The evolution of mass transit in Denver has resembled a cross-town commute — a long stop-and-go journey. It began in 1871, when the Denver Horse Railroad Company started running horse-drawn coaches over tracks laid in the middle of downtown’s dirt . . . — — Map (db m177560) HM
The Cimarron Cutoff and Granada Road were branches of the Santa Fe Trail from Missouri to Santa Fe. The Aubrey and Penrose were other trails. From 1866-97 thousands of Texas cattle were driven to Montana on the XIT and National Cattle trails. — — Map (db m120040) HM
Dinosaur Freeway Geology of John Martin Reservoir
is part of the Dakota sandstone
formations which extend from Denver,
Colorado to Tucumcari, New Mexico.
In the Cretaceous period the region
was bordered with lakes, swamps . . . — — Map (db m181091) HM
"...On crossing the river [Purgatoire] we found a large well-filled ranch...which had only just been built by two enterprising Yankees.:"
–William Bell, railroad surveyor, 1867
Boggsville was established in the early . . . — — Map (db m120701) HM
This region was once buffalo hunting grounds for the Cheyenne, Apache, Arapaho, Kiowa and Comanche. Tribes followed the buffalo throughout the plains and controlled the land. During this time, everything south of the Arkansas river was Mexico and . . . — — Map (db m120709) HM
This sign marks the site of The Holiday Drive-In, which operated from 1953 until 1988. Drive-In theaters were popular in the 1950s and 1960s, especially among young families and amorous couples, where films could be viewed from the relative . . . — — Map (db m18299) HM
The Denver-Boulder highway near this marker stands as a memorial to those men of vision who brought it into existence.
Planning for such a highway began in 1927 by Professor Roderick L. Downing, whose University engineering students later . . . — — Map (db m87611) HM
With the discovery of gold in California Gulch in 1860, getting to Oro City (now Leadville) meant an opportunity for fame and fortune.
It would, however, be twenty years before railroad service traversed the Upper Arkansas . . . — — Map (db m107833) HM
Smoky Hill Trail
The Smoky Hill Trail was the most direct route to Denver and the goldfields of the central Rockies. Immigrants heading west through central Kansas followed the Kansas River, then headed up its Smoky Hill River branch into the . . . — — Map (db m77898) HM
Colorado's scenic wonders lured settlers and tourists alike. Geography and weather placed strict limits on travel routes and seasons. Politicians, engineers, and citizens often disagreed about how to cross the Continental Divide. Between 1941 and . . . — — Map (db m152814) HM
In Memoriam DREXEL LACEY 1892-1930 Resident Engineer State Highway Department Completed the survey of this highway August 13, 1926 — — Map (db m76801) HM
This memorial is the
property of the State of Colorado
Cumbres Pass
Near Continental Divide between the
waters of the Rio Grande and the San Juan
”Cumbres” is Spanish for “Summits”
Altitude . . . — — Map (db m125500) HM
In 1844. Mathew Kinkead established the first American-owned cattle ranch tn the Rocky Mountains at the junction of the North and South Hardscrabble Creeks.
Even before Kinkead settled at the mouth of Hardscrabble Canyon, the canyon had been an . . . — — Map (db m153187) HM
One of the many trading posts built by
Antoine (Anton French) Robidoux,
First built around 1828 at the juncture of the
Grand (Gunnison) and Uncompahgre Rivers
then a territory of Mexico and Ute Indian country
on the well traveled "Old . . . — — Map (db m120059) HM
North Fork Harvests Early pioneers recognized that the mild climate of the Hotchkiss/Paonia area, also known as the North Fork Valley, could support quality fruit production, and in 1882 the first orchards were planted. In 1902 the Denver & Rio . . . — — Map (db m186965) HM
At the very heart of Denver’s rough beginnings, Fifteenth Street actually followed the old military trails from Santa Fe, Fort Union and trading posts north and south of Denver. It was here that General Larimer expropriated the one . . . — — Map (db m118601) HM
General William H. Larimer, Jr., founder of Denver City which was established on November 22, 1858, named the city after the Governor of the Kansas Territory and the principal street after himself. Some of Denver’s first cabins were located at the . . . — — Map (db m51710) HM
On December 10, 1975, 17th Street celebrated its 25th year as a concrete street. Anniversary invitations were engraved in old English and former Governor John Love led the champagne toast.
