Why this ride
130 km one way from Central City - plan on about 2 h 47 of riding. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 3,200 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available. Much of it runs through woodland.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Peak to Peak Highway · part 2
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 130 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 47
- 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
Lariat Loop Scenic and Historic Byway
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 78 km this is Lariat Loop Scenic and Historic Byway, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 78 km
- Named road
- Lariat Loop Scenic and Historic Byway
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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
Food stop near Central City is where the day begins. Next is Photo stop near Roxborough Park.
2. Photo stop near Roxborough Park
Planning note
Photo stop near Roxborough Park comes up about 78 km into the recorded legs. Next is Peak to Peak Highway checkpoint 8.
3. Littleton
Littleton, on the southern edge of the Denver metro area, has a historic Main Street of brick buildings from the late nineteenth century, when the town grew up around a mill and the railroad on the South Platte River. You could do far worse for the first or last coffee of a ride, with cafés, restaurants and a relaxed atmosphere that feels more like a small town than a suburb of a big city. And, crucially, the mountains are right there, rising abruptly to the west.
Read the complete Littleton 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 130 km.
Leg by leg
Food stop near Central City to Photo stop near Roxborough Park
Food stop near Central City → Photo stop near Roxborough Park is 78 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Photo stop near Roxborough Park to Littleton
Photo stop near Roxborough Park → Littleton is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.