Best Rides in the State: A google maps database

[Telefonica]

I would like to start a thread solely devoted to posting your favorite rides. I always love learning new rides because riding the same stuff over and over again gets pretty boring. To contribute, please go to www.maps.google.com. Click the "Get Directions" button and type in two random locations near the ride (they don't have to be terribly close to the ride). Then move the "A" and "B" points around on the map to where you want (these will be the start and end points of the ride, respectively). You can then click and drag on the blue line to move the route along as you please. When you're done, click the "Link" button in the upper right, next to "Print" and "Send". Copy the link that appears in the drop down box (the top link, not the bottom one) and paste it in this thread. Please try to keep the thread clean by:
1. Only posting new routes
2. Only commenting on routes posted by others, no off topic stuff please (take it to pm)

Golden Gate Canyon - This is a fun ride that starts and ends in Golden; the ride ends only a quarter mile (or so) from where it begins. If the traffic isn't bad, enjoy the beautiful drive up to Black Hawk, but the real fun begins on the way back on Golden Gate Canyon Rd. (be sure to watch out for gravel on this road. It isn't heavily traveled. Also, there are a few areas with homes and we should be mindful of the local residents, less they start complaining to the 5-0!)

Look Out Mountain - This is a short little ride, but it packs a punch. Enjoy the twisties as you carve up Look Out Mountain (and pass the beautiful "M" - Go CSM!). Be sure to stop and check out the awesome view right where I've placed "B". Oh, and check out the Coors Brewery for some free beer when you're done (must be 21 years or older to enjoy free alchi )!

South Deer Creek Rd. Deer Creek Rd is one of my favorite rides - it's very close to the city and has some great twisties and beautiful views, but be mindful of two things: 1) This route is heavily patrolled by the 5-0 during the summer months. 2) At night, this route is populated by deer (hence the name). I've had a few close calls with deer that apparently wanted to be made into minced meat.

P.S. If this becomes popular enough, may I request that we make this a "sticky"?

[peteremsley]

Coal Creek W, Peak to Peak N, St Vrain E. St Vrain is one of the best bits of road I've encountered in CO:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sadd...,1.382904&z=10

Deckers, of course:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sadd...4&ie=UTF8&z=10

[slayermd]

I like this route.
-340 Miles
-I-25 North/Hwy14 West to Walden/Hwy125 South To Granby/Trail Ridge Road/South 7/Hwy72 to Ned/119 to Boulder

This one is cool too.

[rforsythe]

I like this thread. To make it more useful please remember when you post:
1. Actually make a Google map of your route and give us the link to it.
2. When you post a link, maybe also type up a brief description of what it is.

[mtnairlover]

You got it...I can follow directions

Loveland to Rustic via Stove Prairie...back around Horsetooth and home to Loveland again. Take the back roads to get to Poudre Canyon. Stove Prairie road is a nice tight winding road along the foothills going North of Masonville. Once you get to Poudre Canyon (hwy14), go West to Rustic. There's a lodger there called Glen Echo, with a restaurant that has some pretty good biscuits and gravy...or so I've heard. Take hwy14 back East to Ft. Collins, but instead of going through Ft. Collins, cut through Bellevue and around Horsetooth Res. back to Masonville and then to hwy34. this is a great ride for breakfast with friends and some fun. Takes a little bit of your morning and gets you home before noon to take care of other things.

Loveland to Estes via Devil's Gulch...to Lyons via hwy7, back up to Estes and then back to Loveland. Take hwy34 to the turnoff by Drake which is also called Devil's Gulch Road and takes you through Glen Haven. When you get to the end of the road, you are on the Northeast side of Estes Park. Follow the signs to find hwy7 from Estes and take hwy7 around to Lyons. If you don't stop in Lyons, just continue back up to Estes, via hwy36 to Estes and then back down to Loveland via hwy34. Hwy7 is a wonderful road for twists and turns throughout the year, because it is a south-facing road and so it stays relatively clean. This isn't a very long ride either and can take maybe 2 hours if all you do is ride.

