Mount Blue Sky Summit

The summit of Mount Blue Sky, at 14,264 feet by the Forest Service’s figure, is the end of what it calls the highest paved road in North America. From the top the page lists the plains and Denver to the east, Grays and Torreys peaks on the Continental Divide to the west, Longs Peak to the north and Pikes Peak, South Park and New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo range to the south. Three structures stand there: the ruins of Crest House, a restaurant and souvenir shop opened in 1942 and destroyed by a propane fire in 1979; the wooden double A-frame High Altitude Lab the University of Denver built in 1935 for cosmic-ray research, with a telescope added in 1979 and an observatory expansion in 1997; and the Meyer-Womble Observatory. Interpretive signs explain them, and the short Mount Blue Sky National Recreation Trail leaves from the summit parking area.

Vault toilets, no drinking water. Dogs must be on a hand-held leash; no camping or fires outside designated sites. Fees and reservations are on recreation.gov, linked from the page. The page was read on 10 October 2026 (last updated 8 September 2026) and was marked “Closed for the season”, with the road open only to Summit Lake; see the Scenic Byway listing and the Forest Service conditions page.