America’s highest highway and one of the most beautiful drives in the world is right here in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park.
This celebrated section of Highway 34 is called Trail Ridge Road or Beaver Meadow National Scenic Byway. It runs from Estes Park to Grand Lake, reaching an elevation of over 12,000 feet.
Flickr/Mr. Nixter
The road is closed in winter months due to safety concerns, but this is a perfect summer road trip.
Flickr/Mr. Nixter
Visitors should plan for about a two-hour journey on the 48-mile stretch. If you plan to stop along the way to take in all of the unbelievable natural beauty along this road, then plan for an entire day.
Flickr/Kent Kanouse
Eleven miles of the scenic byway reach over the trees into alpine tundra, giving visitors a glimpse of arctic conditions like those found in Alaska.
Flickr/Alex Dodd
A rapidly changing landscape of mountains and trees morphs into this dramatic landscape, where visitors can expect to see bighorn sheep and colorful alpine plants.
Flickr/Kent Kanouse
The current road was constructed in the early 1930s, but the same path was used for thousands of years by Native Americans crossing the mountains.
Flickr/Adam Baker
Driving this road is an unforgettable experience that every Coloradan should experience at least once.
Flickr/Bryce Bradford
Flickr/Mr. Nixter
Flickr/Kent Kanouse
Flickr/Alex Dodd
Flickr/Adam Baker
Flickr/Bryce Bradford
Looking for more incredible Colorado scenery you can view from the comfort of your car? Check out These 10 Scenic Country Roads In Colorado.
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