State Highway 9 (SH 9) in the
U.S. state of
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
is a
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
through central Colorado. SH 9's southern terminus is at
U.S. Route 50 (US 50) near
Cañon City, and the northern terminus is at
US 40 in
Kremmling. SH 9 is part of the
Gold Belt Byway
The Gold Belt Tour Scenic and Historic Byway is a National Scenic Byway, a Back Country Byway, and a Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway located in Fremont and Teller counties, Colorado, USA. The byway is named for the Gold Belt mining region. ...
from US 50 to High Park Road and the
Colorado River Headwaters National Scenic Byway from US 40 to Trough Road.
Route description
State Highway 9 starts at a junction with US 50 west of
Cañon City. It heads northwest, following Currant Creek most of the way to
Currant Creek Pass
Currant Creek Pass elevation is a mountain pass in the Front Range of central Colorado in the United States. The pass is a boundary between the Arkansas River basin and the Platte River
The Platte River () is a major river in the State of Ne ...
where it enters an open area known as
South Park
''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand ...
. The
south fork of the South Platte is crossed as the highway enters
Hartsel
Hartsel is a census-designated place (CDP) and post office in and governed by Park County, Colorado United States. The Hartsel post office has the ZIP Code 80449. At the United States Census 2010, the population of the 80449 ZIP Code Tabulatio ...
and a junction with US 24. SH 9 follows US 24 west for , then splits off to head northwest again. Just south of
Fairplay
FairPlay is a digital rights management (DRM) technology developed by Apple Inc. It is built into the MP4 multimedia file format as an encrypted AAC audio layer, and was used until April 2009 by the company to protect copyrighted works sold ...
, it joins northbound US 285. At Fairplay SH 9 leaves US 285 to head northwest, following the
middle fork of the South Platte most of the way to
Hoosier Pass where it crosses the
Continental Divide
A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not c ...
above sea level.
Switchbacks drop the highway to the
Blue River which it follows north through
Breckenridge to
Dillon Reservoir
Dillon Reservoir, sometimes referred to as Lake Dillon, is a large fresh water reservoir located in Summit County, Colorado, United States, south of I-70 and bordered by the towns of Frisco, Silverthorne, and Dillon. It is a reservoir for the ...
. The highway goes around the west side of the reservoir, through
Frisco and joins I 70 as it heads northeast. At
Silverthorne, SH 9 leaves I 70 to continue northwest alongside the Blue River. SH 9 crosses the
Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...
just before its termination at a junction with US 40 in
Kremmling.
In 2016, the state completed a
wildlife crossing
Wildlife crossings are structures that allow animals to cross human-made barriers safely. Wildlife crossings may include underpass tunnels or wildlife tunnels, viaducts, and overpasses or green bridges (mainly for large or herd-type animals); a ...
project to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions between
Green Mountain Reservoir and Kremmling, including 2 wildlife overpasses and 5 underpasses; the state also widened the road and shoulders.
Major intersections
References
External links
Colorado Highwayslink to State Highway 9
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colorado State Highway 009
Transportation in Park County, Colorado
Transportation in Fremont County, Colorado
Transportation in Grand County, Colorado
Transportation in Summit County, Colorado
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