South Platte River Trail
South Platte River Trail is a State Scenic Byway in Colorado. Within Colorado it covers roughly 18 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along South Platte River Trail with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
South Platte River Trail is a 19-mile Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway in the state's far northeastern corner, linking Julesburg and Ovid. It follows the South Platte River through Sedgwick County. Designated in 1991, it's the shortest of Colorado's 26 scenic and historic byways, drivable start to finish in about half an hour along a loop of County Road 28 and US Highway 138. What the route lacks in length it makes up in layered history: markers along the way point to the site of 19th-century Fort Sedgwick, Colorado's only Pony Express home station, an original Transcontinental Telegraph line, and a stretch of the first Transcontinental Railroad, all clustered along this short piece of river valley. Because northeastern Colorado sees relatively few visitors compared to the mountains, the byway offers an uncrowded look at the state's plains history, best paired with a stop at one of the small local museums in Julesburg that fill in the detail behind the roadside markers.
- Julesburg to Ovid
- 19 miles
- designated 1991
- Fort Sedgwick
- Colorado's only Pony Express home station
- Transcontinental Railroad & Telegraph history
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Places to stop along South Platte River Trail
Colorado Welcome Center at Julesburg
A state welcome center at the byway's start, stocked with maps and brochures for the whole state.
WebsiteFort Sedgwick Museum and Depot Museum
Two small museums on Julesburg's history as a Pony Express station, frontier fort, and Union Pacific railroad town.
WebsiteHippodrome Arts Centre
A 1919 movie theater in Julesburg, still showing films and hosting concerts.
Website
Where to Stay along South Platte River Trail
No campgrounds are listed close to South Platte River Trail yet, but there are rooms near the route.
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What is a State Scenic Byway?
State Scenic Byways are roads a state has formally recognized for their scenic, natural, historic or cultural value — each state's own curated collection of drives worth taking slowly.