Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway
The highest paved road in North America, topping out at 14,130 feet on the mountain long known as Mount Evans. CDOT aims for Memorial Day weekend each year, and the weather gets the final say.
This is the road most people still call the Mount Evans Scenic Byway: the peak was renamed Mount Blue Sky on 15 September 2023, when the U.S. Board on Geographic Names voted the change for federal use effective immediately, and the byway took the new name with it — CDOT's own byway page is still filed under the old one. U.S. Department of the Interior: Board on Geographic Names completes renaming of Mount Evans (15 September 2023)
This year
Live plow-season reports load here. For today's conditions, go straight to CDOT's status page.
Conditions change by the hour at 14,130 feet — check CDOT's status page before you drive.
The road itself
Colorado's own program, not the federal roster — the state lists it under its former name, the Mount Evans byway.
The drive
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Idaho Springs
The west end, off I-70.
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Echo Lake
Where CO 5 turns uphill and the eastern arm heads for Bergen Park.
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Summit Lake
The last stop before the summit switchbacks.
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Mount Blue Sky Summit 14,130 ft
The highest paved road in North America.
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Bergen Park
The east end, reached from Echo Lake by Clear Creek County Road 103 and Jefferson County Road 66.
What's on the road
- Above timberline the road runs through hardy wildflowers, lichens and grasses, with pikas, marmots and mountain goats on the rocks — Colorado's best-known place to see bighorn sheep.
- The state warns the weather is volatile: wind, rain, lightning, snow and hail are possible on any day of the year.
- Vehicles over 30 feet long are not recommended on CO 5 — the Mount Evans Road is steep, narrow and winding.
- Vehicle entry needs a reservation, booked through recreation.gov.
Nearby: Guanella Pass · Pikes Peak Highway · Lariat Loop
Mount Blue Sky 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.
Where these facts come from
- CDOT Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways: Mount Blue Sky
- FHWA: America's Byways, the designated roster
Last checked August 25, 2026.
The record
Usually opens Memorial Day weekend, weather permitting; the last miles to the summit can lag into June.
We're still putting this road's year-by-year record together from CDOT archives — it will appear here as it's confirmed. In the meantime, CDOT's page has current conditions.
When does Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway close?
The summit closes after Labor Day; the road to Summit Lake follows as the snow arrives. The winter closure covers the summit road above Echo Lake.
We don't have this road's year-by-year closing dates yet — they'll appear here as CDOT's notices are worked through. Until then, CDOT's own page has the state of the gate.
Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway: opening and closing questions
- When does Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway close for the winter?
- The summit closes after Labor Day; the road to Summit Lake follows as the snow arrives. The winter closure covers the summit road above Echo Lake.
- Can you drive Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway in winter?
- No. The summit road above Echo Lake is gated once the season ends, and it stays shut until spring plowing gets through. CDOT posts the gate's current state.
- Is Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway open right now?
- This page is the season record, not the road's condition this morning. Colorado Department of Transportation publishes today's state of the road, and that is the one to check before you drive — conditions turn over in hours at this elevation.
- When does Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway open again?
- Usually opens Memorial Day weekend, weather permitting; the last miles to the summit can lag into June.