If you’re planning to go west this weekend, Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon is still closed. There are several alternative routes — and a couple of routes that are not recommended and may leave you stuck in gridlock or in the mud if you risk them.

Let’s start with the Colorado Department of Transportation-approved northern route. From the east, it begins with a right turn off of I-70 at Silverthorne, at the bottom of the Eisenhower Tunnels grade, and runs through Steamboat Springs, Craig and Meeker, rejoining I-70 at Rifle. It’s a 220-mile detour that takes four hours if there are no traffic backups, and there usually are in Steamboat Springs. If that’s the case, add a half-hour to get through Steamboat.

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It’s a long detour, but it’s suitable for all vehicles, shows off colorful Colorado and is the only northern route available to commercial motor vehicles. CDOT has checkpoints at the Rifle end to ensure through truck traffic takes this route.

Next there’s the southern route: U.S. Highway 50 over Monarch Pass, through Gunnison to Montrose and points west.

This route had been closed for a construction project west of the Curecanti National Recreation Area, but due to the I-70 closure, CDOT has suspended work and reopened the highway for traffic both east and westbound. The highway begins in Canyon City and runs up the Arkansas River canyon to Salida, but it can also be reached on U.S. Highway 285 out of Denver that goes through South Park and Fairplay and turns west at Poncha Springs, just west of Salida.

It’s a six-hour detour if one goes south through Colorado Springs to Cañon City, and a five-hour route on U.S. 285. From Montrose it’s about another hour to Grand Junction for those heading on west into Utah.

A slow but very scenic diversion from U.S. 50 on the way to Montrose begins just past Sapinero, at the Blue Mesa Reservoir dam and takes Colorado Highway 92 along the north rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park to Crawford and Crawford State Park, to Hotchkiss and west to Delta, where it rejoins Highway 50 to Grand Junction.

This is a paved road suitable for all vehicles, but it is narrow and runs along steep drops into the canyon — so where it says the speed limit is 25, don’t speed. There have been recent fatalities along this stretch.

Now let’s talk about the routes you shouldn’t take under most circumstances.

Independence Pass is one of the most scenic mountain passes in Colorado, with mile after mile of stunning views. From the east, the route up the pass begins where Colorado 82 intersects with U.S. 24 at Twin Lakes, about halfway between Buena Vista and Leadville and ends in Aspen.

The problem, says Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo, is that some people ignore the prohibition on vehicles over 35 feet in combined length, which includes both large motorhomes and towed RV trailers, much less the occasional commercial trucker who ignores the warnings. Long delays and dangerous conditions are becoming a serious safety concern for the sheriff.

“The road is just not built for this kind of traffic,” DiSalvo said. “The other day we had a car on fire up on the pass and there was no way we could get a fire truck up there. Fortunately the car burned out without starting a forest fire.”

Getting any kind of emergency equipment up from Aspen to deal with accidents or illness has become a lengthy process. The alternative for emergency response is from Leadville, some 58 miles from Aspen.

Delays on the pass since the closure of Glenwood Canyon have varied from two to more than eight hours. Sometimes traffic is lined up from Twin Lakes on the east side clear into Aspen on the west side, DiSalvo said.

Most of the problems occur in three places just outside of Aspen, where the road narrows to one lane along a precipitous cliff where vehicles must take turns maneuvering through the narrows. This comes as a nasty surprise to neophytes RV trailer and motorhome drivers that they don’t find out about until they are within a few miles of Aspen with no place to turn around.

There is a strict 35-foot overall vehicle length restriction on Independence Pass that comes with a $1,500 fine, something people often ignore despite the large signs and turnaround spots at both ends. Some people think this means only the trailer or truck length, but it’s actually the combined overall length including towed vehicles.

The final caveat is against trying to use Cottonwood Pass that goes from Gypsum to Glenwood Springs. This pass is a steep, narrow gravel road with sharp curves that is unsuitable for large trucks, motorhomes and RV trailers. Besides being steep, there are sections that are completely impassible when wet due to extremely slippery mud.

And beware when trying to Google the route over Cottonwood Pass. Due to an oversight by Google, which has de-linked the east and west sides of the pass so your route will not take you directly over, the Google route will tell you to take a diversion off road onto a rough four-wheel-drive road that could leave you stranded many miles from help with no cellphone reception.

So, enjoy your weekend by slowing down and soaking in the scenic views of Colorado on the way west while staying on well-traveled Glenwood Canyon alternative routes — that’s the advice of highway officials.