Frontier Pathways Scenic and Historic Byway

Frontier Pathways Scenic and Historic Byway is a 103-mile National Scenic Byway in south-central Colorado, tracing a wishbone-shaped route between Pueblo, Westcliffe, and Colorado City. From its western end in Westcliffe, the byway follows State Highway 96 east through Silver Cliff and into the Wet Mountains, climbing past Hardscrabble Mountain roughly 16 miles out before splitting onto State Highway 165 toward its southern and eastern legs. Both a federally designated National Scenic Byway and a Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway, the route mixes high mountain forest in the Wet Mountains with the shortgrass plains around Pueblo, crossing terrain that shaped historic wagon routes between the mountains and the frontier settlements of the plains. Because the road forms a wishbone rather than a straight line, drivers backtrack about 16 miles near the split to cover both legs, making it more of a full-day loop than a quick point-to-point drive. The mix of designations reflects both the scenery in the Wet Mountains stretch and the historic wagon-road corridors the byway preserves on the plains side.

• Pueblo, Westcliffe, Colorado City
• 103 miles (wishbone route)
• National Scenic Byway
• SH-96 / SH-165
• Wet Mountains
• Custer & Pueblo counties

Designated for its scenic qualities