Pawnee Pioneer Trail | Northeast CO visit our website Colorado's northeastern high plains show the traveler and native adventurer that Colorado is more than just mountains.  The 128 mile Pawnee Pioneer Trails Scenic and Historic Byway gives visitors an opportunity to experience the roll of the prairie, the run of the river, the majestic Pawnee Buttes rising from the plains, the lost dreams of the homesteader, a sea of grass, and scenic sunsets over the Rocky Mountains.

Redstone | Redstone, CO 970-963-2526 | visit our website Redstone is a 19th-century historic gem, hidden in the dense aspen and blue spruce of the White River National Forest.  The town of 92 people is located on the West Elk Loop Scenic and Historic Byway (Colorado Highway 133), the doorstep of the Snowmass/Maroon Bells Wilderness Area.  In 2008 it was designated as a Preserve America Community.  The Crystal River flows through the village founded in 1901 by coal and steel baron John Cleveland Osgood to house the men (and their families) who worked the Redstone coke ovens.  These "cokers" turned Coal Basin's high-grade metallurgical coal into the coke which fired the blast furnaces that helped build America.

Independence Ghost Town | Pitkin County, CO 970-925-3721 | visit our website The town of Independence lies in a picturesque meadow on the west side of Independence Pass alongside State Highway 82 at an altitude of 10,880 feet.  According to legend, Billy Belden, one of the original prospectors in the Roaring Fork Valley, hit a rich vein of gold on July 4, 1879 and named the claim, and the tent city around it, Independence.

Grand Mesa National Scenic Byway | Mesa and Delta Counties, CO visit our website The nationally designated Grand Mesa Scenic and Historic Byway crosses over the Grand Mesa on a 63 mile trek ranging from the orchards of the valley floor to the alpine meadows of its 11,000-foot summit.  You can begin your trip in Plateau Canyon, where Highway 65 joins I-70 approximately 30 miles east of Grand Junction or in Cedaredge at the Byway Welcome Center next to Pioneer Town.

Camp Amache National Historic Landmark | Granada, CO visit our website Camp Amache is one of ten Japanese American Internment camps established across the country by the Federal Government in 1942 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  It was the only Japanese internment camp located in Colorado.

Boggsville Historic Site | Las Animas, CO 719-456-1358 | visit our website Boggsville is the oldest unfortified permanent settlement in southeast Colorado. A major site on the Santa Fe Trail, Boggsville was settled in the 1860's by Rumalda Luna Bent, her husband Thomas Boggs, John Powers, and his wife Amache. Thomas Boggs was the son of a Missouri Governor and the grandson of Daniel Boone. He met his wife, Rumalda Jaramillo Luna Bent, stepdaughter of Charles Bent, when he worked at Bent's Fort.   John Prowers, who later became a cattle baron in southeast Colorado, started at Bent's Fort in 1857. Amache was the daughter of Cheyenne Chief Lone Bear, killed at the Sand Creek Massacre.  Together these families -- along with Christopher "Kit" Carson -- settled Boggsville.

Trails of Gold | Victor, CO 719-689-2675 | visit our website The Trails of Gold is a series of hiking trails & interpretive sites through Victor's 1890s gold rush mining country. Located as a side trip off the Gold Belt Tour National Scenic Byway, the trail passes by historic mines, mill sites, and railroad routes.  Although privately owned, many of these sites are open and accessible to the public.

Lariat Loop Scenic and Historic Byway | Golden, CO visit our website The completion of the Lariat Trail in 1914 allowed early automobile travelers to escape the congestion of Denver and test their driving skills on a twisting mountain road that featured numerous hairpin turns and sharp drop-offs.  Today, drivers and bicyclists can experience the same thrills on the 40-mile Lariat Loop Trail, a designated Colorado Scenic & Historic Byway.  Numerous historic sites and structures are located along the route, including several museums open to the public.

Rosemount Museum | Pueblo, CO 719-545-5290 |visit our website Rosemount was the home of prominent Pueblo businessman John A. Thatcher and his wife Margaret. It was designed by noted New York architect Henry Hudson Holly.  Completed in 1893, the home cost $100,000 including appointments and furnishings-- an enormous sum for those times. The 37 room mansion is a three story brick building faced with rose colored rhyolite.  The roof is Vermont slate with columned chimneys serving ten fireplaces.

Crow Canyon Archaeological Center | Cortez, CO 800-422-8975 | visit our website THE CROW CANYON ARCHAEOLOGICAL CENTER is an innovative leader in advancing knowledge of the human experience through archaeological research, education programs, and collaboration with American Indians.  Since 1983, Crow Canyon researchers have studied the rich history of the ancestral Pueblo Indians (the Anasazi) who inhabited the canyons and mesas of the Mesa Verde region over 700 years ago.

