Interstate 70 East in Colorado (Scenic Route)


This is from Kevin Weed in August 2018 of a trip from Colorado to Ohio on I70. I have been on this freeway from Denver to Dayton, Ohio so I can comment on it. I have been on US50 in Nevada so I have been on what could have been I70. This is 111 photos of I70 in Colorado. From Eric: I have not been on this part of I70 though I would love to do this ride myself. It is hard to get from where I live to this section of I70. I hope to do US6 across Nevada soon. Also this section up to Denver was not originally planned to be I70 at all.

I-70 in Colorado really covers three very different natural environments
almost splitting the state into thirds vertically. The western slope where
Grand Junction is, is very much like Utah and Arizona in some respects as
it seems to be very dry and arid and their are a lot of buttes and mesas.
The middle third straddles the continental divide and is all rocky
mountains, and the eastern third is very much part of the great plains. The
stretch from Grand Junction to Denver is some of the most scenic highway
driving you can do.

The Glenwood Canyon portion of 70 was one of the last portions of highway
to be completed in the interstate highway system when it was finished in
1992, and it was considered quite the engineering feat at the time.

[I70 East]

[I70 East]

Along the 12 mile stretch of Glenwood Canyon there are 40 bridges and
viaducts, three tunnels and miles of retaining wall. When it was built
there was a lot of work put into leaving as little a footprint in the
canyon as possible, so as to preserve as much of the beauty of the canyon
as possible.

[I70 East]

Mile 125. While Hanging Lake is technically a rest stop, it's more so a
natural tourist attraction and it's only accessible going east. It's a very
scenic and picturesque lake that requires a somewhat difficult hike from
the actual rest area.

[I70 East]


I70 East in Colorado
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