Alpine Loop National Back Country Byway

Alpine Loop National Back Country Byway
Alpine Loop National Back Country Byway
Highway system
	Colorado State Highways Interstate; US; State; Scenic;

The Alpine Loop National Back Country Byway is located northeast of Silverton, Colorado in San Juan and Hinsdale Counties. The route is circular, running from the ghost town of Animas Forks to Lake City and return. The Byway combines crossings of and with high country scenery that features river meadows, alpine tundra, and ghost towns.

While the meadows and tundra are accessible to ordinary passenger vehicles, a high-clearance 4-wheel drive vehicle is required to travel the entire route.

"Wilderness along the Alpine Loop in Colorado". (Wildhorse Peak on the left)

Route description[]

The Alpine Loop is generally considered to begin and end at Lake City. From there the route commonly followed is west over Cinnamon Pass to Animas Forks, and then returning east over Engineer Pass back to Lake City. This clockwise circuit generally puts the vehicle on the inside "lane" of the mountainous portions (but moot because almost all is single track) with the driver on the outside, providing a better view of the relative position of the vehicle and the outer edge of the road at the top of the drop-off. ^[1]

Major intersections[]

County	Location	mi	km	Destinations	Notes
Hinsdale	Lake City	0.00	0.00	SH 149 north	Zero milepost
				FH 14
				SH 149 south	Becomes FH 30 west


				Camp Redcloud
				Castle Lakes Campground

				FH 35

				west	Becomes FH 5 west
San Juan				south	Becomes FH 2 north


				west	Becomes an unmarked road
Hinsdale				south	Becomes FH 21 north
				north	Becomes FH 20X east
				west	Becomes FH 20 east


				SH 149
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Alpine Loop gallery[]

Along the road to Engineer pass
Abandoned building in Animas Forks, on the Alpine Loop
Capitol City ghost town
California Gulch Road, near Animas Forks
Signs at the start of the road in Lake City

References[]

^ "The Alpine Loop" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2015.

External links[]

BLM Alpine Loop website

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[Colorado_The_Alpine_Loop_(brochure)-1] "The Alpine Loop" (PDF). United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 June 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2015.

[1]