Commute from Castle Rock to Denver?
 

I am going to be moving closer to my job will be living by Castle pines. I work off Dry Creek (Easter/S.Revere area) and was looking for a good route, Thanks

I know nothing of that area but these might be helpful?

http://bicyclecolo.org/page.cfm?PageID=626

The best map I've found is by the Denver Bicycle Touring Club www.dbtc.org. Most metro area shops carry their map for $12-14. Looks like you can make the route with mostly on street bike lanes. Take Monarch to 470. 470 East to Jamaica. Jamaica to Valley. Valley to Inverness. Inverness to Easter.

This would be a good route. I ride to same general area from Highlands Ranch and take most of that same route from Quebec and lincoln

I highly recommend Daniels Park Road as a way to go N/S ... while it's dirt, it's very packed and road bike friendly, still has country feel, and views great ... then, once you hit Lincoln/University, go east until you hit Meridian Office Park and go south through that (lotsa different ways there) ... which will wind through Inverness and get you right to your office.

While traffic may be a little more than other ways, there is a dedicated bike lane on these streets... or are wide enough (though the overpass over I-25 is a little "unfriendly")

I will look into all of this thanks!

I would encourage using the 470 mup becasue it puts you under the highway and away from all of the high speed ramps and congestion that is in that area of Lincoln and I-25. Depending on the time of day you ride through there it can be very risky due to the amount of traffic ymmv

I plan on using as much MUP as posssible

So the route I found:

From where I live I take the new frontage road off of Castle Pines, this wraps you around to SkyRidge Hospital. From there I head north to the 470 MUP. Follow that to COunty line. From there I just connect a couple side roads. it's amazing how quiet it actually is on that route

I heard that Cherry Creek trail goes most of the way to Castle Rock

If you want to get to Castle Rock, you need to get off of the Cherry Creek Trail at Stroh Road, go West 1/4 mile to Crowfoot Valley Road, and follow it (~7.5 miles) to Founders Parkway in Castle Rock. I believe that if you stay on the CCT, you end up intersecting highway 86 between CR and Franktown near Castlewood Canyon, but I'm not certain. Parts of the trail between Stroh and 86 may not be paved.

How tough is it to navigate your way through the residential side of CP over to the new frontage road? The new road is definately nice, but the residential traffic in CP would make me nervous.

Castle Pines to Denver? Easy:

Monarch Blvd turns into Quebec. Bike lane the entire way to c470; 470 trail to Peoria, to Potomac, to Revere. Cake :)

The frontage rd is open? nnnice.

What about a route from Highlands Ranch to Castle Rock -- that doesn't include hwy 85?

Quebec to Monarch to CP Parkway to.........

















I-25 South

LOL, Bingo, you don't have to ride hwy 85 :thumb:

Other than that, I am unaware of any through roads from CP Parkway to Happy Canyon Rd. Even if there is a through road, you would still have to get on 85 for a short distance to the Meadows. Same is true of Daniels Park Rd.

The long route is to take the 470 MUP to Cherry Creek Trail to Stroh Rd to Crowfoot Valley Rd to Founders Pkwy. It's a long way around, but a pleasant ride.

From CP Parkway you can either take Daniels Park Pkwy or cut through Castle Pines Village to Happy Canyon Rd. Either way you have that short distance on Hwy 85. Most direct is Daniels Park (and to previous poster, it is paved now), most scenic is Castle Pines Village loop as long as the guards don't turn you away but I have done this ride many times. I live in Lone Tree and do most of my distance riding from home with various loops via Castle Rock, Palmer Lake and Sedalia. There are plenty of rodes on both the East and West sides of I25, just depends on how far you want to ride and how many hills you want to climb.