In 1950, amid great City Council debate, 17th Street . . . — — Map (db m135544) HM
"A dog fight on Champa Street is of more interest to Denverites than a war in Europe."
Frederick Bonfils
(1860-1933)
Founder of The Denver Post
and prominent philanthropist — — Map (db m135447) HM
The five-pointed intersection at 17th and Broadway is the result of shifts in Denver’s street grid.
The grid shift created the triangular-shaped block upon which the Brown Palace Hotel is located. Here, the original grid which runs parallel . . . — — Map (db m135518) HM
Before the coming of the rails, stagecoaches were a major form of passenger transportation to and from Denver.
In 1878, Helen Hunt Jackson wrote, The public coaches are here, as everywhere, uncomfortable, overloaded, intolerable. I know of no . . . — — Map (db m135476) HM
This tablet is the
Property of the State of Colorado
——
Here was the end of the famous Smoky Hill Trail
Immigrant and stage road extending
from the Missouri River to Denver.
Traversed by pioneers in 1858. . . . — — Map (db m4678) HM
Welton Street connects Downtown to Five Points, the historical commercial center of the African-American community.
The name of the neighborhood comes from the five-pointed intersection where 26th Avenue, 27th Street and Washington Street . . . — — Map (db m135527) HM
This memorial is the property of the State of Colorado ——— Commemorating the route of the Platte River Trail principal route of Colorado pioneers trail of Major S.H. Long in 1820 trappers’ trail of 1830s and 1840s the . . . — — Map (db m203494) HM
Even before people began driving automobiles in Colorado, they clamored for good roads. In the late 1880s men, women, and children of all backgrounds jumped on breezy bicycles known as “velocipedes” or “Wheels” but cursed the . . . — — Map (db m46118) HM
Passage from prairie to high plains
If you had been standing on this spot for the last 10,000 years, you would have seen the history of Colorado progress below you. This ancient route through the Rocky Mountains is named for Colorado’s Ute . . . — — Map (db m45761) HM
Take Your Time and Enjoy Your Trip: Allow at least two hours to make the 38-mile round-trip to the summit and back. Uphill traffic has the right-of-way at all times. Watch for maintenance equipment.
Driving Up: If your engine begins . . . — — Map (db m45932)
This memorial is the
Property of the State of Colorado
Ute Pass
Named from the old Ute Trail
which led from South Park
through Manitou to the Plains.
Traversed by the Utes on
hunting and war expeditions.
Improved highway built . . . — — Map (db m32663) HM
Trail Under Siege Indians of Colorado’s High Plains
Kiowa and Comanche Indians migrated to these prairies in the 1700s, followed by Cheyennes and Arapahos in the early 1800s. The region’s vast grasslands, thick bison herds, and brisk fur . . . — — Map (db m45756) HM
Drive the Gold Belt Tour National Scenic Byway and follow the historic travel routes to the Cripple Creek Mining District, one of the world's wealthiest gold mining districts. Phantom Canyon Road follows the grade of the Florence and Cripple Creek . . . — — Map (db m153320) HM
[Side A:]
Rainbow Route
Completion of this road opens up a scenic paradise unequalled in any other state of the Union and unsurpassed by the scenic gems of the Wild West.
