I see we have no posts in this section, so I'll add a couple good roads that we like to hit up from time to time.
67 and 126 between Woodland Park and 285 west of Conifer. This one is getting more and more traffic it seems though, so Andy says it's much better early in the morning. I also like the little stretch of 24 between Manitou Springs and the turn for Pike's Peak, but there are SO many cops out there now at different times.
165 from Rye and then east on 96 to Greenwood. The added benefit of this drive is stopping at Bishop Castle. Turning east onto 78 off of 165 looks awesome too, but I've never taken this route so I don't know the condition of the road. Maybe next time. It's been several years since I've done this one.
Years ago I went with some buddies from Canon City to Monarch, and we took 50 but we may have gone a little past Monarch because the road just on the other side looks really good.
Several years ago Dave McLarty and I took Rist Canyon rd out of Bellvue (Northwest side of Ft Collins) and then went North on 27 to 14, then went East on 14 back to Ft Collins.
When I first moved here, Mike B lead a drive up Mt Evans. And last year sometime I met up with some guys and did a drive starting in Deer Creek Canyon park if I remember right and going to Mt Evans and into Idaho Springs, but looking at the map now I couldn't tell which roads we took exactly.
There are SO many good roads west of Denver, or so it looks on Google Maps anyway.
Ok, I'll go first...
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Re: Ok, I'll go first...
Not sure how to connect Deer Creek Canyon to Mt. Evans/Morrison either, but sounds interesting.
Lookout Mountain would be a good short drive early in the morning. It is heavily used by cyclists (as is Deer Creek Canyon), but would be as close to F&F 3 or Initial D as it gets. This can be linked to a Drive near Mt. Evans, through Evergreen and into Morrison as well.
Berthoud pass is also a fun drive. If you take Berthoud into Winter Park and continue north on 40 you can connect to Rocky Mountain National Park, continue through to Estes Park, and return back down I25. Everything up that way would be fun. Might be a convenient way to cut across Nederland and Boulder for a better drive that skips I-25 for at least a portion.
Some day it would be really fun to let loose in Glenwood Canyon, but I don't see that happening for me. Variability in enforcement and traffic, as well as its distance from me just makes it less attractive.
Lookout Mountain would be a good short drive early in the morning. It is heavily used by cyclists (as is Deer Creek Canyon), but would be as close to F&F 3 or Initial D as it gets. This can be linked to a Drive near Mt. Evans, through Evergreen and into Morrison as well.
Berthoud pass is also a fun drive. If you take Berthoud into Winter Park and continue north on 40 you can connect to Rocky Mountain National Park, continue through to Estes Park, and return back down I25. Everything up that way would be fun. Might be a convenient way to cut across Nederland and Boulder for a better drive that skips I-25 for at least a portion.
Some day it would be really fun to let loose in Glenwood Canyon, but I don't see that happening for me. Variability in enforcement and traffic, as well as its distance from me just makes it less attractive.
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Re: Ok, I'll go first...
Lookout Mountain does look like a lot of fun.
Yeah I think I'd like that drive from Berthoud to Estes Park. I've always wanted to drive the roads into and out of Estes Park. And I'd like to check out Grand Lake as a possible place to buy land and settle, but we'll see how that goes lol. I wouldn't mind going through Nederland either, especially if I can check out that container home there lol.
Glenwood Canyon would probably be a cool cruise, but not for fun times. It does look like it would be really busy in there.
Yeah I think I'd like that drive from Berthoud to Estes Park. I've always wanted to drive the roads into and out of Estes Park. And I'd like to check out Grand Lake as a possible place to buy land and settle, but we'll see how that goes lol. I wouldn't mind going through Nederland either, especially if I can check out that container home there lol.
Glenwood Canyon would probably be a cool cruise, but not for fun times. It does look like it would be really busy in there.
Re: Ok, I'll go first...
Lookout isn't much fun unless you go late at night or early morning, and on a weekday. It's a popular tourist destination, and a fun place to have a BBQ, so there's always lots of traffic otherwise. But, yeah you can take it to I70, so you could connect with other roads.
Golden Gate Canyon is fun. It's also generally pretty busy, but you can take it to 119 and go west down to Central City, then on to any number of other fun roads, or just take it down to 6. Take 119 east, and you can either take a few different roads that connect back to 93, or go all the way up to Boulder. I've never tried going 119 > 132, but that looks fun.
Golden Gate Canyon is fun. It's also generally pretty busy, but you can take it to 119 and go west down to Central City, then on to any number of other fun roads, or just take it down to 6. Take 119 east, and you can either take a few different roads that connect back to 93, or go all the way up to Boulder. I've never tried going 119 > 132, but that looks fun.
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Re: Ok, I'll go first...
Andy and I met up at 630 this morning for an all day drive. We hit 119 at one point, but I'll address that in the story lol.
