Castle Rock takes its name from a flat-topped butte of rhyolite that rises above the town, with a crown of stone that looks like a battlement, and the rock has been used as a landmark since the days of the wagon road. It stands in the middle of town, with a little star lit on it at Christmas, and in a few minutes you can see why settlers reached for the word castle. The town, with about fifty-five thousand people, sits between Denver and Colorado Springs on the Interstate 25 corridor, and has grown fast from a small ranching and quarrying centre into a busy suburb.
South-west of town, the landscape becomes more interesting, with red sandstone formations around Perry Park, near the village of Larkspur. The towers and fins of rock there rise out of the pine and scrub oak in a way that reminds many visitors of the Garden of the Gods, near Colorado Springs, though they are quieter and less crowded. The little community of Perry Park has fewer than two thousand residents, and the roads around it are winding and shaded. Every summer weekend from June, Larkspur hosts a Renaissance festival that draws large crowds in costume, a part of local life that is fun to witness if you are passing by.
The label on this stop mentions the Million Dollar Highway, which is a long way south-west, but the roads in this corner of Douglas County make a good warm-up. The back roads between Castle Rock, Larkspur and Sedalia roll across ranch land and forest, with long views of the Front Range and decent surfaces. Traffic is light away from the interstate, though weekend cyclists on the narrow lanes deserve space. Hail can come with little warning in the summer, so keep an eye on the sky.
Fuel, groceries and restaurants are easy to find in Castle Rock, with the outlet mall and plenty of local cafes and bakeries along the main street. In autumn the scrub oak turns red and gold, and in winter the roads are often clear after storms but icy in the shade. April to October is the best riding season.