The Colorado River Headwaters Byway follows the river out of Grand County

If you want to understand why Grand County’s towns sit where they do, follow the water. A scenic byway traces the young Colorado River as it runs west through the county, past Grand Lake, Granby, and Hot Sulphur Springs, on toward Kremmling.

The river is a natural through-line for the county’s story, and the byway lets you read the landscape from the seat of a car. The towns sit in the river’s corridor, ranch meadows spread across the bottomlands, and Hot Sulphur Springs even takes its name from the warm springs along the river. The river found the easiest path through the mountains, and the road lets you follow it.

Driving the byway, you watch the river change from a narrow mountain stream into a working waterway, and you pass ranches, small towns, and river crossings along the way. It is a kind of history you can see out the window, not just read about.

A scenic byway is still a real mountain road, so plan for weather and the season.

For the route and stops on the Colorado River Headwaters Byway, start with the state scenic byways program; the federal Bureau of Land Management also covers the byway’s western stretch near Kremmling.