---
template: byway.jade
id: "2119"
name: Top of the Rockies
distance: "75"
duration: 2.5 hours to drive or a couple of days to visit the byway
description: "With altitudes seldom dipping below 9,000 feet, this byway earns its name. Visit historic mining railroad towns en route to historic Leadville, the highest incorporated community in the U.S. Old mining camps attest to the state's rich mining heritage. The route crosses the Continental Divide twice and traces the Arkansas River."
contact: "**[Leadville/Lake County Chamber of Commerce](http://www.leadvilleusa.com)**  \r\n 719-486-3900  \r\n 800-933-3901  \r\n [Send E-mail](mailto:leadville@leadvilleusa.com )  \r\n\r\n**Town of Minturn**  \r\n 970-827-5645  \r\n\r\n"
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websites: 
  - url: "http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/arp/home"
    name: "Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland"
  - url: "http://www.coloradodot.info/projects/SH82/independence-pass"
    name: Independence Pass
  - url: "http://www.independencepass.org/"
    name: Independence Pass Foundation
  - url: "http://www.leadvilleusa.com/"
    name: "Leadville, Colorado"
  - url: "http://www.topoftherockiesbyway.org/"
    name: Top of the Rockies
  - url: "http://www.topoftherockiesbyway.org/"
    name: Top of the Rockies National Scenic Byway
  - url: "http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=61171"
    name: Two Ponds National Wildlife Refuge
  - url: "http://www.fs.usda.gov/whiteriver/"
    name: White River National Forest
designations: 
  - National Scenic Byway
  - Colorado State Scenic Byway
states: 
  - CO
ll: 
  - -106.84935799957202
  - 39.20124099967239
bounds: 
  - - -106.84935799957202
    - 39.06264099958247
  - - -106.13112600016473
    - 39.60834900020615

---

With altitudes seldom dipping below 9,000 feet, this byway earns its name. Visit historic mining railroad towns en route to historic Leadville, the highest incorporated community in the U.S. Old mining camps attest to the state's rich mining heritage. The route crosses the Continental Divide twice and traces the Arkansas River.