• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Uncover Colorado Logo

  • Blog
  • Activities
  • Events
  • Towns
  • Lodging
  • Dining
  • Transport
  • Shop
  • Search
  • Blog
  • Activities
  • Events
  • Towns
  • Lodging
  • Dining
  • Transport
  • Shop
  • Search
Skyline Drive Canon City Colorado
Skyline Drive, Cañon City, Colorado. Photo: Simon Morris

Skyline Drive – Cañon City

FacebookTwitter

Skyline Drive is a narrow 2.6 mile scenic road that follows the top of a razorback ridge overlooking Cañon City, Colorado. It’s located about 9 miles east of the Royal Gorge, Cañon City’s most well-known attraction. It’s a great addition to a trip to this historic town.

The history of Skyline Drive is just as intriguing as its steep uphills and downhills. Built using labor from 60 inmates at the nearby prison, the road was finished in 1905. In its early days, Skyline Drive only allowed horse-drawn buggies and foot traffic, but in 1907 automobiles were allowed on its roads and have predominated ever since.

Skyline Drive Canon City CO
Heading up Skyline Drive.

This gave more and more people access to the panoramic views from atop the ridges of the Hogback Hills. Tourists and photographers came from as far as New York and Paris to take photographs and share in the scenic beauty of the Arkansas River Valley.

A One-Way Road to Wonder in Cañon City

Skyline Drive Canon City CO
The narrow road looks down to Fremont County below.

Today, Skyline Drive remains a staple attraction in Cañon City and you can experience the thrills of this drive for free on your next visit. There are no guardrails keeping you from driving off the side of the road, just sheer cliffs surrounding you as you navigate the intense inclines and declines. There are, however, many places to stop off and take in the incredible scenery as well as photographs. If you’re up for a hike, be sure to check out Old Skyline Drive Trail, which is a short, 1 mile out-and-back trek that takes you even higher atop the razorback ridge and enhances the view by tenfold.

Skyline Drive Canon City CO
No turning back.

As if the scenery alone isn’t enough, there are also paleontological remnants along this historic drive. Keep an eye out for the dinosaur prints just past the entrance, which were discovered along the ridge by a paleontology student in 1999. These prints were made by a family of ankylosauruses, armored dinosaurs that lived during the Cretaceous Period, as they trekked westward through muddy marshlands.

It should be noted that Skyline Drive is not for the faint-of-heart or for those unfamiliar with narrow mountain roads. Be careful navigating the shoulders or attempting to pass other cars. There is a reason that Skyline Drive is one-way, and you cannot change your mind and turn around if you are afraid. But if you’re in the mood for a hair-raising, adrenaline-pumping experience, which offers unreal views of the surrounding scenery, Skyline Drive can’t be beat.

U.S. 50 from Skyline Drive in Canon City
U.S. 50 beneath Skyline Drive.
Skyline Drive Canon City CO Aerial
Aerial view of Cañon City, Colorado.

Details

Address: Skyline Drive, Cañon City, CO 81212

Season: Year round

Roads: 2WD One-Way

Length: 2.6 miles

Cost: Free

Primary Sidebar

Join our Colorado travel community

Enter your email below and grab our free locals' guide and monthly what's up designed to help you live your Colorado life and uncover fun things to do. —and never miss out again.

Colorado Scenic Drives

  • All Activities
  • All Scenic Drives
  • Bear Lake Road
  • Last Dollar Road
  • Old Fall River Road
  • Russell Tutt Scenic Highway
  • Skyline Drive

Footer

Get In Touch

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Write For Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Resources
Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter

Disclosure: Uncover Colorado is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Things To Do

  • Travel Blog
  • Colorado Activities
  • Colorado Events
  • Colorado Towns
  • Colorado Hotels
  • Colorado Restaurants
  • Colorado Transportation
  • Made in Colorado

Visit Mile High Happy Hour for Denver neighborhoods' restaurant happy hours.

Winter Activities

  • Camping
  • Cross Country Skiing
  • Federal Lands
  • Hot Springs
  • Ice Skating
  • Skiing and Snowboarding
  • Snow Tubing
  • State Parks

Vacation like a VIP! Leisurely Lifestyle shares life and travel hacks, as well as cheap luxury travel.

Copyright © 2021 · Uncover Colorado - Vacations, Travel & Tourism | Sitemap | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer