Trail of the Serpent, .4 miles fron East Entrance, Grand Junction, Mesa County, CO

Significance: Completed in 1921, Serpent's Trail was the only automobile access to Colorado National Monument until 1937, and continued to be the only access from the Grand Junction end of the monument until 1950. The early automobile road represents an important era of automobile tourism, when the National Park Service made a concerted effort to provide access to vehicles. The Serpent's Trail also is an example of the engineering techniques used in early road construction in challenging terrain. Such techniques include using numerous switchbacks to gain elevation, building simple wooden culverts, constructing dry-laid retaining walls, limiting the width of the road and not paving.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N308
Survey number: HAER CO-28
Building/structure dates: 1921 Initial Construction