Left-hand Canyon to Ward to hwy7 and down to Lyons. I'll this ride coming home from work just to get in some twists and turns and get it out of the system. Left-hand canyon is tight and twisty in the lower elevations. When you get up to Ward, you come out on the Peak to Peak hwy. Take that going North to the hwy7 turn off and then down hwy 7...duh;-)

Lyons to Blackhawk This is an all day ride...(brunch time)...then to Berthoud Pass and then over Willow Creek Pass and then over Cameron Pass to Ft. Collins and home to Loveland. I'll meet up with people in Lyons and then head up hwy7 to the Peak to Peak hwy turnoff. We head south on the P2P to Nederland and then further to Blackhawk for brunch. After that, it's over Central City Parkway to I70 and then to the Berthoud Pass turn off and to Winter Park. Next, you go through Granby with a stop for gas and then turn off after Granby to head up over Willow Creek Pass and to Walden. From Walden. Get gas in Walden, cuz it's about 110 miles to Ft. Collins from there. Take hwy 14 East over Cameron Pass and all the way back to Ft. Collins.

Coal Creek to Golden Gate This is a short ride through a couple of tight, twisty canyons that could be maybe an early morning weekend run, or an after work shake out the bugs type of ride.

Not sure how long my login lasts, so this is gonna be several edits.

[Telefonica]

Coal Creek to Golden Gate

Not sure how long my login lasts, so this is gonna be several edits.

Is "Gap Rd." a dirt road?

[Nick_Ninja]

Is "Gap Rd." a dirt road?

Yes.

[64BonnieLass]

Squaw Pass to Echo Lake

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sadd...,0.567169&z=11

[mtnairlover]

Is "Gap Rd." a dirt road?

Oooops...good catch.

Fixed and thanks.

Hmmm...seeing some of the updates to the previous routes, I know what I'll be doing when I get home tonight...

[fook]

a couple harder to get to but well worth the effort rides of mine:

my favorite long weekend ride:

take off Friday Morning from Denver and head down to Pagosa Springs via Kenosha, Monarch, Slumgullion, Spring Creek and Wolf Creek passes.. with lunch either in Gunnison or Lake City... best road on the route is hwy 149(Silver Thread Scenic byway). lunch either in Gunnison or if you're in Lake City around lunch time the old Texaco station BBQ joint is good eats.

get down to the hot springs resort, head straight over to the Mexican restaurant across the bridge to get a little bit plowed on a few margaritas and then back to the hot springs to unwind.

wake up and head out to Durango and then up the million dollar hwy to Montrose with a little detour up hwy 92 and in and around Black Canyon before making a Gunnison home for Saturday night... if we're really lazy or putzing around we'll stop in Montrose.

Get up on Sunday morning and ride up to Crested Butte and then 30 miles of dirt as we go over Kebler Pass and the aspen groves.. nice well travelled dirt road here and the views make it absolutely worth it.. mid September makes it into one of the most beautiful places in CO... I got a couple shots from my last trip up through there in the 2009 Pashnit motorcycle calendar this year... after that catch hwy 133 north to Glenwood Springs and I70 home....

heading through the aspens west of Kebler pass:



clicky for google map of ride


another great half day ride if you find yourself down south around Pagosa is a nice loop going from Pagosa Springs down to Chama NM and then heading up hwy 17 back to Antonito in southern CO before heading back to Wolf Creek pass to Pagosa again.

hwy 17 is particularly nice I think, always been empty whenever I've ridden it, some really nice curves and a great views.

also, just outside Antonito is the oldest church in CO.. little bit of interesting history.

heading up the hill on hwy 17:


google map link of Pagosa loop

[Snowman]

A 2 day trip from Morrison, Colorado to SantaFe, New Mexico

I have been wanting to do this one for while.

There has to be several of these kind of trips where you can ride for like 6 hours to reach someplace, do something there, spend the night and return without spending vacation time to do so.

[HOBBES]

Front Range Canyon Carving!

