Peak to Peak
PROGRAM
Summary
Program Preview
Video Tape
Credits
HISTORY
Introduction
The Great Divide
Pleasure on the Peak
Exploring on Your Own
Further Down the Road
References
WAYSIDE EXCURSION
The Chinese in the West
Building the Moffat Tunnel
Tuberculosis/Growth of Colorado
TRAVEL
Chambers/Visitor Centers
Weather/Road Conditions
Map
RESOURCES
Peak to Peak Timeline
America's Byways Timeline
Teacher's Guide

Longs Peak in afternoon light
Longs Peak
Great Divide Pictures LLC


Peak to Peak

Program Summary
The 55-mile Peak to Peak hugs the Continental Divide. Footpaths that were once trodden by Native Americans became mining roads to carry gold, silver, and iron ore to mill towns such as Black Hawk and Nederland. As mining declined as a major industry in Colorado, the Peak to Peak continued to play an important role in the state’s history.
The Moffat Tunnel forged improved railroad links to the national rail network. F. O. Stanley and Enos Mills worked to preserve the beauty of the area, campaigning for the establishment of Rocky Mountain National Park and ensuring a bright future for tourism in Colorado.
Funding

Major funding for this program was provided by a State Historical Fund grant from the Colorado Historical Society, which reminds Byway travelers to preserve and protect these natural and cultural wonders

Additional support was provided by the Tourism and Recreation Program of Boulder County Colorado, the Town of Nederland ...and by individual donors who support local programming on Rocky Mountain PBS.
America's Byways was produced by Rocky Mountain PBS and Great Divide Pictures in association with the Scenic and Historic Byways Program, Colorado Department of Transportation.
HIGHLIGHTS
Ute men on horses
Ute men on horseback
Courtesy, National Anthropological Archives, 74-11015

Today's byway includes many sections of old trails and roads: paths worn by Utes in the mid-1700s, roads traveled by miners in the mid-1800s and routes taken by tourists in the early 1900s.
Miners panning for gold
Panning for gold
Courtesy, Colorado Historical Society, F29959, 10028086

In 1859, over 100,000 people journey to this region on the rumor of gold.
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