Governor George A. Carlson on the opening of the . . . — — Map (db m55639) HM
When Colorado Territorial Prison opened in June 1871 just west of Cañon City, it drew a mixed reception from law-abiding locals — some daunted by the possibility of felons on the loose, others eager for the jobs and services that came with the . . . — — Map (db m152997) HM
From Vision to Reality
Glenwood Canyon has been a critical link in the nation's ground transportation network ever since the completion of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in 1887. Later, Taylor State Road, a continuous wagon road between . . . — — Map (db m120263) HM
In the 1930's, America was mired in a deep economic depression. As part of his New Deal program, President Franklin Roosevelt implemented government programs designed to create employment and to stabilize the national economy.
One . . . — — Map (db m120550) HM
The Jolley Trail is named after a longtime New Castle family that ran sheep and lived on the land this trail traverses today.
In 1919 the Jolley Brothers — Herb, Malcolm (Mack), Henry and Lee — who were some of the first sheepmen . . . — — Map (db m120108) HM
In 1905, Colorado state senator Edward T. Taylor said, "I hope that someday our road will be a portion of a grand boulevard stretching across the nation." Taylor referred to the 12.5-mile gorge known as Glenwood Canyon. Today, the canyon road is the . . . — — Map (db m120136) HM
Long operated by William Fick and his family, this blacksmith shop turned out a superior brand of rugged, durable quartz wagons that hauled ore from the mines to the mills along Clear Creek. The Bull Durham sign was painted by traveling artists for . . . — — Map (db m51883) HM
Automobiles Come to Grand Lake (panel 1)
The number of automobiles had become so large that in 1913 the State of Colorado began issuing its first license plates. The 1915 dedication of Rocky Mountain National Park drew 2000 people, . . . — — Map (db m129881) HM
The Smith Eslick Cottage Court (panel 1)The Smith-Eslick Cottage Court is believed to be the oldest original-condition motel in the United States. Built at about the same time as the 1915 opening of Rocky Mountain National Park and the . . . — — Map (db m129879) HM
It's said that Grand Lake has always had tourists. Even the original visitors, the Ute and Arapaho for example, would come in the summer to hunt and fish in the largest natural lake in Colorado, but would leave when winter approached. Then, as now, . . . — — Map (db m129882) HM
Berthoud Pass Across the Continental Divide between South Platte and Colorado River drainages
Altitude 11,314 Feet
Discovered by Capt. E.L. Berthoud Colorado pioneer May 12, 1861. Surveyed by Berthoud and Jim Bridger July, 1861. Toll Road . . . — — Map (db m129889) HM
This sign was place[d] on Monarch Pass
in 1916 by the DAR to commemorate
the Gunnison Country's abundance
of rainbow trout in the Gunnison River.
————————————— . . . — — Map (db m158558) HM
Four bridges once stood southwest of the original town site of Sapinero. Cars and trucks used the high bridge to travel between Gunnison and Montrose. Anglers used the low bridge to access the river.
The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad needed two . . . — — Map (db m158933) HM
In 1860, Col. Thomas W. Know, a famous traveler and editor of the Western Mountaineer newspaper, believed the route up Clear Creek Canyon was a place he “never expected to see a mule go who had his senses, or a decent regard for his . . . — — Map (db m49901) HM
Windy Saddle Park
Jefferson County Open Space
Windy Saddle Park offers sweeping scenic views and trail connections to adjoining areas. Recreation opportunities on Chimney Gulch Trail and Lookout Mountain Trail included hiking, biking and . . . — — Map (db m46158) HM
Short cut to Gregory Diggings
Operated from 1860 to 1871
Owners Alfred Tucker & Elisha Duncan
Dedicated by Daughters of Colorado
May 12 1938 — — Map (db m200613) HM
Erected through the cooperation of Federal, State and local governments by Works Progress Administration. Dedicated to the enrichment of human lives. A record of permanent achievement. — — Map (db m155601) HM
In 1937 the City and County of Denver built Alameda Parkway as the main route to Red Rocks Park. The construction exposed dinosaur tracks, but for many years geologists and members of the public observed them without studying them in detail. In . . . — — Map (db m155602) HM
Trails & Passes
• The Colorado Rocky Mountains, appearing as a formidable barrier, have trails over almost all 260 passes.
