Shrine Pass Road

Before the interstate carved its trench through Vail Pass, Shrine Pass Road was the route — the main connection between Denver and Glenwood Springs, a narrow dirt road crossing the Sawatch range. That history is still visible in how the road moves: 10.8 miles from Vail Pass to the small town of Red Cliff, unpaved, open to hikers, mountain bikers, and snowmobilers depending on the season. The pass takes its name from Mount of the Holy Cross, whose cross-shaped snowfield drew religious pilgrims in the 1920s. That view is still there.