[mtnairlover]

Durango and back again. Weekend riding...2-day fun all over southwestern Colorado and back again. So, to answer Snowman's question about weekend riding without needing vacation days, I thought I'd post up the Durango ride some of us did in June of '07. The Google mapping I did is not the exact run. It shows taking a little over 15 hours and covering 655 miles. I'm not too sure about that, because my odometer showed a total of 1068 miles round trip, but I started off from Loveland and we went through Deckers to meet up with some Springs folks in Woodland Park. That took a little extra miles and more time. We rode for approximately 12 hours each day. But it was one heck of a blast.

Different parts of the ride that are amazing include:

Monarch Pass
Wolf Creek Pass
hwy 149 going down to Lake City and then South Fork
Durango to Silverton and then Ouray
North Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison

[fook]

there's a lot of weekender trips like this, you can mix and match many Colorado's great roads for awesome two day adventures. I often head down over Monarch to Gunnison and then hwy 149 down to Wolf Creek and into Pagosa for the night then back by either heading straight east towards Walsenburg and up the I25 corridor if i'm in a hurry or out to Durango and then north to I70 via a few different choices..

basically my favorite roads off the front range:

the Silver Thread(hwy 149) - you can make Pagosa or Durango your end of day destination from Denver and include this road for a great day...

Tabaguache, hwy 141/145 - whats cool about this area is the hanging flume built into the side of the rock canyon wall... if you're taking off from Durango in the morning you can ride this by mid day and then be up to I70 with enough time to be home Sunday night.. i've only done that once and it was a loong day.

West Elk Loop - - again, about 30 miles of well groomed dirt from 133 to Crested Butte.. this includes the north rim of the Black Canyon but if you've got time, definitely go in to the south portal of the canyon(state park fee applies).

Los Caminos Antiguos(hwy 17) - mainly just for hwy 17 but the whole area is kind of beautiful in a different way than the Rocky Mtn roads.

i'm curious if anyone here has ever done any trips that take them out to northern Utah/Flaming Gorge area? I've wanted to take a few long rides out that way which include hwy 191, hwy 89 outside of Logan etc..

[salsashark]

Some of my favorites in Summit County

CO-125 From US-40 to Walden One of my personal favorites... Usually try to hit this along with a couple of passes in one day...

Silverthorne --> Leadville -->Wolcott -->Toponas --> Kremmling Great ride, takes about a half day if starting in Silverthorne. 9 can suck if you're doing this on the weekends... lots of traffic between Kremmling and Silverthorne.

If you want to make a day of it, combine the two and take Berthoud pass down to I-70, then make a run over Loveland pass.

[dapper]

http://www.cosportbikeclub.org/local/rides.html

Engineers avoid re-inventing the wheel...

[asp_125]

Million Dollar Hwy loop - Durango / Telluride / Ridgeway / Durango.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sadd...6,2.005005&z=9

This is a great ride if you're spending the weekend in Durango. Grab breakfast at Christina's (their ham and eggs is one HUGE slab o' ham, bone in) on the west end of town on Hwy 160, before heading west towards Mancos. A quick run through some high speed sweepers brings you into Mancos. Turn north on 184, through some rolling farmland towards Dolores. With any luck you might run into a genuine cattle drive, complete with cow patties.. slippery! Hang a right on 145 towards Telluride. Farmland gives way to two lane twisties, along the Dolores River. Red sandstone cliffs on one side, rushing rivers on the other. Climb up to the viewpoint at Lizard's Head Pass. From there the twisties continue to Telluride. Turn left on 145 and continue down a winding canyon. Turn right in Placerville and head east on 62 to Ridgeway for lunch, or continue south on 550 to Ouray for lunch. Technical switchbacks and great views greet you from Ouray, south over Red Mtn Pass and down into Silverton. Climb out of Silverton on more twisties, past Molas Pass, and then make a fast descent back to Durango.

[CaneZach]

I'm surprised the Million Dollar Hwy wasn't listed sooner. From that list dapper had, the Mt. Evans Rd (#6 on the list) is a GREAT ride. Lots of twisties going up and down and VERY scenic.

