U.S. Highway 350 (US 350) is a northeast-southwest
United States highway
The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these hi ...
located entirely within the state of
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 ...
.
Route description
US 350 starts at a junction with
US 160 northeast of
Trinidad, Colorado
Trinidad is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. The population was 8,329 as of the 2020 census. Trinidad lies north of Raton, New Mexico, and s ...
. The highway runs northeast, past the
Perry Stokes Airport and crossing the
Purgatoire River
The Purgatoire River ( es, Río Purgatorio) is a river in southeastern Colorado, United States. The river is also known locally as the Purgatory River or the Picketwire River. ''Purgatoire'' means Purgatory in French. French trappers named the ri ...
. It then continues the rest of its length along a route chosen by the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...
, and close to the Mountain Branch of the
Santa Fe Trail. The highway passes just northeast of the
Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site, then crosses
Comanche National Grassland
Comanche National Grassland is a National Grassland located in southeastern Colorado, United States. It is the sister grassland of Cimarron National Grassland and contains both prairie grasslands and canyons. It is separated into two sections, ...
before a junction with
SH 71 going north.
At
La Junta
La Junta is a home rule municipality in , the county seat of, and the most populous municipality of Otero County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,322 at the 2020 United States Census. La Junta is located on the Arkansas Ri ...
, the highway turns east on 5th Street, then north on Barnes Avenue before ending at a junction with
US 50.
History
US Highway 350 is commonly thought to continue on into Trinidad sharing highway designation with US Highway 160 from where it officially begins, five miles northeast of Trinidad. It is US Highway 160 that carries travelers from Trinidad to the 350/160 junction. At the junction, if proceeding forward (northeast) without any turning movement the highway becomes US 350. Going southeast at this junction where vehicles have to make a turning movement, US 160 continues onward to Kim, CO and Springfield, CO and beyond. The creation of the US 160 bypass known as Kit Carson Trail in the mid 1990s, however, on Trinidad's eastern outskirts links US HWY 160 to I-25, and has helped to more properly define US 350's true commencement at the junction five miles northeast of town.
Major intersections
See also
Related U.S. Routes
*
U.S. Route 50
References
External links
Endpoints of US highway 350
{{US 50
50-3
50-3
3
Transportation in Las Animas County, Colorado
Transportation in Otero County, Colorado