• A trail is a corridor between two places: usually a network of paths that meet at certain key points, such as river . . . — — Map (db m153407) HM
Stony Pass
• From 1872 until 1882, when the railroad reached Silverton, Stony Pass was the vital link between the San Juan mining districts and supply towns to the east.
• A practical but tough route from Del Norte ran up the Rio Grande . . . — — Map (db m153409) HM
Between 1800 and 1850, the Old Spanish Trail became a regional trade route between Santa Fe and California.
Dominguez and Escalante traveled through this valley in 1776. Within twenty-five years of their expedition this trail became a . . . — — Map (db m218222) HM
This memorial is the
Property of the State of Colorado
Fremont Pass
On Continental Divide between
Arkansas and Blue River drainages
Altitude 11,316 feet
Western boundary of the Louisiana
Purchase of 1803.
Named . . . — — Map (db m128033) HM
Colorado 91 is now a well-engineered modern highway, but driving over Fremont Pass wasn't always as safe or convenient as it is today.
The silver mining boom created a population of more than 30,000 people in Leadville by 1879, making it the . . . — — Map (db m122827) HM
Little Horseshoe Park was the site of the first Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp west of the Mississippi River. In May 1933, CCC workers set up a base in the meadow below to house about 200 men.
This camp’s laborers became known as the . . . — — Map (db m162063) HM
Drill, blast, then pick up the rubble. Drill, blast, then pick up the rubble. Workers repeated this process off and on for three summers to carve through these gneiss and shist layers and create Rock Cut. Trail Ridge Road, constructed from 1929 to . . . — — Map (db m163425) HM
A stage station, post office, and hotel, on the route from Fort Collins, by way of Pingree Hill, to Home, Colorado, in the upper Poudre Canyon.
In memory of Mildred Payson Beatty — — Map (db m173076) HM
Three-quarters of a mile northwest from this point is the original
Virginia Dale
famous stage station on the overland route to California, 1862 - 1867. Established by Joseph A. (Jack) Slade and named for his wife, Virginia. Located on . . . — — Map (db m89595) HM
What a welcome sight Virginia Dale must have been to nineteenth-century travelers. It was one of the largest stagecoach stations on the Overland Trail, offering hot meals and other conveniences to weary passengers - the equivalent, for its day, of . . . — — Map (db m89639) HM
To drive along Old Fall River Road is to travel back in time. The slower pace of driving on a winding dirt road recalls a time when traveling in a national park was both challenging and enchanting.
From 1920 to 1932, Fall River Road was the . . . — — Map (db m89121) HM
Trail of Commerce
The heavily laden freight wagons traveled in parallel columns to minimize dust and for convenience when circling the wagons at night or when danger threatened. A circle of wagons provided a fine defensive position. But the . . . — — Map (db m77883) HM
"Raton" is Spanish for "Mouse".
On mountain branch Santa Fe Trail.
Crossed by Kearny's Army of the
west in the Mexican war and by
first regiment, Colorado Volunteers
in the civil war. "Uncle Dick"
Wooten's toll road built 1865.
Railroad . . . — — Map (db m77853) HM
Panel 1
Road to Santa Fe
"...for it begins upon the outside line of the outside State (Missouri) and runs directly toward the setting sun..." - Sen. Thomas Hart Benton, following the Santa Fe Trail survey, 1825
For . . . — — Map (db m97715) HM
This monument
marks the route of the
Santa Fe Trail
1822 - 1879
placed by the
Daughters of the
American Revolution
and the
State of Colorado
It also commemorates
the faithful work of
Harriett Parker Campbell . . . — — Map (db m77856) HM
This memorial is the
Property of the State of Colorado
The Santa Fe Trail
1840 - 1878
Two roads or forks of the Mountain Branch
of the Santa Fe Trail-Bent's Old Fort to
Taos and Santa Fe-joined . . . — — Map (db m104912) HM
The Santa Fe Trail was a major trade route to and from Santa Fe, New Mexico between 1821 and 1880. Wagon ruts, visible from the highway, evidence the thousands of caravans that traversed the route during its 59-year period of use. The Santa Fe Trail . . . — — Map (db m191749) HM
Panel 1
Arriba
In frontier Arriba (locally pronounced "AIR-uh-buh"), the only thing
more scarce than water was whiskey. Charles Creel, who founded
the town in 1888 to greet the advancing Chicago, Rock Island &
Pacific . . . — — Map (db m89381) HM
Sand Creek Massacre
At dawn on the morning of November 29 I was still in bed when I heard shouts and the noise of people running about the camp. I jumped up and ran out of my lodge. From down the creek a large body of troops was . . . — — Map (db m107245) HM
Welcome to Lincoln County, Home of Pioneer Hospitality!
