Pawnee Pioneer Trails Scenic Byway

Pawnee Pioneer Trails is a 128-mile Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway across the state's northeastern plains, centered on the Pawnee Buttes. The route begins in Ault, just north of Greeley, and follows Highway 14 east through Briggsdale into the Pawnee National Grassland, before leaving the highway to wind north to the small town of Grover and out to the buttes themselves. Pawnee Buttes rise abruptly out of the surrounding shortgrass prairie, twin sandstone formations that have eroded into landmarks visible for miles across the flat Colorado Piedmont. From there the byway turns south, passing through the tiny community of Raymer before following Highway 52 into Fort Morgan on the South Platte River. At about three hours to drive in full, it's a slow, open-country route through some of Colorado's least-visited public grassland, better suited to birdwatchers and anyone drawn to genuinely empty high-plains scenery than to a fast point-to-point trip.

• Ault to Fort Morgan
• 128 miles
• Pawnee Buttes
• Pawnee National Grassland
• Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway
• Colorado Piedmont