U.S. Route 160 (US 160) is a part of the

U.S. Highway System The United States Numbered Highway System (often called U.S. Routes or U.S. Highways) is an integrated network of roads and highways numbered within a nationwide grid in the contiguous United States. As the designation and numbering of these h ...

that travels from

Tuba City, Arizona Tuba City () is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated town and census-designated place in Coconino County, Arizona, on the Navajo Nation, United States. It is the second-largest community in Coconino County. The population of the census-design ...

, to

Poplar Bluff, Missouri Poplar Bluff is a city in Butler County, Missouri, Butler County in southeastern Missouri, United States. It is the county seat of Butler County and is known as "The Gateway to the Ozarks" among other names. The population was 16,225 at the 2020 ...

. In the state of

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, US 160 starts at the New Mexico state line southwest of Cortez and ends at the Kansas state line east of Springfield.

Route description

US 160 enters Colorado near the

Four Corners Monument The Four Corners Monument marks the quadripoint in the Southwestern United States where the U.S. state, states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. It is the only point in the United States shared by four states, leading to the area ...

. It goes northeast and intersects US 491, then turns north to enter Cortez with US 491. East of Cortez, a road leads south from US 160 to

Mesa Verde National Park Mesa Verde National Park is a national park of the United States and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado, and the only World Heritage Site in Colorado. The park protects some of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloa ...

. It continues east to

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

, where it intersects US 550. After overlapping with US 550 south of Durango, US 160 turns east and meets US 84 at

Pagosa Springs Pagosa Springs (Ute language: Pagwöösa, Navajo language: Tó Sido Háálį́) is a home rule municipality that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Archuleta County, Colorado, United Stat ...

. It then goes northeast and 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 ...

Wolf Creek Pass Wolf Creek Pass is a high mountain pass on the Continental Divide, in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. It is the route through which U.S. Highway 160 passes from the San Luis Valley into southwest Colorado on its way to New Mexico and Ariz ...

, the area made popular in 1975 in C.W. McCall's album ''

''.

From Wolf Creek Pass, US 160 continues northeast and turns east at South Fork. At Monte Vista, an overlap begins with US 285, which continues southeast into

Alamosa Alamosa is the home rule city that is the county seat of Alamosa County, Colorado, United States. Alamosa is located along the Rio Grande. The city population was 9,806 in the 2020 United States census. The city is the commercial center of th ...

. It turns east, then goes northeast to go through North La Veta Pass, then continues east to

Walsenburg Walsenburg is the statutory city that is the county seat of and the most populous municipality in Huerfano County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 3,049 at the 2020 census, down from 3,068 in 2010. History Walsenburg was or ...

, where it intersects Interstate 25 (I-25). From Walsenburg, US 160 continues south with I-25 to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

, then turns northeast to intersect US 350. It continues east, passing through the

Comanche National Grassland Comanche National Grassland is a National Grassland located in southeastern Colorado, United States. It is the sister grassland of Cimarron National Grassland and contains both prairie grasslands and canyons. It is separated into two sections, ...

before intersecting the concurrent US 287 and US 385 south of Springfield. It continues east and enters Kansas east of

Walsh Walsh may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walsh (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters Places Australia * Mount Walsh, Mount Walsh National Park Canada * Fort Walsh, one of the first Royal Canadian Mounted ...

History

As commissioned in 1930 the western terminus was

. In 1939, US 160 absorbed all of former route U.S. Highway 450 which ran from US 50 at Crescent Junction, Utah to US 85 at

. In 1970, many US Highways in the

Four Corners Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. Most of the Four Corners regio ...

region were realigned. US 160 was diverted southwesterly from Cortez to follow its present route past the Four Corners into Arizona, absorbing the route numbered U.S. Highway 164. In 2021, the portion of the highway between Walsenburg and the highway's junction with

Colorado State Highway 12 State Highway 12 (SH 12), also known as the Highway of Legends National Scenic Byway, in the U.S. state of Colorado is a mountainous state highway through the Rocky Mountains in southern Colorado. The route travels from La Veta through the mou ...

was designated a

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

. The designation, which includes State Highway 12 and the county roads over Cordova Pass, is called the Scenic Highway of Legends.

Junction list

References

External links

{{authority control 60-1 Transportation in Montezuma County, Colorado Transportation in La Plata County, Colorado Transportation in Archuleta County, Colorado Transportation in Mineral County, Colorado Transportation in Rio Grande County, Colorado Transportation in Alamosa County, Colorado Transportation in Costilla County, Colorado Transportation in Huerfano County, Colorado Transportation in Las Animas County, Colorado Transportation in Baca County, Colorado Colorado

Route description

History

Junction list

See also

References

External links