Divide Road GP

This is a 90 mile long, wide graded road up the middle of the Uncompaghre Plateau from Montrose to (almost) Grand Junction.  Go from farmland to expansive areas of forest, then to desert.

​This mellow graded road will climb from 5,800' in Montrose to over 9,400 on the Uncompaghre Plateau, then drop down to 6,700' when it reaches Highway 141 south of Grand Junction.

There is a GPS - gpx track file at the bottom of the page.

Cliff along northern portion of Divide Road

Start in the middle of Montrose on paved State Route 90.  The road changes to gravel and is called County Route 90 after about 8 miles.

The irrigated land you pass through is partially dependent on water diverted from the Gunnison River.  You can tour an interesting part of this project by following Gunnison Tunnel GP, a trail on this website.

There is a mix of BLM, Private and Forest Service land as you rise out of the valley into the forest.

Montrose farmland in the background

Ranchland higher up

The southern portion of the road is heavily forested with no chances for views until you reach the Tabeguache Overlook.  This overlook has not been maintained for years and you have to peek between trees to see anything.  Watch closely for the overlook on the west side of the road.

Forested south part of the road

Tabeguache Overlook

The Uncompaghre National Forest is a "Land of Many Uses", including timber harvesting.

Residual stand after harvesting

Tree length wood ready for trucking

Windy Point is where the countryside changes.  The land becomes much more open the there are scenic views in abundance.

Windy Point

Open land north of Windy Point

The northern part of the Divide Road alternates between open country, stands of aspen and areas heavy to Ponderosa Pine.  There are many opportunities for camping.

Stand of aspen trees

Ponderosa Pine

Grand Mesa is visible as you descend the northern end of the road.  Someone goes to a lot of effort to fly an American flag seen just before you reach Highway 141.

Grand Mesa in the distance

American flag at end of road

Page updated 2017.

---

---

divide_road_gp.gpx
File Size:	289 kb
File Type:	gpx

Download File

---