A dirt hiking trail winds through a forest of pine trees on a sunny day, with patches of snow visible along the path and distant mountains in the background.
The last of the snow is tucked in the trees above 11,200 feet along the Otto Mears Toll Road on June 8, 2025. When the 11-mile road was opened in the 1880s by Otto Mears, it served as a major route for transporting goods between the San Luis and Arkansas River valleys. (David Krause, The Colorado Sun)

Long before a turnpike connected Boulder and Denver in 1952 and express lanes opened along the Front Range and into the mountains, Otto Mears was crafting ways to charge for easier travel in Colorado in the late 1800s. Mears’ toll road empire started in the 1870s to connect commerce in the San Luis and Arkansas River valleys.

His 11-mile stretch between Bonanza and the town of Shirley was the first of more than 450 miles of roads he built, earning him the title “Pathfinder of the San Juans.” Now a narrow four-wheel drive road, the Otto Mears Toll Road west of Poncha Pass tops out around 11,230 feet.

Otto Mears Toll Road

Saguache County, CO, USA (38.001962, -106.346379)
More Information

Scenic Drives & Roadside Attractions