There’s no question U.S. Highway 550, in southwestern Colorado, is one of the most spectacular drives in the country. As one travels through breathtaking mountain passes with panoramic views of forests and snow-capped mountains, the journey is awe-inspiring.
But what’s so special about the section of road called the Million Dollar Highway? Speculations about how the highway, created as a toll road by Otto Mears in 1883, got its name read like tall tales. One story tells of a traveler so overcome with vertigo on the steep, winding road, that he proclaimed he'd never travel the road again, not even for a million dollars. Another tale claims that builders used gravel from the nearby silver and gold mines so the road’s dirt itself is worth a million dollars.
