State Highway 103 (SH 103) in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

state of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

runs from

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...

(I-70),

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...

(US 6) and

US 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes wh ...

Idaho Springs The City of Idaho Springs is the Statutory City that is the most populous municipality in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. Idaho Springs is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 ...

to county roads 151 and 103 at Squaw Pass. The 13 miles (19 km) from Idaho Springs to SH 5 forms about half of the

Mount Evans Scenic Byway The Mount Evans Scenic Byway is a National Forest Scenic Byway and Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway located in Clear Creek and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. The byway ascends to of elevation near the summit of Mount Evans, ma ...

Route description

East of where the route begins at County Road 151, the highway is not marked by CDOT, where it continues as Squaw Pass Road that descends toward

Evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

. Near Squaw Pass, the highway heads west along the upper end of Echo Mountain Ski Area. The highway then reaches an elevation of 10,000 feet at

Echo Lake Park Echo Lake Park is a park located along the Mount Evans Scenic Byway about west of Denver, Colorado. The park provides a stone shelter with picnic tables and barbecue grills on one end of the lake, and the 1926 Echo Lake Lodge (gift shop and res ...

, where it meets SH 5. At this point, both SH 103 and SH 5 forms the Mount Evans Scenic Byway, which is the highest paved road in North America. The route then descends in elevation, heading northeast along the Chicago Creek, then enters

after crossing Clear Creek. SH 103 terminates at Interstate 70 at a diamond interchange and the road continues as 13th Avenue through the neighborhood.

History

The route was established in 1923, where it began at

US 285 U.S. Route 285 is a north–south United States highway, running 846 miles (1,362 km) through the states of Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. The highway's southern terminus is in Sanderson, Texas at an intersection with U.S. Route 90. US ...

and traversed to Idaho Springs. The segment east of Squaw Pass was renumbered in 1954, and the route was entirely paved by 1956.

Gallery

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML
Colorado Routes 100-119
103 Transportation in Clear Creek County, Colorado