Grand Mesa Scenic Byway
Sixty-three miles of paved state highway from I-70 up the Plateau Creek canyon and across the top of the Grand Mesa to Cedaredge — the largest flat-top mountain in the world, with more than 300 stream-fed lakes on it.
Does Grand Mesa Scenic Byway close in winter?
Open all year
CO 65 is a paved state highway, not a gated park road — there is no spring opening date on this one.
Storms shut it, the way storms shut any high state highway. The seasonal thing on the mesa is the visitor center, which runs from Memorial Day weekend to the last Sunday in September.
Conditions change by the hour at 11,000 feet on Grand Mesa — check CDOT's status page before you drive. This page is trip-planning history, not road status.
The road itself
Listed on the federal roster as the Grand Mesa Scenic and Historic Byway, one of thirteen America's Byways in Colorado.
The drive
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Interstate 70 at Mesa
The north end, where the climb up Plateau Creek canyon begins.
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The top of the mesa 11,000 ft
Evergreen forest and open meadow at about 11,000 feet.
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Lands End Overlook
Off the byway on Lands End Road, out at the western rim.
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Grand Mesa Visitor Center
Open Memorial Day weekend until the last Sunday in September.
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Cedaredge
The south end, down off the mesa.
What's on the road
- More than 300 stream-fed lakes on top, full of rainbow, cutthroat and brook trout.
- Lands End Overlook is the view — the whole valley below, from the western rim of the mesa.
- Services between Cedaredge and Mesa are limited. Fuel and food are at the two ends, not on the mesa.
- In winter the mesa is snowshoe, ski and snowmobile country, which is a large part of why the highway is kept open.
Nearby: San Juan Skyway
Grand Mesa Scenic Byway is one of the roads on our scenic byway and seasonal road index — every road here, with its designation, length and winter in one table.
Grand Mesa Scenic Byway: closing and opening questions
- Does Grand Mesa Scenic Byway close in winter?
- CO 65 is a paved state highway, not a gated park road — there is no spring opening date on this one.
- What closes Grand Mesa Scenic Byway?
- Storms shut it, the way storms shut any high state highway. The seasonal thing on the mesa is the visitor center, which runs from Memorial Day weekend to the last Sunday in September.
- Is Grand Mesa Scenic Byway open right now?
- This page is the road, not its condition this morning. Colorado Department of Transportation publishes the current state of Grand Mesa Scenic Byway, and that is the one to check before you drive.
Watching a spring trip? The opening watch board follows every road we keep a record for at once.