To get from Alamosa, which sits on southern end of Colorado to Estes park which is at the northern end of the state, you have to pretty much cross the entire length of the state right through the center. You can either do it on Interstate-25, (which will probably be a little faster) or drive on the state highways through small towns and amazingly scenic byways. Given that we had the entire day at out disposal, our choice was clear.

We took 17 N to head out of Alamosa, which then merged into 285 N in about 50 miles or so. US Route 285 offers some great views of several of the Colorado 14ers (fourteener is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least 14,000 feet and Colorado has 53 of them!), and itself reaches an altitude of over 10,000 feet at its highest point. Mt. Antero, Mt. Princeton, Mt. Yale, Mt. Harvard, and Mt. Belford are just a few of the mountains that you will be up and close to. Also, close to this highway is Mt. Elbert – the highest summit of the Rocky Mountains and the highest point in the entire state.

Since it was late November, most of these mountains were covered in snow and that made the scenery around us really picturesque. We got off from 285 near Johnson Village and took 24 North passing through several small towns (Buena Vista, Americus and Granite). Just a few miles north of granite, you will see 82 W which goes all the way to Aspen. It also passes through the Twin Lakes (just a few miles off 24 N) and takes you really close to Mt. Elbert. We did stop over at the Twin Lakes and were able to capture some of the breath taking scenery all around.

We were not planning to Aspen as part of this trip, so we got back on 24 North and went all the way to Leadville, where we stopped to get some gas and food. From Leadville, it is only about 25 miles or so to join interstate 70 via 91N, and this section of the road passes though snow-covered mountains and lakes. We drove for almost 65 miles on I-70 E, before taking 93 N towards Boulder and then joining 36 W to go all the way to Estes Park.

Estes Park is a cute little town mostly known as a base for the Rocky Mountain National Park. It has several hotels, lodges and cabins along with some great restaurants which makes for a very comfortable stay. We were staying at the Historic Crags Lodge, which was a little tricky to find initially, however was quaint with some amazing views. The 3 days we spent here were some of the best of this trip, thanks to this hotel, the awesome restaurants nearby and the amazing Rocky Mountain National Park at our doorstep!