State Highway 149 (SH 149) is a state highway in southwestern

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, 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 wes ...

, United States. SH 149's southern terminus is at

U.S. Highway 160 U.S. Route 160 (US 160) is a 1,465 mile (2,358 km) long east–west United States highway in the Midwestern and Western United States. The western terminus of the route is at US 89 five miles (8 km) west of Tuba City, Arizo ...

(US 160) in South Fork, and the northern terminus is at US 50 west of Gunnison. The entire route is also known as the Silver Thread Colorado Scenic & Historic Byway.

Route description

SH 149 begins in the south at its junction with

US 160 U.S. Route 160 (US 160) is a 1,465 mile (2,358 km) long east–west United States highway in the Midwestern and Western United States. The western terminus of the route is at US 89 five miles (8 km) west of Tuba City, Arizo ...

at South Fork. From there the road winds its way generally northward through the

San Juan Mountains The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt) and figured in the gold and silver mining industry ...

. The first portion of the road parallels the upper Rio Grande as it passes through

Rio Grande National Forest Rio Grande National Forest is a 1.86 million-acre (7,530 km²) U.S. National Forest located in southwestern Colorado. The forest encompasses the San Luis Valley, which is the world's largest agricultural alpine valley, as well as one of the ...

. SH 149 winds through the mountains for before coming to the historic mining town of Creede. From there the road continues its climb into the mountains and eventually turns away from the Rio Grande to cross the Continental Divide at

Spring Creek Pass Spring Creek Pass, elevation , is a mountain pass on the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. The pass is traversed by State Highway 149, and the Continental Divide Trail and Colorado Trail follow the divide and cross the hig ...

at an elevation of . At this point the road passes into

Gunnison National Forest The Gunnison National Forest is a U.S. National Forest covering 1,672,136 acres (2,612.71 sq mi, or 6,766.89 km²) Slumgullion Pass Slumgullion Pass (elevation ) is a mountain pass in southwestern Colorado traversed by State Highway 149 east of Lake City. The north side has the steepest grade of any continuously paved road in Colorado (9%), but the pass does not close often ...

elevated . From there, the highway descends and crosses the

Slumgullion Earthflow The Slumgullion Earthflow in the San Juan Mountains in Hinsdale County, Colorado has been a National Natural Landmark since 1983. It is also a Colorado Natural Area and an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. The earthflow, a slow-moving la ...

before it drops to the town of Lake City, where it begins to parallel Lake Fork, a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the

Gunnison River The Gunnison River is located in western Colorado, United States and is one of the largest tributaries of the Colorado River. Description The river flows east to west and has a drainage area of according to the USGS. The drainage basin of ...

. SH 149 follows Lake Fork down out of the mountains and eventually turns away to the east passing just north of Powderhorn where the road again turns northward. After skirting the southern edge of

Curecanti National Recreation Area Curecanti National Recreation Area(Pronounced (locally) or .) is a National Park Service unit located on the Gunnison River in western Colorado. Established in 1965, Curecanti National Recreation Area is responsible for developing and managing r ...

, the highway crosses the Gunnison River and finally reaches its northern terminus at

US 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

approximately nine miles west of Gunnison. There are no major junctions along its entire length.

History

The route was established in the 1920s and was completely paved by 1977.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{Attached KML 149 Transportation in Rio Grande County, Colorado Transportation in Hinsdale County, Colorado Transportation in Gunnison County, Colorado