We went out to 67 and 126 first thing, like usual. I don't think we saw any LE, but there was a bit of traffic and bicyclists. It was the best we'd see throughout the day though regarding traffic.
After we got to 285 we took it east to 78 (Shadow Mountain Dr, Black Mountain Dr) and South Brook Forest Rd, and then North on 73 to Evergreen. They were decent roads but with a lot of houses and a bit of traffic, so we didn't get too fast on those.
Once we got to Evergreen we took 74 North to 103 (Squaw Pass Rd) and took that all the way to where we'd go up to Mt Evans, but we noticed now they're charging so we continued 103 North to Idaho Springs. 103 was full of bicyclists up to Mt Evans and a little traffic. From Mt Evans down to Idaho Springs it was full of traffic.
We topped off our fuel at Idaho Springs and we thought we'd be able to take Virginia Canyon Rd but it turned to dirt pretty quick, so that was a no go. We took 70 down to Central City Parkway and took that all the way to 119. Central City Parkway is a pretty good road and it's wide open all the way to Central City, but it's not as much fun as some of the others.
We went North on 119 through Rollinsville and Nederland, and then took 72 North through Hidden Lake all the way to 7. 119 and 72 are beautiful roads with fantastic pavement and great curves, and would have been heaven HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR TRAFFIC. FUUUUUUU!!!!!! We took 7 North to Estes Park and that road is really not in good shape.
We ate lunch in Estes Park and then took 34 East to Loveland. The road was great, but, you guessed it, traffic. UGH. I've been wanting to take these roads to Estes for years with the car, and now when I finally get to do it, it sucks.
The fun parts of the drive were 5hrs 44mins by itself. The whole drive was about 8 hours.
We took 25 all the way south to Castle Rock, and surprisingly enough there were no delays in Denver, but there was South of Loveland and between Castle Rock and Monument. So when we got to Castle Rock we went west to 105 and took that south to Monument. By that time I was so beaten down by traffic I wasn't even trying anymore lol.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/38.8315 ... !3e0?hl=en
We went out to 67 and 126 first thing, like usual. I don't think we saw any LE, but there was a bit of traffic and bicyclists. It was the best we'd see throughout the day though regarding traffic.
After we got to 285 we took it east to 78 (Shadow Mountain Dr, Black Mountain Dr) and South Brook Forest Rd, and then North on 73 to Evergreen. They were decent roads but with a lot of houses and a bit of traffic, so we didn't get too fast on those.
Once we got to Evergreen we took 74 North to 103 (Squaw Pass Rd) and took that all the way to where we'd go up to Mt Evans, but we noticed now they're charging so we continued 103 North to Idaho Springs. 103 was full of bicyclists up to Mt Evans and a little traffic. From Mt Evans down to Idaho Springs it was full of traffic.
We topped off our fuel at Idaho Springs and we thought we'd be able to take Virginia Canyon Rd but it turned to dirt pretty quick, so that was a no go. We took 70 down to Central City Parkway and took that all the way to 119. Central City Parkway is a pretty good road and it's wide open all the way to Central City, but it's not as much fun as some of the others.
We went North on 119 through Rollinsville and Nederland, and then took 72 North through Hidden Lake all the way to 7. 119 and 72 are beautiful roads with fantastic pavement and great curves, and would have been heaven HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR TRAFFIC. FUUUUUUU!!!!!! We took 7 North to Estes Park and that road is really not in good shape.
We ate lunch in Estes Park and then took 34 East to Loveland. The road was great, but, you guessed it, traffic. UGH. I've been wanting to take these roads to Estes for years with the car, and now when I finally get to do it, it sucks.
The fun parts of the drive were 5hrs 44mins by itself. The whole drive was about 8 hours.
We took 25 all the way south to Castle Rock, and surprisingly enough there were no delays in Denver, but there was South of Loveland and between Castle Rock and Monument. So when we got to Castle Rock we went west to 105 and took that south to Monument. By that time I was so beaten down by traffic I wasn't even trying anymore lol.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/38.8315 ... !3e0?hl=en
Re: Ok, I'll go first...
If you like lookout mountain as a short little touge run you need to check out the road that goes up to Helen Hunt falls. That is a steep twisty run and amazing if you can get an unobstructed run. I've scared the poop out of myself on a few occasions running the Duc down there.
Re: Ok, I'll go first...
Helen Hunt Falls?
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Re: Ok, I'll go first...
I've never been on Lookout Mountain but I've been up Helen Hunt a few times. I'm not crazy about not being able to see around the corners and the road being so tight, but the curves are fantastic. Although if I could use both lanes I wouldn't care about the road being tight.
Helen Hunt falls is down here in C Springs. It's close to Cheyenne Mountain.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Helen ... 0296?hl=en
Helen Hunt falls is down here in C Springs. It's close to Cheyenne Mountain.
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Helen ... 0296?hl=en
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