Driving an Electric car on Colorado’s Scenic Byways
Colorado is home to 26 scenic and historic byways from the eastern plains up through the Rocky Mountains. Colorado boasts of the highest number of such designations. Colorado’s scenic and historic byways have been since 1989. But the Colorado state has electrified 7 of its 26 scenic and historic byways.
Here is a thrilling story of an eco-conscious but a novice EV user, who sets out to rent an EV, Nissan Leaf to test Colorado’s new system of driving through the Scenic byways and Colorado’s highest mountains. The report brings out the lessons learned from renting an EV to planning, EV math, understanding mile range while hiking, adopting the charging lifestyle, and much more. One of the things that haunt such hiking trips is range anxiety. Will the battery make it crossing a 10,666-foot pass?
Trip Highlights
- There are more than 140 fast-charging stations every 100 miles on Colorado’s corridor
- The trip is made around the lariat loop near golden, top of the Rockies south of vail, collegiate peaks, south to Salida, covering a distance of 450 miles
- To find public charging stations, the Plug share app was helpful. Level 2 chargers are free. DC power chargers are paid and powerful
- On an average it costs about $16-$20, bringing a battery to 80% charge using the DC chargers
- Apps used: Plug share and A Better Route Planner
Read more to find out about more Scenic Road trips for EV Drivers