CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 615 km one-way ride from near Castle Rock, about 12 h 35 of riding. On the way it passes Scenic stretch near Georgetown, near Estes Park and Fort Morgan. The climbs: near Woodland Park and Near Fort Morgan, on the way back. It tops out at about 3,350 m. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Million Dollar Highway Weekend is where the day begins. Next is High point near Woodland Park.
You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Scenic stretch near Georgetown.
Silver built Georgetown. In the 1860s, prospectors working up Clear Creek found rich silver ore in the mountains above this narrow valley west of Denver, and within a few years the town became one of the most important mining centres in Colorado, nicknamed the Silver Queen of the Rockies. When silver prices crashed in 1893, the boom ended, but the town survived, and today its streets of Victorian houses, brick storefronts and wooden churches form one of the best-preserved historic mining districts in the American West.
Read the complete Georgetown write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
240 km in you reach Scenic stretch near Georgetown. Next is Photo stop near Estes Park.
Trail Ridge Road begins its climb here, a few miles west of Estes Park, and by the time you reach this stretch of US 34, you have entered Rocky Mountain National Park and left the town far below. The road winds up through forests of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir, past meadows where elk graze, and around curves that open up views of the Continental Divide. Around Many Parks Curve, a parking area on a tight bend gives one of the best early views: a series of mountain meadows, or parks, spread out below, with Longs Peak, the highest summit in the park, towering over them to the south.
Read the complete Photo stop near Estes Park write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Photo stop near Estes Park, about halfway. Next is Denver / Colorado Rockies return.
The eastern plains of Colorado do not do subtle. The sky is enormous, the horizon dead flat, and on summer afternoons thunderheads build into towers that can drop hail the size of golf balls within minutes. This stop lies on the South Platte river, near Fort Morgan, a farming and ranching town on I-76 whose grain elevators are the tallest things for miles.
Read the complete Near Fort Morgan, on the way back write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Denver / Colorado Rockies return tops the climb. Next is Food stop near Fort Morgan.
The route ends here after 615 km.
Fuel stop near Castle Rock → High point near Woodland Park is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
High point near Woodland Park → Scenic stretch near Georgetown is 127 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Scenic stretch near Georgetown → Photo stop near Estes Park is 104 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Photo stop near Estes Park → Near Fort Morgan, on the way back is 275 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.