Gold Belt Tour
Length: 131 miles
Driving time: 5 hours
In the early 1890s, the mining towns in the shadow of Pikes Peak enjoyed the greatest gold boom the state has ever known. This 131-mile circuit tours historic Cripple Creek, Florence, McCourt, Adelaide, Wilbur, Victor, and other former gold camps. The roads are narrow and rugged in places - one stretch of the Shelf Road clings to a canyon wall 200 feet above the stream bed - but the payoff comes in the outstanding scenery: majestic Pikes Peak, the unspoiled Beaver Creek Wilderness Study Area, spectacular Royal Gorge, and miles of high-country beauty. Two significant fossil areas—Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument and the Garden Park Dinosaur Fossil Area—lie along the route.
The Gold Belt Tour was designated by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation as a National Scenic Byway in 2000. It is one of eleven America’s Byways® designated in Colorado.
Features
- MyScenicDrives Road Trip Map
- Royal Gorge Bridge
- Mueller State Park
- Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
- Designated a National Scenic Byway
- Kids: Junior Paleontologist Ages 5-12
- Garden Park Fossil Area
Local Chamber(s) of Commerce
Byways Corridor Management Plan
- Colorado Scenic Byways Economic Development Strategies (Gold Belt, Collegiate Peaks, Frontier Pathways) 2015
- Gold Belt Tour Scenic Byway Partnership Plan
- Gold Belt Tour Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan 2018
- Geology of the Gold Belt Byway Junior Explorer Book
Special Considerations
- 4WD recommended on Upper Shelf
- No vehicles over 25 feet long on Phantom Canyon Road
