Colorado State Highway 5 (SH 5) is a state highway 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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 ...

that is the highest paved road in North America with its upper terminus at elevation near the

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

Mount Evans Mount Evans is the highest peak in the Mount Evans Wilderness in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent 14,271-foot (4,350 m) fourteener is located southwest by south ( bearing 214°) of Idaho Springs in Clear C ...

and its lower terminus at elevation at near Echo Lake.

Route description

SH 5 is short, slightly less than . It passes through the

Mount Evans Wilderness The Mount Evans Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area in Arapaho National Forest and Pike National Forest about west of Denver, Colorado. The wilderness area is named after Mount Evans. History The first efforts to protect the Mount Evans area inv ...

. This particular

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

is quite unusual in that it does not pass through any cities, towns, or unincorporated communities. The route is entirely contained within

Clear Creek County Clear Creek County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,397. The county seat is Georgetown. Clear Creek County is part of the Denver metropolitan area. History Clear Creek County wa ...

. This highway forms 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 ...

, running from the summit of

to the junction with SH 103 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 ...

, about south of

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 ...

, the nearest municipality to SH 5. Because of its mountainous route, SH 5 is closed seasonally when snow clearance becomes excessively difficult, usually from

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

. During the warmer months the road is open 24 hours a day. A toll (or "park fee") is charged, though technically the toll is only necessary for the use of the parking lot at the summit between 8 A.M. and 6:30 P.M. As a state highway, the road is open to the public and free to traverse out and back. left, 750px, State Highway 5 from summit of Mount Evans

History

SH 5's current routing up to Mount Evans was originally a part of SH 103; however, it was renumbered as SH 5 by year 1955.

Major intersections

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:State Highway 005

005 ''005'' is a 1981 arcade game by Sega. They advertised it as the first of their RasterScan Convert-a-Game series, designed so that it could be changed into another game in minutes "at a substantial savings". It is one of the first examples of a ...

Transportation in Clear Creek County, Colorado