Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway

One of the 52 most peaks in CO that reaches 14K feet. Highest paved roadway in USA. This scenic way is a lifetime experience. A 30-40 minutes drive up to the peak along a very narrow road. Reservation needed to be made ahead to time to be able to get past the entry post. At the top of the peak, it's very windy and cold, about 20 degrees colder than ground level. The air is so thin, got dizzy walking around. There's parking lot and an old building. Also a trail available who want to hike to highest point.

If you're in or around the Denver area and looking for a short trip just to see the mountains, this is an incredible place to go and do just that.It's roughly an hour from the city, and the road to the top takes you to over 14k feet in elevation, and I believe that it's the highest paved road in America. The area is managed by the US Forest Service, and so you can either pay $15 at the gate to get in, or they accept the America The Beautiful Pass. Once you're inside the gate, it's about a 30-40 min drive up to the top. Along the way, you'll pass Mt Goliath Nature Center and Summit Lake. You'll probably see a lot of goats, marmot, and potentially some other wildlife along the way.There are a variety of trails and several places to stop and take in some incredible views. During peak times, you'll want to make a reservation to enter, which can be done through the national park service website.Restrooms are available in several places along the way to the top. Long story short, I've done this drive probably a dozen or more times, and it's well worth making the time to check it out. If you've only got 1 day and you want to get high up in the mountains this is your best bet hands down. DO IT!

**wear enough clothes! It's COLD AND WINDY!Awesome drive up to the summit. Narrow roads so slow down when coming down. Be patient. Great view. I wish I was more prepared with the clothes. Thinner air when you are in the high mountain too. Be aware.

One of the most memorable places I've been to!!!Make sure you make your reservation ahead of time & leave ample time to drive up and down. You don't want to rush or miss anything! So many wow spots all along the route! The views were insane, and we saw lots of wildlife too! Big horned sheep, mountain goats, and marmots to name a few. Whenever we were sick of driving we would just pull over the enjoy the crisp air and take small hikes.

If you want to experience a 14-er from the comfort of your car, this is an amazing option. Keep in mind that the road is closed after Labor Day and there's timed entry when it's open. You can book a ticket online or try your luck at the gate (hint: 99% you won't get in). You can also come at 6:30pm and travel the road for free.Personally, I liked being here in the evening. You get amazing pictures during golden hour and you can see a lot of wildlife. The views are absolutely incredible and photos don't do the judgement. There's a chance of bad weather as conditions change quickly at this altitude, so be ready for strong winds, rain, lightning, and fog. It's hard to beat this experience unless you go climb mountains yourself. Highly recommend if you're in Colorado.

We had a wonderful day enjoying the magnificent sights along the scenic byway at a leisurely pace. My wife was a little nervous beforehand given what she had read about the road condition, lack of guardrails, etc., but she was glad I convinced her to do it as the sights were great. And, while we were planning on hiking in RMNP, this was a good way to adjust to the altitude.Load up the car with a picnic lunch and snacks, bring layers of clothing, and enjoy! It can be very cold and windy at the summit, even on the warmest of summer days. Plan appropriately as you'll want to get out and explore a bit. We were lucky to see goats, sheep, marmots, and miles of scenery on a beautiful day.

Since no one is talking about how scary the drive is: I will. This was both me and my mom's scariest experience of our life. The roads do NOT HAVE RAILS and there are narrow turns. We had to drive in the middle of the road most of the time bc of how scary it is. No rails and a 10,000 feet drop is a little wonky. We made it about half way up the mountain (14,000 feet) before we decided to drop out. But 5 stars for the beauty! We have never had an experience like this before. The views and everything was calming. It ended up snowing because of how tall we were! It was freezing but the pics/scenery were 100% worth the scary drive! We even saw a bald eagle! Worth the drive and hoping we can go again and go further!

I came up and did this drive on perhaps one of the worst days of summer. It was cloudy overcast, with a 20-40% chance of rain, but it was my last day with my flight at 9:30pm...Glad I did it!Denver is mostly flat, but once you drive out 20 minutes east you're in the Rocky Mountains with the all the green scenery full of trees...you can't say visited Colorado unless you saw its glorious natural beauty! The drive up the mountain is full of spectacular views...be careful though! It was all fogged in a the summit, so I couldn't see much, it even started hailing! I even gave a family of hikers a drive back down to Summit Lake because they didn't want to hike 4 hours back in the snow! Snow in July! Words can describe the beauty of this nature, pictures barely tell it...you just have to go see for yourself in person. NOTE: An online reservation is required to drive up to the summit! Plan ahead! I did not but luckily I was able to get one booked on my phone while at the base.NOTE2: I was wearing Banana Republic instead of Patagonia. I was in Denver for work, and had no idea it snowed in July!

A heavenly view, where it's more about the journey than the destination. Caravan with a group of friends in the summertime to avoid the crazy elements. Altitude sickness is a reality, so hydrate heavy.

Mount Evans and the road to Mount Evans was a great experience. The road gets rather sketchy at some points, there are sheer dropoffs where I'm imagining bunches of burned out cars at the bottom that have fallen off the road. I don't know if there really are any burned out cars, because I was too busy concentrating on not being someone whose car fell off the road. Near and at the top, tons of goats. The goats were super fun and easy to get pictures in the background. Once you drive to the top, there's a rock scramble of a few hundred vertical feet to get to the summit. 14,000 feet is pretty high for someone who hasn't been that high before, even if most of it is driving. You need a timed entry to get in, so make sure to take care of that before you go. Totally worth it, a great experience, everyone in our family liked it, even if the drive freaked my wife out to no end.