Colorado's Million Dollar Highway is a section of which U.S. route?

Colorado’s Million Dollar Highway is a section of U.S. Route 550.

The celebrated mountain road runs between Silverton and Ouray in southwestern Colorado. Although the entire stretch is often called the Million Dollar Highway, the most dramatic portion is the roughly 12-mile section south of Ouray through Uncompahgre Gorge to Red Mountain Pass.

The route follows an older mining-era corridor. A toll road built by Otto Mears in 1883 connected Ouray and Ironton, and the road over Red Mountain Pass was developed soon afterward. The present highway was completed in 1924 and became part of the U.S. numbered highway system in 1926.

Travelers sometimes mistake the Million Dollar Highway for a separate route. It is a named section of U.S. 550 and also forms part of the San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway. Its reputation comes from steep cliffs, hairpin curves, narrow lanes, heavy snowfall and high mountain passes, including Red Mountain Pass at 11,018 feet.