The majority of the route is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System, but local residents have blocked its designation due to property right concerns.

The land flattens out as SR 174 curves north and west through the Empire Mine State Historic Park into Grass Valley.

[15] Local residents created the Colfax Highway Association in 1967 at the Peardale firehouse, about halfway between the two ends, in order to preserve the rural nature of the road.

[16] When the 21-foot (6.5 m) wide 1924 concrete arch bridge that took SR 174 across the Bear River on the county line was set for replacement in the late 1980s, the group successfully lobbied to preserve it for non-motorized traffic.

A newly formed group, Concerned Citizens for 174, opposed the designation because it would restrict the property rights of residents along the highway, for instance requiring them to use "natural colors".