U.S. Route 285 in Colorado

U.S. Route 285
Route information
Maintained by CDOT
Major junctions
South end	US 285 at the New Mexico state line
	US 160 in Monte Vista US 50 in Poncha Springs US 24 in Johnson Village US 85 in Sheridan
North end	I-25 / US 87 / SH 30 in Denver
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Special Divided Replaced Colorado State Highways Interstate U.S. State Scenic

U.S. Route 285 (US 285) is the section north-south highway in Colorado that starts at the New Mexico state line and ends at I-25, US 87, and SH 30 in Denver.

Route description

View of South Park along U.S. Highway 285 looking east toward the Front Range

Heading north from the Colorado border, US 285 passes through the main part of the San Luis Valley, eventually reaching Alamosa. As the highway heads north, it begins to ascend to the northern end of the valley and eventually climbs over Poncha Pass, elevation 9,012 feet (2,747 m), and drops sharply down the other side into the Arkansas River Valley.

The highway brushes Salida and follows the Arkansas River north up the valley, then takes a sharp eastward turn just before the small town of Buena Vista. 285 then climbs over Trout Creek Pass, elevation 9,346 feet (2,849 m), and enters the high-altitude South Park basin.

U.S. 285 entering Saguache County from the north

A few miles north, the highway passes through Fairplay and the historic South Park City site, then reaches its highest elevation: 10,051 feet (3,064 m), at the summit of Red Hill Pass. US 285 then leaves the South Park basin and climbs over Kenosha Pass, elevation 10,001 feet (3,048 m), and skirts the south side of the Mount Evans massif as it descends its way through the foothills range towards Denver.

As the highway leaves the Rocky Mountains and reaches Denver's southwest suburbs, it becomes Hampden Avenue, an important artery in the Denver metro area, then reaches its northern terminus at I-25.

On March 14, 2008 both houses of the Colorado legislature, in a unanimous vote, named the section between Kenosha Pass and C-470 the Ralph Carr Memorial Highway.^[1][2]

History

The short segment between US 50 at Salida and US 24 at Buena Vista closely parallels the original U.S. Route 650,^[3] which was designated in 1926, but eliminated in 1936 when US 285 was commissioned along its present extent from Sanderson to Denver, mostly replacing state-numbered highways.

Between Bailey and Como, US 285 mostly follows the route of the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad, part of the original narrow gauge transcontinental railroad.

Junction list

County	Location	mi[4]	km	Destinations	Notes
Conejos	​	0.0	0.0	US 285 south	Continuation into New Mexico
	Antonito	5.2	8.4	SH 17 south – Paisaje, Mogote	South end of SH 17 concurrency
	Romeo	12.707	20.450	SH 142 east – Manassa, San Acacio
	La Jara	19.817	31.892	SH 136 east – Sanford
		20.418	32.860	SH 15 north – Capulin, Monte Vista
Alamosa	Estrella	26.829	43.177	SH 368 west
	Henry	31.257	50.303	SH 370 west – Waverly
	Alamosa	34.102	54.882	US 160 east / SH 17 north – Blanca, Fort Garland, Hooper, Moffat	North end of SH 17 concurrency; south end of US 160 concurrency
Rio Grande	Monte Vista	51.159	82.332	US 160 west / SH 15 south – Del Norte, Gerrard, South Fork, Capulin, La Jara	South end of US 160 concurrency
Saguache	Center	62.904	101.234	SH 112 – Del Norte, Hooper
	Saguache	86.290	138.870	SH 114 west – Parlin
	Villa Grove	100.518	161.768	SH 17 south – Moffat, Hooper
Chaffee	Poncha Springs	126.480	203.550	US 50 east – Salida, Cleora, Wellsville, Howard	South end of US 50 concurrency
		126.853	204.150	US 50 west – Maysville, Monarch, Sargents, Parlin	North end of US 50 concurrency
	​	133.883	215.464	SH 291 east – Salida
	Johnson Village	148.065	238.288	US 24 west – Buena Vista	South end of US 24 concurrency
Park	​	161.789	260.374	US 24 east – Hartsel	North end of US 24 concurrency
	Fairplay	181.971	292.854	SH 9 south – Garo, Hartsel	South end of SH 9 concurrency
		182.989	294.492	SH 9 north – Alma Junction, Blue River	North end of SH 9 concurrency
No major junctions for miles; highway travels between Pike National Forest and Mount Evans
Jefferson	Pine Junction Area	231.000	371.758	South Elk Creek Road (Shaffers Crossing)	Interchange
	Pleasant Park Corridor	235.316	378.704	Kennedy Gulch Road / South Foxton Road	Interchange
		235.945	379.717	Kitty Drive / Pleasant Park Road	Interchange
	Aspen Park	237.062	381.514	Main Street / Light Lane	Interchange
		237.794	382.692	Conifer Road / Meyer Parkway	Interchange
	Morrison	238.877	384.435	South Turkey Creek Road	Interchange
	Homestead	244.121	392.875	North Turkey Creek Road	Interchange
	​	248.443	399.830	SH 8 north – Morrison	Interchange; south end of freeway
	​	250.082	402.468	SH 470 – Morrison, Lone Tree	C-470 Exits 5A & 5B
	Lakewood	252.052	405.638	South Simms Street
		253.512	407.988	SH 391 north (South Kipling Street)
		255.034	410.437	SH 121 (South Wadsworth Boulevard)
City and County of Denver		256.547	412.872	SH 95 north (South Sheridan Boulevard)	Interchange; north end of freeway
Arapahoe	Sheridan	258.063	415.312	SH 88 (South Federal Boulevard)	Interchange
		259.326	417.345	US 85 (South Santa Fe Drive)	Interchange
	Englewood	260.167	418.698	South Broadway	Interchange
		261.716	421.191	SH 177 – Cherry Hills Village, Greenwood Village, Southglenn
Arapahoe–Denver county line	Englewood–Denver line	262.688	422.755	SH 2 north – Commerce City
City and County of Denver		262.688	422.755	I-25 / US 87 / SH 30 – Santa Fe	Eastern terminus of US 285
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

U.S. Route 285
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