With its cowboy and homesteader heritage, Lincoln County is infused with an old-time spirit of hospitality. The discovery of gold in the Colorado mountains brought large cattle . . . — — Map (db m107246) HM
Due west 940 feet stood
“Fort Wicked"
Originally Godfrey’s Ranch
Famous Overland Stage Station
One of the few posts withstanding the Indian uprising of 1864 on the road to Colorado.
Named from the . . . — — Map (db m61998) HM
Call it the Pikes Peak Trail, the Denver Road, Overland Trail, or the South Platte River Trail – by any name, it dominated the movement of people and goods in Colorado between 1858 and 1867 and ranks with the great trails of American history. . . . — — Map (db m51215) HM
This tablet is the Property of the State of Colorado
3.8 miles north along county road is the site of Valley Station, built in 1859 as a stagecoach station of the Leavenworth and Pike Express. Station on the Overland Trail to California, . . . — — Map (db m51214) HM
Twenty-three mile Rim Rock Drive was built almost entirely by using picks, shovels, and sheer muscle to remove massive rock and debris. The engineering skill of the workers can be seen today in the tunnels and stonework. With construction came a . . . — — Map (db m159715) HM
With around 20 switchbacks, this old road was once called the "crookedest road in the world." In 1961, the Serpents Trail was converted to a hiking trail, quickly becoming a local favorite. The scenic path curves back and forth through Wingate . . . — — Map (db m159612) HM
Reportedly, in October 1899 Butch Cassidy and several members of the Wild Bunch, also known as the Hole-in-the-wall Gang, travelled through Grand Valley.
From 1889 to 1904 this band of desperadoes thrilled local citizens and terrified many . . . — — Map (db m104504) HM
The first people to witness this view were probably Indians who had to scale the steep cliffs and talus slopes. Later, ranchers dug narrow passages up into the canyons to bring their cattle to graze in the rich highland trails below.
Begun during . . . — — Map (db m61910) HM
Wolf Creek Pass! A romantic name - a beautiful but harsh setting.
Squatter-trapper Bill Wolf probably wasn't the first man across the pass, though it bears his name. Until the early 1900's, Cumbres and Elwood Passes opened the way to fertile . . . — — Map (db m71659) HM
[center panel] Elkhead Creek drains an area to the north and east. It is 37 miles long and empties into the Yampa River a short distance to the south of this point. Elkhead Reservoir is a 25,500 acre-feet body of water, four miles north of . . . — — Map (db m166697) HM
Welcome to Cortez, Colorado, and the San Juan Skyway — a 232-mile loop drive that will take you into the heart of the San Juan Mountains on state-maintained, paved highways.
The San Juan Skyway was designated a Forest Service Scenic . . . — — Map (db m160180) HM
Clockwise, from top left:
Six ancestral Puebloan villages dating to around A.D. 1200 can be visited at Hovenweep National Monument although only Square Tower Sites are easily reached. The other sites are more remote and are not . . . — — Map (db m153391) HM
A traveler in 1892 described a trail on the ridge before you as the Crinkly Edge Trail. In 1911, just five years after the park was established, the trail became the Knife Edge Road, a new section of the main park road. Although scenic, the road was . . . — — Map (db m153342) HM
The town of Mancos, in the valley before you, historically served as the "Gateway to Mesa Verde."
