March Program

Larimer County Pioneer Roads, by Ken Jessen—The first road into Larimer County with scheduled stage and postal service was the Overland Trail. It forged new routes combined with existing ones. Other formal roads followed: the Big Thompson Canyon Road, which opened Loveland as the gateway to Estes Park, replacing the old Pole Hill Road; Fall River Road into North Park; the ambitious Trail Ridge Road, which became part of US Hwy. 34, the highest continuous road in the United States; and Poudre Canyon Road, opening the upper canyon beyond what the Red Feather Lakes Road had done.