Why this ride
The climb of the day is Rocky Mountain National Park Trail. It tops out at about 3,050 m.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Parker, Colorado Ridge · part 2
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 182 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 53
- 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 58 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
- 58 km
- Named road
- Lariat Loop Scenic and Historic Byway
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Photo stop near Evergreen
Planning note
Photo stop near Evergreen is where the day begins. Next is Rocky Mountain checkpoint 8.
2. Near Sheridan
Southwest Denver ends abruptly where the plains slam into the foothills. Beyond it, red rock formations and pine-covered hills rise toward the higher peaks of the Front Range.
Read the complete Near Sheridan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Rocky Mountain checkpoint 8. That is the ride. Next is Rocky Mountain National Park Trail.
3. Parker, Colorado
This is the broad ridge that separates the South Platte drainage from the Arkansas, a plateau of ponderosa pine, scrub oak and hay meadows at roughly two thousand metres, with the Front Range a blue wall away to the west. On a clear day, Pikes Peak stands out to the south as a great pale dome.
Read the complete Rocky Mountain National Park Trail write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
This is where the road stops climbing. Next is Rocky Mountain National Park Trail.
Place association under review. The retained source text conflicts with its location label; verify the stop in the planner before using it.
4. Parker, Colorado
Parker is one of the fast-growing suburbs on the south-east side of Denver, a town of many thousands of people that used to be little more than a stagecoach stop. Despite the label, nothing here is a pass; the land is gently rolling and the nearest high peaks are thirty miles west, a blue-grey line of the Front Range along the horizon.
Read the complete Rocky Mountain National Park Trail write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The high point of this section. Next is Back to Rocky Mountain.
5. Back to Rocky Mountain
This one is a gate, not a viewpoint, and it deserves an honest description. There are no mountains here. On a clear day you can see the Front Range as a thin blue-white line far to the west, a hundred kilometres away or more, and it is a good reminder of how abruptly the Rockies rise from the plain.
Read the complete Rocky Mountain write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Finish at Back to Rocky Mountain. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Photo stop near Evergreen to Near Sheridan
Photo stop near Evergreen → Near Sheridan is 58 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Parker, Colorado to Rocky Mountain National Park Trail
Parker, Colorado → Rocky Mountain National Park Trail is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Parker, Colorado to Back to Rocky Mountain
Parker, Colorado → Back to Rocky Mountain is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.