State Highway 9 (SH 9) in the U.S. 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 the ...

is a

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 ...

through central Colorado. SH 9's southern terminus is at U.S. Route 50 (US 50) near Cañon City, and the northern terminus is at US 40 in Kremmling. SH 9 is part of the

Gold Belt Byway The Gold Belt Tour Scenic and Historic Byway is a National Scenic Byway, a Back Country Byway, and a Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway located in Fremont and Teller counties, Colorado, USA. The byway is named for the Gold Belt mining region. ...

from US 50 to High Park Road and the Colorado River Headwaters National Scenic Byway from US 40 to Trough Road.

Route description

Colorado State Highway 9 near Hoosier Pass, July 2016

State Highway 9 starts at a junction with US 50 west of Cañon City. It heads northwest, following Currant Creek most of the way to

Currant Creek Pass Currant Creek Pass elevation is a mountain pass in the Front Range of central Colorado in the United States. The pass is a boundary between the Arkansas River basin and the Platte River The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Ne ...

where it enters an open area known as

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand ...

. The south fork of the South Platte is crossed as the highway enters

Hartsel Hartsel is a census-designated place (CDP) and post office in and governed by Park County, Colorado United States. The Hartsel post office has the ZIP Code 80449. At the United States Census 2010, the population of the 80449 ZIP Code Tabulatio ...

and a junction with US 24. SH 9 follows US 24 west for , then splits off to head northwest again. Just south of

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, it joins northbound US 285. At Fairplay SH 9 leaves US 285 to head northwest, following the middle fork of the South Platte most of the way to Hoosier Pass where it crosses the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not c ...

above sea level. Switchbacks drop the highway to the Blue River which it follows north through Breckenridge to

Dillon Reservoir Dillon Reservoir, sometimes referred to as Lake Dillon, is a large fresh water reservoir located in Summit County, Colorado, United States, south of I-70 and bordered by the towns of Frisco, Silverthorne, and Dillon. It is a reservoir for the ...

. The highway goes around the west side of the reservoir, through Frisco and joins I 70 as it heads northeast. At Silverthorne, SH 9 leaves I 70 to continue northwest alongside the Blue River. SH 9 crosses the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

just before its termination at a junction with US 40 in Kremmling. In 2016, the state completed a

wildlife crossing Wildlife crossings are structures that allow animals to cross human-made barriers safely. Wildlife crossings may include underpass tunnels or wildlife tunnels, viaducts, and overpasses or green bridges (mainly for large or herd-type animals); a ...

project to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions between Green Mountain Reservoir and Kremmling, including 2 wildlife overpasses and 5 underpasses; the state also widened the road and shoulders.

Major intersections

References

External links

Colorado Highways
link to State Highway 9 {{DEFAULTSORT:Colorado State Highway 009 Transportation in Park County, Colorado Transportation in Fremont County, Colorado Transportation in Grand County, Colorado Transportation in Summit County, Colorado 009