As word spread of the Wetherills' "discoveries," tourists flocked to the area. The Rio Grande Southern Railroad, serving Durano, Mancos, and . . . — — Map (db m71529) HM
Bull Whackers and Mule Skinners
Discovery of gold and silver in the 1870s in the San Juan Mountains south of Montrose created a demand for freighting services to haul equipment and supplies into the mines and carry out ore bound for . . . — — Map (db m120127) HM
On July 29, 1776, two Franciscan priests, Fray Francisco Atanasio Dominguez
and Fray Silvestre Velez de Escalante, led their eight companions out through
the gates of Santa Fe and into the heart of the American southwest. Their
five-month . . . — — Map (db m120225) HM
Occupied from 1864 to 1868 and the divergence of the Denver Cut Off from the Overland Trail
This monument is erected by Fort Morgan Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution
1912 — — Map (db m51213) HM
Erected at the request of the Daughters of the American Revolution 1910 by A.E. Reynolds
Bent's Fort Santa Fe Trail as shown by ruins of walls in 1909
1822 The Santa Fe Trail 1875
This stone marks the point of the trail where the . . . — — Map (db m192004) HM
For centuries, the Arkansas River Valley has been an important travel corridor that has shaped our nation’s history.
Long before the fort was built, wildlife, native peoples, European explorers, trappers, and traders traveled through this river . . . — — Map (db m71851) HM
Travelers from Missouri would have crossed more than 600
miles of plains by the time they stood here. They picked this
more difficult Mountain Route of the Santa Fe Trail for its
reliable water. With less than a quarter of the trip . . . — — Map (db m180840) HM
The San Juan Mountains have long posed a barrier to travel and, by extension, to economic development. Early miners had to transport ore via pack animals over rocky trails, a process so inefficient that it rendered many claims unworkable. Matters . . . — — Map (db m186903) HM
This is the eastern end of the Idarado Mine. As one of the San Juans' larger mines, it contains nearly 100 miles of underground tunnels. Miners would enter here at the Treasury Tunnel and ride the underground trams to their work station. The . . . — — Map (db m179085) HM
This memorial is the property of the State of Colorado Hoosier Pass Across Continental Divide between South Park and the Blue River Altitude 11,542 feet Crossed by Fremont 1844 Named for Hoosier . . . — — Map (db m171494) HM
South Park has long served as a crossroads and a destination for people from other places.
American Indians who came to hunt, collect natural salts, and soak in hot springs established routes through the landscape as they traveled between their . . . — — Map (db m153262) HM
The first travelers over Independence Pass came from the east because most of western Colorado was Indian territory until the relocation of the White River Utes in 1881. Prospectors from the Leadville area explored the Roaring Fork Valley in the . . . — — Map (db m152918) HM
Purpose
The "Top Cut” of Independence Pass refers to the section of road directly across the valley from this viewpoint. During the 1920s, highway construction and subsequent
erosion heavily damaged the slopes above and below the road. . . . — — Map (db m152914) HM
Location, Location, Location
Thousands of caravans used the Santa Fe Trail between 1821 and 1880. The trail clung close to the Arkansas River for hundreds of miles across the open plains. The Arkansas Valley offered gentle terrain . . . — — Map (db m106937) HM
John Martin Reservoir The Southeast Colorado region, including the Big Timbers area, was once a great inland sea. The first transportation routes across the Santa Fe Trail were established by prehistoric migrating groups that . . . — — Map (db m213693) HM
(Front Panel)
N.S.D.A.R. Memorial
to the
Pioneer Mothers
of the
Covered Wagon Days
(Right Side Panel)
A place of historical lore noted for Indian lodges; shelter from storm and heat; food supply for beast; bivouac . . . — — Map (db m106897) HM
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