How does this Colorado one-day driving plan sound?
 

Hello... I'm trying to decide the best driving route to take for my last full day of a southwest vacation. I've asked a few questions about this same trip on here before and thank you to everyone who has offered their advice.

Okay... so I'm spending three full days in SW Colorado with one day in Mesa Verde, one day driving the loop from Durango to Ouray and Telluride and back to Durango for the night. The third day I want to briefly visit Black Canyon of the Gunnison, but also need to start heading back towards Missouri. I want to make it at least to Goodland, Kansas for the final overnight of my trip, if not further. So from Durango I was going to take Route 160 to Pagosa Springs and cut up on Hwy 149 through Creede and Lake City to get to Gunnison N.P. Is this going to be an especially scenic route or would it save considerable time to re-drive the Route 550 back to Ouray and on to Montrose, cutting over to Gunnison from there. Then, after a couple hours at the Gunnison N.P. I was planning to head east on Highway 50 to Pueblo, then I-25 to Colorado Springs, Route 24 back to I-70. I'm still interested in scenic driving here but also saving some time would be important at this point of my trip. What about taking Route 133 north back to I-70? It seems like this would be more time consuming but if it's a prettier drive I'd do it. You probably wonder why I don't spend that last night in Telluride or Ouray and I considered that, but I thought it'd also be nice to stay at the Strater in Durango my last two nights. I could possibly be convinced to change my mind about that, though. And any extra driving I might do really isn't an issue if it's a scenic drive. Thanks for any advice!

There was a whole thread on this route over on the Open Roads Forum. You have to sign on, but the membership is free.


http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Cre...fl=0&x=wrt

Utahtea

Utahtea, thank you for that information! I am so dependent on and happy with this particular forum that I don't usually seek out others.

Given your time constraints, if it all possible, you should visit the Black Canyon on your loop through Ouray. I think the part you want to see is actually closer to Montrose than to Gunnison, but I'm not sure. Although the area around Creede and Lake City area is very scenic, I'd recommend that you keep heading east on 160 to Alamosa, visit Great Sand Dunes for an hour or so, then drive into Denver via 285, also known as "the gun barrel", if you want to make good time as well as see some more interesting scenery than on I-25.

your original plan is excellent. The scenary is fantastic, especially coming into lake city. Stick with your plans and you won't be sorry. Route 133 N is nice (not as nice as 149 to Lake City) but it will take you quite a bit of time.

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'll have to investigate that "gun barrell" thing a little further. I hadn't considered including the Black Canyon in my Million Dollar Highway drive. I was hoping to spend a few hours in Telluride but maybe I can fit both in the same day.

I was also wondering what kind of time I am actually looking at driving these "scenic" routes. If weather is clear, how long should I account for driving from Durango to Creede, Lake City, and the Black Canyon? Then, I was thinking of just making another loop via Route 92 to Crawford, Route 133 to Route 135, going through Crested Butte, returning to Hwy 50 and heading home from there.

I don't exactly need to have firm plans for this but I'd like to have a good plan. Thanks for any further comments... and Happy Easter to everyone.

I would drive 550 to Montrose and head for the BC road which is about 10 miles east of Montrose on rt. 50. 550 from Ouray to Montrose is not scenic but it is a quick drive and you would have ample time at the BC and still reach your destination for the day.

I think doing the loop through lake city, creed, and still heading out to Kansas makes for a really long day of driving. I took a leisurely drive from Gunnison through lake city, creed, to alamosa once that took me 4 hours.