Unaweep-Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway
Unaweep-Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway is a State Scenic Byway in Colorado. Within Colorado it covers roughly 240 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Unaweep-Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Colorado's Unaweep-Tabeguache Byway runs 133 miles on Highways 141 and 145 south of Grand Junction through canyon country of the Colorado Plateau. It links Whitewater to Placerville by way of Gateway, Naturita, Redvale, and Norwood, crossing Unaweep Canyon, one of the only canyons in the world known to drain out both ends -- its Ute name means roughly 'canyon with two mouths.' Historical markers trace the 1776 Dominguez-Escalante expedition's search for a route between Spanish missions in New Mexico and California, and the byway passes the Hanging Flume, a crumbling wooden trestle once used to carry water to gold and uranium mining operations. Ore processed at nearby Uravan supplied uranium for the first atomic bombs during World War II. Along the route, exposed rock layers hundreds of millions of years old reveal dinosaur and early-amphibian fossils, making this as much a geology drive as a historic one. It's officially designated a Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway.
- Unaweep Canyon
- Hanging Flume
- Uravan uranium mining
- 133 miles
- Dominguez-Escalante expedition
- Colorado Plateau geology
- Gateway to Placerville
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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.
Where to Stay along Unaweep-Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway
No campgrounds are listed close to Unaweep-Tabeguache Scenic and Historic Byway yet, but there are rooms near the route.
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