www.jrossvideo.com The highest auto road in the USA - Mount Evans Colorado. It is prettier than Pikes Peak and NO DUST to spoil the tundra. However, most people will find it scarier to drive. Mount Evans is a mountain in the Front Range region of the Rocky Mountains, in Clear Creek County, Colorado. It is one of 54 fourteeners (mountains with peaks over 14,000 feet (4,300 m)) in Colorado, and the closest fourteener to Denver. It is often compared to Pikes Peak - another Front Range fourteener - which it exceeds in elevation by 154 ft (50 m).
The peak is one of the characteristic Front Range peaks, dominating the western skyline of the Great Plains along with Pikes Peak, Longs Peak, and nearby Mount Bierstadt. Mount Evans can be seen from over 100 miles away to the east, and many miles in other directions. Mount Evans dominates the Denver Metropolitan Area skyline and can be seen as far south as Monument Hill at the Douglas-El Paso county line (79 miles (127 km) south) and as far north as Boulder (44 miles (71 km) north), and points east of Strasburg (105 miles (169 km) east). In the early days of Colorado tourism, Mount Evans and Denver were often in competition with Pikes Peak and Colorado Springs.
Neighboring towns: Georgetown, Silver Plume, Idaho Springs, Golden, Brookvale, Highland Park, Evergreen, Conifer
One of the three fourteeners visible from Denver, Mount Evans dominates the mountainous horizon west of the city. Its great sculpted eastern face greets the dawn each day, capturing the morning light. Much of the wilderness lies above timberline, and place names such as Sawtooth, Frozen Lake, and Abyss Lake offer a hint of the rugged glacial terrain that characterizes the area.
Crawling up into the wilderness, but outside the circuitous boundary, a paved road runs to the top of Mount Evans, the highest paved road in America. Abyss Lake, surrounded by fabulous scenery, rests in a rock-rimmed gorge at 12,550 feet in the heart of the wilderness. You can reach it by hiking seven strenuous miles (one way) up a glacier-carved valley.
The area's 14,000 foot peaks and proximity to Denver combine with the summit road to draw large numbers of visitors. Nevertheless, the Mount Evans Wilderness contains notable biological features, harboring not only alpine tundra, but arctic tundra as well. This is one of the few places south of the Arctic Circle, where such tundra is found. It differs from alpine tundra by virtue of its moisture, as it contains countless small pools of water. In contrast, most tundra in Colorado is dry and brittle once uncovered by snow. The Mount Goliath Natural area contains another of the region's unusual features - a prime stand of bristlecone pine. These gnarled elders of the forest often live 1,500 to 2,000 years, growing at infinitesimal rates. The trees' twisted and contorted trunks offer stark evidence of their bitter fight for survival against the elements.
Two species of animals less frequently observed elsewhere have become popular attractions here. A herd of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep live around Mount Evans, and mountain goats are frequently seen from the summit road. The vast expanses of tundra offer visitors numerous opportunities to spy more common critters, including ptarmigan and yellow-bellied marmots.