Texas The southern terminus of US 285 is at
U.S. 90 in
Sanderson. Proceeding northward, it crosses
I-10 at
Fort Stockton, then meets
I-20 at
Pecos on its way to
New Mexico.
New Mexico As 285 traverses north on the eastern plains of
New Mexico, it passes through
Carlsbad, Artesia and then
Roswell. In Artesia the route intersects with U.S. Route 82. In Roswell, the route intersects with
U.S. Route 70 and
U.S. Route 380. The route next heads northwest to
Vaughn where it has a brief concurrency with
U.S. Route 54 and
U.S. Route 60. The route then continues northwest and has a junction with
Interstate 40 at
Clines Corners. Heading north out of Clines Corners, the route continues towards the state capital. At the outskirts of
Santa Fe, the route becomes concurrent with
I-25,
U.S. Route 84, and its unsigned parent (
U.S. Route 85) for several miles heading west through the foothills of the
Sangre De Cristo Mountains to
Santa Fe. After exiting I-25, US 285 follows Saint Francis Drive through Santa Fe. The route continues north by northwest to
Española and
Chamita, where the concurrency with US 84 ends. The route then traverses the
Carson National Forest where 285 now makes a long climb up to the
Colorado Plateau, passing through
Ojo Caliente as it ascends to the
San Luis Valley. After crossing
US 64, the highway passes through the village of
Tres Piedras, New Mexico at the south end of the valley, then proceeds north to the Colorado border. On March 7, 2019, the Legislature of the State of New Mexico, in a unanimous vote, named the 27 mile section between Clines Corners and Encino the "Representative
Lorenzo "Larry" Larrañaga Corridor".
Colorado Heading north from the Colorado border, US 285 passes through the main part of the
San Luis Valley, eventually reaching
Alamosa. The route separates from
US 160 at
Monte Vista, where it heads due north along an uncommonly straight 33 mile section known to locals as the “Gun Barrel,” ending at
Saguache. The highway turns briefly east from Saguache, but it bends around north and begins to ascend to the northern end of the valley, eventually climbing over
Poncha Pass, elevation , then dropping sharply down the other side into the Arkansas River Valley. The highway brushes
Salida and follows the Arkansas River north up the valley, then takes a sharp eastward turn just before the small town of
Buena Vista. 285 then climbs over
Trout Creek Pass, elevation , and enters the high-altitude
South Park basin. from the north A few miles north, the highway passes through
Fairplay and the historic
South Park City site, then reaches its highest elevation: , at the summit of
Red Hill Pass. US 285 then leaves the
South Park basin and climbs over
Kenosha Pass, elevation , and skirts the south side of the
Mount Evans massif as it descends its way through the foothills range towards Denver. As the highway leaves the
Rocky Mountains and reaches Denver's southwest suburbs, it becomes
Hampden Avenue, an important artery in the Denver metro area, then reaches its northern terminus at
I-25. On March 14, 2008, both houses of the Colorado legislature, in a unanimous vote, named the section between Kenosha Pass and
C-470 the
Ralph Carr Memorial Highway. ==History==