Mt. Blue Sky Scenic Byway — Local services in Idaho Springs

We thought driving the Mt. Evans Scenic Byway would be a great day trip but found out very quickly that it was somewhat of a disappointment. The entrance fee is $15 and by the condition of the road it’s clear that the US Forest Sevice is surely misappropriating the funding. The drive up was stressful due to inexperienced drivers, mostly made up of midwesterners who have no clue how to traverse normal flatland highways much less a high alpine road. Then there were the super-courteous and always pleasant pedal bikers riding in the middle of a road barely big enough for normal cars to fit on. Not only do these Schwinn enthusiasts pick the worst spot to ride, such as a 14,000 foot mountain with a 12 foot wide road, they’re completely unwilling to pull over and let you pass. Once you’ve passed the idiots from Texas and Missouri in their Hybrids and the guy in bicycle panties holding up the entire road you finally reach the summit. Now, this is the part where you should feel accomplished and eager to see the breathtaking views from the highest paved road in North America, right? Nope, the only thing awaiting you is an overflowing parking lot the size of a postage stamp that’s chock-full of tourists and their snot-nosed obnoxious children. As you’re walking around you will feel blessed to hear the lovely sound of people from all over the Midwest breathing heavily through their mouths and sweating profusely from the strenuous 20 yard walk from their car to the Mt. Evans summit sign. As you’re walking over plastic water bottles, cans of chewing tobacco and beer cans you may see a Marmot or Pika in their natural habitat being chased off by a guy wearing a NorthFace jacket who is taking a picture of his girlfriend on a boulder for her Instagram page. Once you’ve traversed through the crowd of Asians and their 19 foot long camera lenses you can get back in your car and follow a guy from the Oklahoma Panhandle try to drive his minivan down a mountain. On the way back down you’ll see herds of Rocky Mountain Goats grazing, but get a picture of these beautiful animals while you can because there will be a guy wearing a Columbia vest who just has to get as close as humanly possible to one of these goats despite having read the 32,982 signs warning tourists to stay as far away as possible. I advise anyone contemplating this drive to really do some research and find a date and time that doesn’t have a high tourist attendance, possibly early Fall...

The soon to be named Mt Blue Sky was beautiful! 🥰

So much wildlife, we saw plenty of Bighorn Sheep and their spring time babies! They were not afraid of the cars, but as we learned at one of interpretation signs the sheep have short seasons to breed offspring and get their summer bites in before winter, so future visitors should take care to not disturb the wildlife and stay in the car. We also caught glimpses of many cute marmots, and even heard the “meep” of a mountain pika.

Trails are still snowy as of June! Bring snow gear if planning on doing a longer mountain venture. Hats. Mittens. Spikes. Water.

*The Summit Lake road was horrendously malformed. The pavement was warped and a bit contentious to drive on.

**Everything about the trip was awesome…except the top of the mountain was closed. We were a bit disappointed especially because everything online indicated the road up to the summit was open…

We were informed at the top by a Park Ranger that the road was closed, so we did have a chance to turn around, but we did pre-pay. And it was an awesome experience regardless.

*Pro-tip: Head down to Tommyknocker Brewery and The Frothy Cup down in Idaho Springs once you come down...

Majestic! We visited Summer 2023, and the snow was coming down, y'all hear me?! Got to 8k ft and saw people fishing at a lake. A lake at that elevation threw us for a loop! It was a scenic site to experience. We drove up a little further in a massive pick-up and stopped at 15k ft in elevation. That was IT for me. My nerves were done with winding turns, slippery roads, and snow-capped trees. And there was still more road to go! We thought we'd get in a leisure hike at that entrance, but we found out we weren't properly prepared for a Colorado hike 😆. To the diner next door, it was. There were large signs that read you your rights, expectations, and damn near your last will and testament if you weren't pre-registered and fit or prepared for the terrain 🤭😂. We'll be ready next time, though. Maybe. Beautiful,...