On the road to Mount Evans, Echo Lake and Summit Lake Parks are in Denver’s Mountain Park system, and Echo Lake Lodge is a Denver concession; while Mount Evans is part of the U.S. Forest Service. Completed October 4, 1927, the Mount Evans road is the highest paved road in North America, reaching 14,260 feet at the summit. Mount Evans peaks at 14,264 feet, the fourteenth tallest of Colorado’s 54 Fourteeners. The summit is 50 miles west of metro Denver. The distance to the summit from Echo Lake is 14.4 miles. At first, Mount Evans road was named the Warren G. Harding Highway, after the president. The road is one of Colorado’s 21 Scenic and Historic Byways. The designated 74,401-acre Mount Evans Wilderness is in Arapaho and Pike National Forests.Well above timberline, visitors may view Pikes Peak, Longs Peak, the Sangre de Cristo Range, Mount of the Holy Cross, Kenosha Pass and Trail Ridge Road. Atop Mount Evans is the world’s highest observatory, the University of Denver’s Meyer-Womble Observatory with its 11,000-pound telescope.Due to the high snow level at this elevation, the Mount Evans road is opened from July 4 to Labor Day, with occasional openings in mid-June. An average of 13,338 cars per day travels the road each summer. The U.S. Forest Service charges an admittance fee on Mount Evans road. For additional Mount Evans’ information, contact Clear Creek Ranger District at (303) 567-2901.From 1940 to 1979, when it burned down, the Crest House concession offered amenities at the summit of Mount Evans. Today, food, facilities and souvenirs are available at Echo Lake Lodge from May through September. Contact the Echo Lake Lodge at (303) 567-2138. (01/99)

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