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I didn't see any Colorado routes here, so I thought I'd start a thread to see who has suggestions. I'm a suburban Denverite, and go to Grand Lake quite often. So, most of my list centers here. I remember great roads from years ago in the western part of the state, but not enough to name them.
The start of my list:
1) Berthoud Pass. US 40 between Empire and Winter Park.
2) Grand County. US 40 between Granby and Kremmling.
3) Denver foothills. I just drove this yesterday (my Sunday drive.) Exit C-470 south at Wadsworth. Take the first light right on Deer Creek Canyon Rd. Merge on to Turkey Creek Rd up to US 285. Turn right on US 285, but quickly merge across to take the next left on Parmalee Gulch Rd. Continue to CO74 at Kittredge. Turn right to run CO74 back to Morrison and either US285 or CO470. (Driver's note: this is not a high-speed run. It's partially residential, and on Sunday there's lots of car, motorcycle and bicycle traffic. However, there are tons of great turns and it's a good place to get a feel for the Cayman's handling without hanging on the bleeding edge. I'm only 600 miles in--say a prayer for 2000--and I really enjoyed just concentrating on car position/line in the road.)
Lookout Mountain in Golden is a good one, if you can drive it at a time when there isn't much bike traffic.
Then there is Red Mountain Pass between Silverton and Ouray, and Independence Pass between Leadville and Aspen. Both classics, and the latter in particular is a great place to view fall colors.
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"I never said I was mistaken about anything, I said that my understanding of your faulty explanation was different from what I first thought you said." -- K Man-S
I went to college in C Springs (BA Chem, CC '81), and had a '65 Spitfire at the time. Very under-powered, but a corning fool. Anyway, US 24 east from Woodland Park into the Springs was a GREAT ride, since it was downhill (poor power, remember) but very twisty.
I got to run from Denver to Steamboat and back Saturday. Great for piling up break-in miles (340 in a day!) CO 9 starts out of Silverthorne and gently winds to Green Mountain Reservoir. The road along the reservoir is curvy and has some interesting cuts into hills. It then has long undulating sections to Kremmling. From Kremmling, it gets really interesting. You begin to climb up to Muddy Pass, which was my favorite part of the drive. Speed limit varies 55 to 65, but the road has lots of long sweeping curves and some up and down. Many passing lanes, which I utilized . When you clear Muddy Pass you start climbing Rabbit Ears pass, which is also curvy, but not quite as interesting to drive. At the end of Rabbit Ears is Steamboat. Great views of the Gore Range throughout. I averaged 60mph for the day, and got 26mpg!!!
I made it from SE Denver to Kremmling in under 2 hours, no stops, one 5-minute delay for an accident on I-70. I'd recommend a 9am start, lunch in Steamboat and a hike or shopping walkabout, and then return. Easy to vary the return route by staying on 40 East from Kremmling, through Granby, Winter Park, and over Berthoud Pass.
I also was dying to take CO 14 east to Walden, and then either on through to Fort Collins, or south on CO125 back to Granby and over Berthoud Pass.
Amenities report:
Lots of restaurants and shopping in Silverthorne.
One Subway and at least one gas station in Kremmling. Nothing much else between Silverthorne and Kremmling.
No services whatever between Kremmling and Steamboat.
Lots and lots of everything in Steamboat.
My favorite: SR-145 Dolores to Telluride to Placerville SR 62 to Ridgeway.. US 550 south to Durango via Ouray & Silverton. Take US 160 to Mancos. Along the way some spectacular scenery. September is the best month of the year for this trip.
The San Juan Mountains are in southwestern Colorado. The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt) and figured in the gold and silver mining industry of early Colorado. Major towns, all old mining camps, include Creede, Lake City, Silverton, Ouray, and Telluride.
Mining is now uneconomical in the region, the last holdouts being the Standard Metals operation on Red Mountain Pass which operated until late in the 20th century and the ill-fated Summitville mine on the eastern slope of the San Juans.
The Summitville mine was the scene of a major environmental disaster in the 1990s when the hastily installed liner of a cyanide-laced tailing pond began leaking heavily. Summitville is in the Summitville caldera one of many extinct volcanoes making up the San Juan Volcanic Field. One, the La Garita Caldera, is 35 miles in diameter. Large beds of lava, some extending under the floor of the San Luis Valley are characteristic of the eastern slope of the San Juans. The Rio Grande rises on the east side of the range.
The other side of the San Juans, the western slope of the continental divide, is drained by tributaries of the San Juan, Dolores and Gunnison rivers which all flow into the Colorado River. There is some tourism in the region, with the narrow gauge railway between Durango and Silverton being an attraction in the summer. 4WDing is popular on the old trails which linked the historic mining camps, particularly thrilling is the Black Bear Road. Visiting old ghost towns is popular as is wilderness trekking and mountain climbing.
All peaks (13,000 feet and above) in the range sorted descending by elevation:
A nice route from the southern Denver metro area is...C470 to Hwy 85...south to Sedalia...turn right at the light...west about a half mile...then left onto Hwy 105 which is Perry Park Rd. Enjoy the drive to Palmer Lake...lots of curves and elevation changes...great scenery...hardly ever any cops...I do this route on my Yamaha R1 frequently in the Summer.
...another good Denver area drive is...north on Hwy 93 out of Golden...left onto Golden Gate Canyon Rd...this road has great scenery...lots of curves and elevation changes...it is a favorite of the local sportbike riders. At the west end you come to Hwy 119...right will take you on the Peak to Peak route up to Boulder...left will take you to Blackhawk...from there you can take 119 back through Clear Creek Canyon to Golden...or cut up through Central City and take the Central City Parkway back to I-70.
A nice route from the southern Denver metro area is...C470 to Hwy 85...south to Sedalia...turn right at the light...west about a half mile...then left onto Hwy 105 which is Perry Park Rd. Enjoy the drive to Palmer Lake...lots of curves and elevation changes...great scenery...hardly ever any cops...I do this route on my Yamaha R1 frequently in the Summer.
I like this one as well. Sometimes if I only have an hour, I'll cut it off at one of the e-w roads heading back to Castle Rock and then come back north.
I took I-25 south to Wolfensberger in Castle Rock (the construction is done that far.) Then west on Wolfensberger to Perry Park Road and south to Palmer Lake. At the end of Perry Park, I turned left, and then immediately right on to County Line Road. The first half mile of that road is in bad shape, but then it's straight, with one little kink, and rolling hills eastbound. I crossed over I-25, and then turned left onto CO 83. North on 83 for a while, until I got to Douglas County 11: Lake Gulch Road. This is a little gem of a road. 45mph speed limit, but tons of curves and dips until you get to the southeast corner of Castle Rock and wind back to the expressway. Saw no law enforcement officers all day.
Last edited by jnscolo; 02-11-2008 at 04:16 PM.
Reason: Fixed typo, added cop comment
The San Juan Mountains has the best scenery in the state but for those quick after work drives in the mountains I like to head up Coal Creek Canyon (SH 72). I live in Superior so this is a convenient route for me to take. The hairpin turns dropping down from Wondervu are especially fun. Happy Trails in Nederland, the train cars, has good coffee. I will usually come back down Boulder Canyon (SH 119) but might continue on and take Lefthand Canyon or SH 7 if wanting to do more miles. If taking the two longer routes I head home on US 36 after leaving the mountains. This takes you by Porsche of Boulder.
Until 
. When you clear Muddy Pass you start climbing Rabbit Ears pass, which is also curvy, but not quite as interesting to drive. At the end of Rabbit Ears is Steamboat. Great views of the Gore Range throughout. I averaged 60mph for the day, and got 26mpg!!!
