Why this ride
Out of Brighton, one way: 168 km, roughly 2 h 35 in the saddle. The climb of the day is Near Lyons, on the way back. It tops out at about 3,200 m. Long stretches are under trees.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Peak to Peak Highway · part 1
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 168 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 35
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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.
Scenic road chapters
Peak to Peak Scenic Byway
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 98 km this is Peak to Peak Scenic Byway, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 98 km
- Named road
- Peak to Peak Scenic Byway
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fuel stop near Brighton
Planning note
Peak to Peak Highway is where the day begins. Next is Denver / Colorado Rockies return.
2. Near Lyons, on the way back
Red rock and running water define Lyons. The small town sits where the North and South St. Vrain creeks meet and run out of the foothills onto the plains north of Boulder, and it is ringed by cliffs of pinkish-red sandstone. That stone, quarried here since the nineteenth century, built much of the University of Colorado campus in Boulder and countless houses and walls across the region. The town itself is built of it too, giving the main street a warm, solid look.
Read the complete Near Lyons, on the way back write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
You top out here; the road stops climbing. Next is Food stop near Central City.
3. Food stop near Central City
Central City climbs a steep gulch in the Colorado Rockies, a little brick town of a few hundred people at about eight and a half thousand feet, and it is a monument to the gold rush. In 1859, a prospector named John Gregory struck gold in the gulch, and within a few years, tens of thousands of people had arrived. The hills around were so full of ore that the town called itself the richest square mile on Earth, and the street names, the headframes, the tailings piles and the tilted miners' cottages still tell the story.
Read the complete Central City write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 168 km.
Leg by leg
Fuel stop near Brighton to Near Lyons, on the way back
Fuel stop near Brighton → Near Lyons, on the way back is 70 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.