In the far northern plains of Colorado that locals call North Park, the Cache la Poudre National Wild and Scenic River meanders through Roosevelt National Forest following paths first trod by French fur trappers. In fact, the river was named by these hardy frontiersmen as, “the powder’s hiding place.”  Later Kit Carson, Captain Gaunt, Jim Bridger, Old Bill Williams and Jim Baker all ran trapping lines in North Park before John Fremont came through and was taken with the place he described it by saying that “no river could ask for a more beautiful origin than the Platte.” Even though this area is considered the plains (as opposed to the rugged Rockies), the land is not flat. The river passes through Cache la Poudre Canyon, as it moves toward the bowl-shaped valley just west of the Continental Divide. Traveling the Cache LaPoudre-North Park Scenic and Historic Byway will make you feel like you’re driving through a postcard. Surrounded by jaw-dropping jagged mountains, vast meadows, lodgepole forest, and glistening lakes. As you summit Cameron Pass at 10,276 feet, you’ll be surrounded by the Cache la Poudre Wilderness Area, Comanche Peak Wilderness Area, Rawah Wilderness Area, Neota Wilderness Area and State Forest State Park as you make your way along the route. Near the conclusion of the Byway, you’re likely to see antelope, deer and even moose enjoying their favorite grazing grounds.