The Silver Thread Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway is known for its incredible contributions to the nation’s silver mining boom as well as for some of the country’s most notorious outlaws. Creede was Colorado’s last silver mining camp with a wild and rambunctious reputation. Prior to the Silver Panic of 1893, about half of the nation’s silver was from Colorado, and with the discovery of silver in Creede, Colorado’s silver production increased exponentially. The Commodore Mine has been listed as one of Colorado’s Most Endangered Places, and was the site of the shooting of Bob Ford, the man that killed Jesse James. Other historical figures of this area include Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok, Poker Alice, Bat Masterson, and Soapy Smith.
This byway provides important access to the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail and to the Old Spanish Trail which crossed what is now the Silver Thread Colorado Scenic & Historic Byway. Rising over 3,000 vertical feet in 55 miles before a dizzying descent into Hinsdale County, the road unveils the mysteries of the Mighty Rio Grande, and showcases historic and the archeological finds of early man and Native Americans. Isolated and exquisite, this road was once a footpath worn into the earth by Ice Age man.
Thousands of years later, the Ute Indians used these trails to reach hunting camps, hot springs, and the sacred Wheeler Geological Area. Native American ancestral paths were widened and altered to become the Del Norte-Antelope Park Toll Road. This pay-to-ride stage line linked the supply station of Del Norte to the mines in Creede, Lake City, and over Stony Pass to Silverton. Today, this byway still acts as a reminder that this road not only winds up toward the sky, but also back in time.