Skyline Drive (Colorado)
# Skyline Drive (Colorado)

Skyline Drive is a scenic roadway in Cañon City, Colorado. It was built by inmate labor in 1905. The road starts from U.S. Highway 50 and gradually inclines up the side of a ridge. When the road crests, it winds, climbs, and falls like a roller coaster until near its end, where a scenic outlook overlooks both the city to the east and the highway to the west.

The single-lane, one-way road rises about 800 feet (240 meters) above the surrounding terrain. There are no guardrails despite sharp drop-offs, and the drive is about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) long.

The road ends in a residential neighborhood, and becomes a residential street that intersects with 5th Street, where signs point south toward US 50 and "Historic Downtown Cañon City," allowing drivers to head downtown and return to the highway.

## Geology

The drive sits on the top of Skyline Ridge, a hogback composed of upturned Dakota sandstone. Outcrops of the Morrison and the Fountain formations can also be seen. Along the drive is the "Dinosasur trackway," a fenced-off area along the road adjacent to some exposed strata, which showcases the fossilized footprints of ankylosaurs walking towards the west.

