Drive a Scenic Byway

Cover some serious ground in one day by traveling along a Colorado Scenic Byway. Lucky for Spanish Peaks Country visitors, two of Colorado’s 11 designated scenic byways pass through Huerfano County.

Take in the geological wonders of the Highway of Legends, which starts in Trinidad, heads west into Stonewall, and then north into La Veta.

Or, breathe in Colorado history along the Frontier Pathways Scenic & Historic Byway. This drive starts in Pueblo, heads west into Westcliffe/Silver Cliff, and then drops south into Colorado City.

Scenic Drive #1 – Highway of Legends Historic Byway

State Highway 12, the Scenic Highway of Legends, ties Walsenburg, La Veta, Cuchara, Stonewall, Trinidad, and Aguilar together with a ribbon of asphalt that journeys through some of the nation’s most beautiful national forests, state parks, wildlife areas, and mountain ranges.

Highway 12 was designated a Colorado State Byway in 1987 and a National Forest Byway in 1988. The Scenic Highway of Legends starts at the cities of Trinidad, Aguilar, and Walsenburg and circles the Spanish Peaks.

Scenic Drive #2 – Frontier Pathways Scenic & Historic Byway

The wishbone-shaped Frontier Pathways Scenic & Historic Byway starts in Pueblo, travels west into Westcliffe/Silver Cliff, and then south into Colorado City. The two-lane highway is 103 miles long and showcases pastoral landscapes, the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range, sharp mesas, Hardscrabble Canyon, and the Arkansas River. Once in the San Isabel National Forest, views of the Wet Mountains and Greenhorn Valley appear.