Mount Evans Scenic Byway

Views were great, but there was a lot of traffic. Very easy drive.

The summit for Mount Evans is close to 14,200 feet and is apparently the highest paved road in North America. There are tons of beautiful lookouts on the drive and we completed this as the leaves were beginning to turn. If you are afraid of heights (like me), definitely let someone else do the driving...

Amazing views!!!

It’s a beautiful trail, with an more beautiful parking lot. :)

I never tire of the view from the top. Great drive. Even better climb, but I am sure that it is somewhat of a sore spot when you go through all of the hard work to summit this 14teener only to see a giant parking lot at the top. Ha-ha!

Completed on Thurs 6/28. There's a checkpoint about 14miles from the summit, where admission cost $15. Up until the checkpoint the drive is scenic and relaxed. Once you get past the checkpoint the road changes; becomes narrower, no barriers and far more bumpy - the driver has to be awake! Having said that, the drive is a lot of fun - great views where you can see for miles. There's a couple of area's to stop off on the journey up; viewpoints, a little shop (I think, although we didn't stop and go in), and Summit Lake. The road takes you to a parking lot just shy of the summit, so you can hike the final 100ft or so. My group and I certainly felt the altitude up here, but there were also a lot of younger kids who seemed fine! Make sure to bring some warmer clothing, as although it was about 80deg down in Idaho Springs, it was cool enough for us to throw on jackets and pants at the summit. The view at the summit was truly amazing and well worth the white-knuckle drive up!

So awesome

$15 entry fee. Worth every penny. It feels like you're driving on top of the world. Insane views. We saw tons of mountain goats and beautiful bluebirds. Enjoy this! Also, be sure the driver is paying attention at all times. It's a little wild up there.

Road closed 5/17

For some reason, they had the road closed to the summit, even though it was perfectly clear and drivable for the first 3 miles and even had a parking lot up there to park. We walked the road and made it to about 7.5 miles before a blizzard blew in and turned us back around. We were hoping to see some mountain goats but had no luck. We did see a few bighorn sheep. Definitely would be better to wait until it opens and drive up.

Went on a Sunday in mid April. Snow covered trail the entire way, but still doable in tennis shoes. Just be careful. Had 4 kids... 8, 7, 5, 2 (carried her). Easy without the snow, tricky with snow but still very enjoyable. Close to Denver and can hike morning or afternoon.

Beautiful drive, gorgeous views, and lots of wildlife!

This is a beautiful drive in the fall.

Sick views

This drive was the most beautiful, exhilarating experience! Saw lots of big horn sheep and marmot. The leaves were changing, making the views even more incredible. We hiked a bit around summit lake and on the Mt. Goliath trail. Be prepared for 50 + mph winds and cold temps at the top!

Beautiful scenery, but scary drive. It felt and looked like the roads were about 1 3/4 lanes. They were crumbling away on some of the edges. It was pretty a pretty exhilarating drive for sure. Long horn sheep, lots of flowers, beautiful scenery. Quite a temperature drop from bottom to top so bring a jacket. You will want to walk around once you reach the top the summit is 14,264 ft.

One of the most amazing views I've ever seen in my life! The last bit you have to climb up around 200 feet of easy climbing to get to the very top. The altitude may keep you from running to the top. Absolutely gorgeous!

Beautiful views but pretty scary drive. Saw lots of wild life: marmots, bighorn sheep, mountain goats who had quite a few babies with them. Lots of people at the top even though it was a Tuesday

Definitely need to pay attention driving this road. Narrow with scenic views and drastic weather changes on top.

Mind blowing views along the entire drive and then opportunity to climb a little bit to the top is INCREDIBLE!

Drove this road up as far as Summit Lake this past fall (2016). The road was already closed for the season beyond here, although you could walk the rest of the way if you wanted to. Similar to the Pikes Peak road except it's paved!! Nice drive and will do it again some day when I can go all the way up.

epic

Beautiful

Incredibly long if you start from Eco lake. Took us 12 hours to complete. Only downside is the tourists at the top of the summit. Besides that amazing views lots of variety and lots of wildlife!

Incredible!
Best thing I've ever done without having to leave the car. Lots of wildlife: Elk, Mule Deer, Big Horn, Marmots, etc. It was in the 90s in Denver when we left, but it was 41 on top of the mountain. Make sure that you pack some clothes if you plan to get out of the car.

Really hard for a sea level kid like me haha. Amazing mountain, a must do. Being warm clothes for the downhill!!

no parking sign at base of trail.

The easiest way to "climb" a fourteener. Drive to the top and walk five minutes to the peak.

Leave early so you don't have to drive down in the dark and watch out for storms.

Spectacular views! It was kind of windy, but it was neat watching the thunderstorm approaching. Just made it from top to bottom in time before the afternoon Colorado thunderstorm arrived. Definitely something to check out if you plan to be in the area. We really enjoyed this, celebrating our 12th wedding anniversary. To top it off, we got to witness a proposal while we were at the top. Many people brought their own signs with the elevation written on it for their selfie or photo for Facebook.

This is an annual drive for my family. It's a rare event when you can take your kids to the top of a fourteener. The weather is typically always chilly this high up. Be prepared for windy conditions as well.

Once you've driven to the top you can take a short walk up to the summit and truly be on top of the world. Come early morning and late afternoon to see the Mountain Goats.

A large parking area and restrooms are located at the summit base.