand Mesa: a 63-mile National Scenic Byway to 11,000 feet, with limited services between Cedaredge and Mesa. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, White River National Forest. Maroon Bells Scenic Area: reservations required on the shuttle or in a personal vehicle. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, White River National Forest. Maroon Bells Scenic Area reservation system: the May 15 road opening, the $10 parking reservation and the shuttle hours. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Rocky Mountain National Park. Timed Entry Permit System: the two permits, their hours, the $2 processing fee and the separate entrance pass. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Pike-San Isabel National Forests. Wilderness: nine designated areas over 385,000 acres, and what federal regulation prohibits in them. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Pike-San Isabel National Forests. Pike National Forest Occupancy and Use Restrictions: 14 days in 30 within a 20-mile radius, and 100 feet from water. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, Pike-San Isabel National Forests. Dispersed Camping Regulations for the Leadville Ranger District: within one car length of a designated route. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
USDA Forest Service, White River National Forest. Forest officials offer tips for camping on the White River National Forest: Summit County designated sites and the Eagle-Holy Cross seven-day limit. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service. Entrance Passes: the $80 America the Beautiful annual pass, the agencies that honour it and the fees it does not cover. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Keep Colorado Wild Pass: $29 with a vehicle registration, and what it does not cover. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife. State Parks: 43 parks, camping at 30 of them, cabins at six and yurts at six. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Colorado Avalanche Information Center, Colorado Department of Natural Resources. About Us: the CAIC’s place in state government, its 1993 agreement with CDOT, and Colorado’s share of avalanche deaths. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
Colorado Department of Transportation. CDOT prepares to open Independence Pass for the 2026 season: the opening dates of the last six seasons and the 35-foot vehicle prohibition. Retrieved September 19, 2026.
National Park Service, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. Frequently Asked Questions: about 150,000 acres, a 30-square-mile dunefield, and elevations from 7,520 to 13,604 feet. Retrieved September 19, 2026.

Reviewed September 18, 2026. Conditions, closures and rules change; check with the managing agency before you travel.

Who manages Colorado

The agency on the sign decides where you can drive and where you can sleep. Choose one to see how much of the state it holds and what that means for a trip.

Colorado
36.3% 24,118,417 acres

Source: Congressional Research Service, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (R42346), Table 2, data as of September 30, 2024. Federal land here means the five agencies shown; state, tribal and private land make up the rest of each bar.

The public land map of Colorado

Agency boundaries, the BLM and Forest Service roads and trails open to vehicles, wilderness, and BLM campgrounds. Select any point for who manages it.

Map layers

Find a place

Layers

Federal land Who manages the ground, by agency

State and local land State forests, parks and wildlife areas, county and city land, nationwide

BLM roads and trails Routes managed for public motorized use

Forest roads and trails Forest Service Motor Vehicle Use Map

Wilderness BLM Wilderness and study areas, closed to vehicles

Camping and trailheads BLM campgrounds, OHV areas and trailheads

Base map

Map Topo Satellite

Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
US Forest Service (USFS)
National Park Service (NPS)
US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
Department Of Defense (DOD)
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Other Federal
State
Local
Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
Alaska Native Allotment

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

State land
County and city land
Regional agency or district
Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Open the full map