A Winter Drive on the Peak to Peak Scenic and Historic Byway

When my dear friend Rosemary visited us from New York last March--see my last blog post--we drove north from our visit to Red Rocks Amphitheater to Golden, Colorado, and then west on US 6 through Clear Creek Canyon. The canyon road runs parallel to a portion of Clear Creek, famous as the location of the most intense early mining activity during the Colorado Gold Rush of 1859.  When we reached the town of Black Hawk we turned onto the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway that runs 55 miles along the foothills and valleys along the Front Range with views of the Continental Divide. Established in 1918 it is Colorado's oldest scenic byway.

We have driven this scenic byway many times in the past--you can see some of those posts on this link. 

The beautiful views of the Colorado Rocky Mountains along Peak to Peak never cease to take my breath away!

The Peak to Peak Scenic Byway passes through Allenspark, Ward, Nederland, and Rollinsville, in addition to some smaller communities along the way.

Our final destination was at its terminus in Estes Park where we were going to enter Rocky Mountain National Park.

Please click on the photo to enlarge it

We stopped briefly to look at an informational Placard about the Peak to Peak Scenic and Historic Byway.

Soon we approached the town of Allenspark and St. Malo Chapel on the Rock completed in 1936. This small, stone Catholic chapel is open to the public.

 

The Chapel on the Rock is located at Camp St. Malo and the chapel’s official name is St. Catherine of Siena Chapel. The chapel is framed against the majestic Mt. Meeker – 13,911 feet. In 1999 Boulder County designated the chapel an Historic Site.

We stopped to visit the chapel. An interesting fact about the picturesque chapel is that Pope John Paul II prayed at the chapel during his visit to Denver for World Youth Day in 1993; he blessed the chapel afterward. The pope later hiked in the surrounding woods and spent some time at the Saint Malo Retreat Center.

We stopped again for a few moments at this scenic viewpoint of Longs Peak-- at 14,256 feet (4345.22 m) it is the highest mountain peak in Rocky Mountain National Park.

As we approached Estes Park we had a nice view of the famous Stanley Hotel in the distance. A stay in this haunted hotel was the inspiration for Stephen King's novel The Shining. My husband and I stayed in the Stanley for a special anniversary and I think I might have captured a ghost in one of my photos--click here--to see that post.

We finally arrived at Rocky Mountain National Park! It was a windy and cold day but I wanted to show Rosemary one of our favorite places in Colorado. More about our visit in my next blog post.

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