What is the construction like on Colorado 69

[isobar]

We are heading to Ridgway State Park around June 6-7th. I see on the Colorado transportation site that there is road construction north and south of Westcliffe CO. How bad is it? Should I go through Pueblo CO instead?
Thanks!

[fanrgs]

Personally, I would take a more scenic route than either CO 69 or I-25/US 50 through Pueblo. If you continue on I-25 past Walsenburg to Exit 74, you can take CO 165 to CO 96 to Westcliffe and miss part of the construction. If you want to miss all of it, just stay on CO 165 to CO 67 and Florence, where you will hit US 50. Then you can stop to see the Royal Gorge and drive the entire length of the Arkansas River canyon, If you haven't been there previously. Either of these routes take you through the Wet Mountains, a rare locality for out-of-state tourists, instead of the rather barren southern Wet Mountain Valley or just another stretch of interstate highway.

If you take a look at the "US 50" and "US 160 from Pueblo" sections of my blog HERE , you will see some suggestions on where to camp and what to see along those two routes.

[Skyliner]

Ugghh, why would anybody want to visit Colorado anymore? It is overcrowded, reeks of marijuana, and has been Californicated.

Keep on top of road closures if I haven't scared you away. It is very dry in the mountains and there is a wildfire North of Durango and 550 is closed in both directions.

If camping in backcountry or campgrounds that are remote, be very careful and adhere to fire restrictions. When I camp in CO, my tow vehicle is always unhitched as a precaution in case of a forest fire.

Enjoy your stay, have a safe trip, and please tell everybody that CO is awful as we just cannot afford more people to visit and then stay for good. Took me 2 hours to drive to Denver from Colorado Springs this afternoon on I-25 and my 110 mile trip took a total of 3 hours and 12 minutes.