The Mineral Belt Trail | Leadville, CO 719-486-8409 | visit our website The Mineral Belt Trail is one of Colorado's highest and most spectacular paved pathways. Dedicated on July 29, 2000, the trail loops the city of Leadville, one of the greatest mining districts in the world and one of Colorado's 21 National Historic Landmarks. The Mineral Belt Trail was designated a National Recreation Trail in June, 2002.

Pueblo Zoo Islands of Life | Pueblo, CO 719-561-1452 | visit our website Built in the 1930s, the five historic structures in the Pueblo Zoo Historic District were a product of the New Deal- a federal and local employment program developed during the Great Depression to put Americans back to work. Hand-crafted stonework on the structures is an expression of the American Rustic movement first developed in 1916.   Because of its quality, craftsmanship and uniqueness, the Pueblo Zoo Historic District is an architectural treasure worthy of national attention.

Town of Creede | Creede, CO 800-327-2102 | visit our website Welcome to the historic Town of Creede, Colorado! Creede.com is the official site of the Creede/Mineral County Chamber of Commerce, your connection to vacations, recreation, attractions, and the Arts in southern Colorado.

Telluride Historical Museum | Telluride, CO 970-728-3344 | visit our website Located in the Old Miner's Hospital, the Telluride Historical Museum provides visitors with a view into the life of early twentieth century hard rock miners who lived and worked in a harsh and often dangerous mountain environment.  The museum retains the hospital's original operating room and nurses' station and interprets Telluride's boom-bust-boom history with interactive dramatic exhibits.

Historic Downtown Salida | Salida, CO 719-539-4555 | visit our website Located adjacent to the scenic Arkansas River, Salida's downtown streets are lined with interesting historic structures and a variety of independently-owned galleries, bicycle shops, restaurants and other retail businesses. Founded as a railroad town, Salida is now evolving into a lively center for tourism, arts and recreation.Downtown Salida features one of the state's finest collections of turn-of-the-century commercial architecture and is a designated historic district.

Hinsdale County Courthouse | Lake City, CO 970-944-2515 | visit our website The Hinsdale County Courthouse is important for its association with the settlement and development of Lake City during the late 1800s mining era. Constructed in 1877, the building is significant as the state's oldest courthouse still in use for its original purpose. The first year of its operation as a courthouse was marked by the appearance of suffragette Susan B. Anthony.

MacGregor Ranch | Estes Park, CO 970-586-3749 | visit our website MacGregor Ranch is the last remaining working cattle ranch in Estes Park and one of the few sites operating as both a working ranch and youth education center in northern Colorado. It is unique in that its historic collection and structures are original to the 1873 homestead family, and its collection is completely intact. MacGregor Ranch offers a window into the past for its visitors. Take a step back in time as you come in the front gate. Percheron draft horses and ranch hands work the hay meadow. The main ranch house, now the museum, is warm and inviting - welcoming children's groups and summer visitors. The Black Angus cattle and horses grazing the meadow remind you of simpler times.

The Leadville Historic Walking Tour and Heritage Museum | Leadville, CO visit our website In the late 19th century, Leadville was the richest mining district in the world. Leadville's mining history began in 1860 with the discovery of gold south of town. About 8,000 prospectors soon arrived, and during the next five years, unearthed more than $4 million worth of gold. Once the gold played out, most of the prospectors moved on. A few remained and discovered the area was also rich in silver and lead. Prospectors once again swarmed the town. By 1880, Leadville was home to more than 30,000 residents, along with stores, hotels, saloons, dance halls, gambling joints and brothels.

Town of Georgetown | Georgetown, CO 303-569-2555 | visit our website Founded in 1860, Georgetown grew to become one of the most important early mining settlements in the state.  Although gold brought the initial rush of settlers, it was silver that made the fortune of many Georgetown residents.  They built homes, churches, schools and commercial blocks using a range of late nineteenth-century architectural styles, from Greek Revival to Italianate and Second Empire.  The construction boom ended sharply after the silver crash of 1893.

Town of Crested Butte | Crested Butte, CO 970-641-7992 | visit our website The Town of Crested Butte, a registered National Historic District and turn of the century Victorian mining town is located just 28 miles north of the City of Gunnison and south of the famous Kebler Pass, known as the home to the second largest living organism in the USA…an aspen grove!

This project is paid for in part by a State Historical Fund grant
from the Colorado Historical Society.