Alamosa – A new partnership between the Colorado Byways Program and MyScenicDrives.com is offering a new way to explore Los Camnios Antiguios Scenic and Historic byway, along with Colorado’s 26 Scenic and Historic Byways – just in time for the summer season.

MyScenicDrives.com provides detailed information about Colorado’s system of 26 spectacular touring routes – 2,565 miles – throughout the state. MyScenicDrives.com includes features that showcase electrical vehicle charging stations, visitor amenities and a road-trip planner that can be printed or exported to a GPS device. Here is the link for specific information on Los Caminos Antiguios https://www.myscenicdrives.com/drives/colorado/los-caminos-antigous.

Additionally, the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) furnishes a free Bicycling and Scenic Byways map that is available at Colorado Welcome Centers or by mail upon request. CDOT also provides online bicycle route maps at https://www.codot.gov/programs/bikeped/information-for-bicyclists/colorado-bicycling-maps.  The Colorado Byways program web site includes a resources page with additional tourism materials, and wayfinding information.

“We encourage visitors and residents alike to take advantage of these free resources and explore Los Caminos Antiguios Scenic and Historic Byway, along with Colorado’s other byways,” said Colorado Scenic Byways coordinator Lenore Bates. “Whether you are an outdoor enthusiast, history buff, nature lover, tourist or conservationist, Colorado’s byways provide a “wow” factor that can’t be denied.”

Los Caminos Antiguios is located within Alamosa, Costilla, and Conejos Counties and provides access to The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, the historic town of San Luis, Stations of the Cross Shrine, the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, Colorado’s oldest church in Conejos, and many other natural and historic sites.

The Colorado byways are located in 48 of Colorado’s 65 counties and provide access to eight National Forests and two National Grasslands; eight National Monuments; two National Historic Sites; two National Heritage Areas; two National Wildlife Refuges; two National Recreation Areas; 13 National Recreation Trails; and four National Parks—Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde (a World Heritage Site) and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Twenty-three state parks are located on a Colorado Byway, and byways connect hundreds of thousands of acres of Forest Service, BLM lands and state wildlife areas. The CDOT-administered program is widely recognized as the strongest in the nation with 11 byways awarded the national designation of America’s Byways®, more than any another state.

In 2014, 3,010,000 visitors to Colorado accessed the state’s well-known scenic beauty, historical sites and recreational areas through “touring trips,” the second-highest activity after “outdoor trips” (3,220,000) among Colorado’s “core ‘marketable’ overnight travel segments.” (Marketable trips are those most subject to influence by marketing and promotion.) Two-thirds of touring travelers come from outside Colorado.

“The tourism generated by Colorado’s byways is often the key supporting financial source to many of our historic designated sites as well as to the local businesses along the byways,” said Bates. “Exploring the byways is a great way to support small businesses and communities along the byways.”

For more information about Colorado’s Scenic and Historic Byways, visit www.ColoradoByways.org.

For more information about Los Caminos Antiguios Scenic and Historic Byway request a brochure from the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area info@sdcnha.org

ABOUT COLORADO’S SCENIC AND HISTORIC BYWAYS PROGRAM

Los Caminos Antinguios Scenic and Historic Byway is overseen by the Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area and is a partnership with the Colorado Scenic and Historic Byways program. This statewide partnership is intended to provide recreational, educational and economic benefits to Coloradans and visitors. This system of outstanding tourism routes in Colorado affords the traveler interpretation and identification of key points of interest and services while providing for the protection of significant resources. Scenic and Historic Byways are nominated for their exceptional scenic, historic, cultural, recreational and natural features.