Home/ Colorado/ I-70

I-70: Denver → Grand Junction

Two hundred forty-four miles from Denver to Grand Junction, crossing the Eisenhower Tunnel, Vail Pass, and Glenwood Canyon. This is the most demanding stretch of interstate in the region — and the best-equipped for it.

244

miles

fast stops

mi · longest gap

11,158

ft · summit

Route overview

By the numbers.

Miles

244

Stations

Highest Elevation

11,158 ft

Best Season

June to September

Winter Advisory

This corridor needs a plan in winter.

Colorado's traction law applies on I-70 between Morrison and Dotsero — roughly the entire mountain section of this route — from September 1 through May 31, regardless of the forecast. That means all-wheel drive or snow tires with adequate tread, even on a clear day. The Eisenhower Tunnel and Vail Pass are where most winter closures happen. A 250-mile rated EV climbing from Denver to the tunnel at 11,158 feet, with cabin heat running, can lose 30% or more of its range before the descent gives any of it back. Charge fully in Denver and again in Silverthorne before continuing west in winter.

The corridor

Every stop, start to finish.

Plotted west to east. Scroll the route — each station lights up as you reach it.

MILE 0 START

Denver

Multi-network · 350 kW max · 4 stalls

CCSNACS

Denver has the deepest charging bench in the state — multiple Tesla Superchargers, Electrify America, and EVgo sites across the metro. Top off here before heading west. Once you leave the Front Range, the next 50 miles climb steadily and your efficiency will drop no matter what you're driving.

MILE 15

Golden

Multi-network · 350 kW max · 4 stalls

CCSNACS

Golden sits right where the foothills start. The Tesla Supercharger here is a reasonable last-minute top-off if you didn't fully charge in Denver, but most drivers will skip it — the real test starts at Idaho Springs.

MILE 30

Idaho Springs

Multi-network · 350 kW max · 4 stalls

CCSNACS

Idaho Springs is the last meaningful stop before the long climb to the Eisenhower Tunnel. Both a Tesla Supercharger and an EVgo site are here, a few minutes off the highway in the old mining-town downtown. If your battery is below 50%, this is where you fix that.

MILE 54 11,158 FT

Eisenhower–Johnson Memorial Tunnels

No fast charging · — · 0 stalls

There is no charging at the tunnel, and there shouldn't be any reason to need it if you charged in Idaho Springs. This is the highest point on the entire US Interstate System. The descent into Summit County on the other side will recover some of what the climb cost you, but not all of it — regenerative braking on a long downhill is efficient, not free.

MILE 65

Silverthorne / Dillon

Multi-network · 350 kW max · 4 stalls

CCSNACS

Silverthorne is the recovery stop after the tunnel and the staging point before Vail Pass. The Tesla Supercharger at the outlet mall is one of the busiest in the mountains on winter weekends — expect a wait on Saturday mornings during ski season. Electrify America and an EVgo site in Dillon give you alternatives if the Tesla site is full.

MILE 80 PASS

Copper Mountain / Vail Pass

Multi-network · 350 kW max · 4 stalls

CCSNACS

Vail Pass is steep on both sides and closes for avalanche control more often than the Eisenhower Tunnel does. The Tesla Supercharger at Copper Mountain sits just before the climb on the eastbound side — useful either direction as a buffer. <strong>If WSDOT-style chain restrictions or a closure are posted for Vail Pass, wait it out at Copper or Silverthorne rather than getting caught on the grade.</strong>

MILE 94

Vail

Multi-network · 350 kW max · 4 stalls

CCSNACS

Vail's charging is clustered around the Vail Village and Lionshead parking structures — convenient if you're stopping to eat or ski, less convenient if you're just passing through and want to be back on the highway quickly. Both a Tesla Supercharger and an Electrify America site are here.

MILE 103

Avon / Beaver Creek

Multi-network · 350 kW max · 4 stalls

CCSNACS

A smaller Tesla Supercharger serving the Beaver Creek side of the valley. Useful as an overflow if Vail is busy, but there isn't much reason to stop here specifically unless you're staying in Avon.

MILE 123

Eagle

Multi-network · 350 kW max · 4 stalls

CCSNACS

Eagle is a smaller town with a single EVgo site near the airport exit. The 30-mile stretch from here to Glenwood Springs runs through open ranch land along the Eagle River — not a charging desert, but not redundant either.

MILE 154

Glenwood Springs

Multi-network · 350 kW max · 4 stalls

CCSNACS

Glenwood Springs sits at the west end of Glenwood Canyon, where I-70 is built on a series of elevated viaducts squeezed between the Colorado River and sheer canyon walls. A Tesla Supercharger and a ChargePoint site are both near the hot springs resort — a legitimately good place to spend an hour while charging. The canyon itself has no charging and is prone to rockfall and wildfire closures in late summer; check CDOT alerts before you commit to this stretch.

MILE 180

Rifle

Multi-network · 350 kW max · 4 stalls

CCSNACS

Rifle's Tesla Supercharger is a straightforward stop on flat ground — a good place to top up if Glenwood Springs was busy, with full services nearby.

MILE 244 LONGEST GAPFINISH

Grand Junction

No fast charging · — · 0 stalls

Grand Junction is the largest city on the Western Slope and the end of this guide's coverage. Charging here is adequate for a stop but thinner than the Front Range — plan your next leg, whether that's continuing toward Utah or looping back, before you arrive rather than after.

About this route

The drive, in detail.

I-70 across Colorado is the corridor every other mountain corridor in this region gets compared to, and it earns the comparison. In 244 miles between Denver and Grand Junction, it crosses the highest point on the entire US Interstate System, climbs two of the steepest passes in the state, and threads through a canyon that required engineers to build the highway on stilts. It is also, charging-wise, the best-equipped mountain route in the country — Tesla Superchargers at nearly every town, with EVgo, Electrify America, and ChargePoint filling in the gaps.

That equipment doesn’t make the elevation or the weather negotiable. The Eisenhower Tunnel sits at 11,158 feet. Vail Pass tops out at 10,666 feet. Both routinely close for weather or avalanche control with little notice, especially between November and April, and Colorado’s traction law is in effect on this entire stretch all winter regardless of what the sky looks like when you leave Denver.

This guide runs west from Denver, the direction with the harder climb first. If you’re headed east from Grand Junction, the climb out of Glenwood Canyon toward Vail Pass is the one to plan around instead. For the rest of what’s happening with charging in Colorado, see the Colorado EV charging hub, and for help planning the rest of your trip, see our EV road trip planner.