I like riding Deckers, as peteremsley pointed out. There's also the Bishop's Castle run on CO96 to CO165 down towards Rye and Colorado City. Also, the ride from Wetmore to Westcliffe has some decent twisties in it too:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sadd...24,,0,1.765625

[asp_125]

As an addition to the Deckers run. Here's a nice little loop from Woodland Park.

Cripple Creek / Victor loop.
Head west from Woodland Park and turn on to 67 at Divide. It gets a little twisty and roller coasty after Midland. Except for the occasional gambling bus or tourist gawker this road is not very crowded. Continue to Cripple Creek. Then head towards Victor, find Diamond Ave at the north end of town; it's one of the paved routes out, the others are dirt. Follow it until it becomes the Lazy S Ranch rd, head north until it meets back up with 67 towards Woodland park.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sadd...,0.501251&z=11

Dual sport route: from Victor, head east out the end of town and join up with the Phantom Canyon road, miles of twisty dirt that takes you south towards Florence. Return by the same way, or link up with 115 back to the Springs.

[CaneZach]

To tack onto the Cripple Creek/Victor loop asp just added, there's a decent ride from Cripple Creek down to CO 50 west of Canon City. Take Teller CR 1 south out of Cripple Creek and it will eventually curve its way north around Mt. Pisgah. Keep going north for about 7 miles then at Evergreen Station, take a left onto southbound Teller CR 11 for a few miles before Teller CR 11 ends at a T-intersection. At the T, take a left and you'll continue south on Teller CR 11 again. 11 eventually comes out onto CO 9 which will take you south to CO 50 outside of Canon City or north on 9 to Hartsel.

[Snowman]

Engineers avoid re-inventing the wheel...

Obviously, you don’t know many real engineers...

[asp_125]

Western slope tour: Grand Junction / Moab / Grand Mesa

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&sadd...05&ie=UTF8&z=9

Here's a 400 mile (two day?) loop through the redrock canyons of western CO / eastern UT. From Grand Junction, head east on Rimrock Drive in the Colorado National Monument, and then through Fruita to Utah. At Cisco, get off the slab and follow the waters of the Colorado towards Moab; passing sights such as Castle Valley along UT 128.
From Moab, head south on UT191. Turn east at UT 46. Leave the desert behind as you climb the LaSal Mtns. Re-enter Colorado on US90. Turn north at Naturita, taking 141 through Gateway.

Return to Grand Junction at Whitewater (US50), or extend the ride with a loop over the Grand Mesa. Turn south to Delta, then north on 65 over the mesa. Rejoin I-70 near Palisade then back to Grand Junction.

[Devaclis]

This is the best CSC thread ever!!

After all of my Friday Kittah threads of course.

Keep it up guys, this is awesome info

[mtnairlover]

I'm surprised the Million Dollar Hwy wasn't listed sooner.

It was...post #13. I just didn't call it that...but, it's also known as the San Juan Skyway, as well.

Anyhoo, here's another ride on the very far Western side of the state from North of I-70, starting at Rangely, going over Douglas Pass, which is quite an unknown pass and less than 9000 feet, but the road getting there is quite fun and since it's not a very well known pass, it's also pretty void of much traffic even in summer. Pass through Fruita and then take hwy141 South and pass by Gypsum Gap. This is a rock climbing haven off the beaten path and on a dirt road. If you don't want to climb rocks, just stick to hwy141 down to Dove Creek and the road becomes hwy491. Along this road just south of Dove Creek is part of the scenic byway known as Trail of the Ancients. Head East at hwy184 and catch up with hwy145, which takes you by Telluride, but you have to leave hwy145 to see Telluride which is only a couple miles East. Stick with hwy145 going Northwest back to Naturita and you've made a nice loop on roads that don't see much travel, but show a distinctly arid and colorful part of the state.

Rangely to Naturita Loop is what I'll call this one.

Pic of Douglas Pass from a Google search...