RT 285 colorado

Quoted message said:

anyone know what rt. 285 from Denver to Fairplay or Buena
Vista is like. Is it multi lane highway or two lane rd. ?
Is it scenic ? I was thinking of taking it out of Denver on
my way to Crested Butte and eventually to the San Juan
range. It looked like a pretty tame road to start a tour
with and get used to the altitude. Whats the traffic like
in august?

Busy four lanes first 20-25 miles or so, then busy
two/three lanes. Not what I would call an ideal riding
road, IMHO. "Turkey Creek Canyon" outside of Denver is
pretty steep. Has one real steep hill, "Crow Hill" and
otherwise continuous uphill. Once you get away from the
metro area would improve considerably. I have never seen a
lot of bikers on it in the past.

Lots of car accidents.

Beautiful once you get over Kenosha Pass.

Others likely will provide alternative insights.

members.aol.comfoxcondorsrvtnsOpen ↗ (Colorado
rental condo)

members.aol.comdnvrfoxOpen ↗ (Family Web Page)

nomd said:

anyone know what rt. 285 from Denver to Fairplay or Buena
Vista is like.

Yes, I have ridden it from south of Morrison to Buena Vista
- in late June.

Have you seen this page?
dot.state.co.usmaps.htmOpen ↗

The State Map is a 3MB pdf (and their server acts like it's
on a phone line), but it's a pdf file and you can zoom right
in for detail and printing.

Quoted message said:

Is it multi lane highway or two lane rd.

There's some four lane spots when you are closer to Denver
to handle heavy commuter traffic (rush hours and weekends).
Most of the route, though, is two lane with shoulder (except
4 lanes near towns - like Conifer). I'm pretty sure the
shoulder disappears west of Bailey, but so does the traffic.

Quoted message said:

? Is it scenic ?

Yes. In Denver and Lakewood, it's dreadful, but once you are
west of there you go through some interesting spots. There's
some interesting exposed topography near Morrison (Dinosaur
Ridge) - and the layered sandstone of Red Rocks.

geocities.comred.htmOpen ↗

cliffshade.comdakota hogbackOpen ↗

Once past Turkey Creek Canyon, you enter the more typical
lush green mountains of Colorado. My favorites parts begin
near Conifer and especially west of Bailey.

Quoted message said:

I was thinking of taking it out of Denver on my way to
Crested Butte

You've chosen the best route.

Quoted message said:

and eventually to the San Juan range.

Excellent! Cross over to Crested Butte by going to Buena
Vista and then west over Cottonwood Pass. You'll hit hard
packed dirt on the way down the pass - on the west side, but
it's very manageable and this is definitely the best way to
get to Crested Butte (as opposed to highway 50 over Monarch
Pass to Gunnison - a very UNdesireable route).

Quoted message said:

It looked like a pretty tame road to start a tour with and
get used to the altitude.

Not entirely. Leaving from Boulder, I did 60 miles and 6000
feet by the time I got to Grant at the base of Kenosha Pass.
However, Kenosha Pass is only 10,000+ feet - a lower pass
than most, so that part is much tamer. It's certainly easier
than taking the I-70 route and climbing Loveland Pass at
12,000 feet. There are some steep spots - like Crow Hill.

Quoted message said:

Whats the traffic like in august?

It's a main artery for returning from weekend jaunts, so on
Sunday their is lots of eastbound traffic. East of Conifer,
commuting hours are very busy. Riding between rush hours on
a weekday will be fine. There's really no other practical
route, and your assumptions about being a tamer route are
basically correct.

Highlights on the route:

Hot Dog stand in Aspen Park- near Conifer. r-r-Open ↗
oadsideamerica.com/tips/getAttraction.php3?tip_Attracti-
onNo==1532

Dropping down from Kenosha Pass you'll be in South Park
(like the cartoon). The view as you descend from Kenosha
Pass is spectacular. Have your camera ready.

Cottonwood Hot Springs west of Buena Vista. cottonwood-hot-cottonwood-hot-Open ↗
springs.com/ It's a little expensive to get a room there,
but you can camp free within a mile (state campground) and
pay for the pools. Or $25 and you can camp on their site and
soak. These are *the finest* hot pools I've ever been in. It
is well worth a stop here, especially on a cycle tour.
There's nothing like a good mineral hot soak to cure what
ales (aches?) you.

I would have recommended this route if you had asked. But
ride it on a weekday. Avoid early morning and late afternoon
rush hour near Denver.

There's a friendly little tavern and grill in Grant - right
at the beginning of the final ascent of Kenosha Pass - where
they let a friend and I set up our tents for free on our
first night of a ride to Buena Vista (easily reachable on
the second day. From Fairplay to Trout Creek Pass, it is
slightly downhill with and there is typically a tailwind.
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.)

Let me know if you have more questions.

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO cycletourist.comcycletourist.comOpen ↗
Integrity is obvious. The lack of it is common.
*****************************

nomd said:

anyone know what rt. 285 from Denver to Fairplay or Buena
Vista is like. Is it multi lane highway or two lane rd. ?
Is it scenic ? I was thinking of taking it out of Denver
on my way to Crested Butte and eventually to the San Juan
range. It looked like a pretty tame road to start a tour
with and get used to the altitude. Whats the traffic like
in august?

--

Others have given good information on 285, I might also
consider going out 70 to Copper, then S. on 24. 70 has a
pretty good shoulder much of the way, you'ld have to climb
Loveland Pass (very little traffic) and bypass the tunnel,
but once you turn off 70 towards Leadville, it should be
very nice. Not nearly as windy as 285 can get near South
Park, very nice views, more little towns, I tend to think
less traffic than 285. I would not want to ride 285 near
Denver or Conifer, and even some of that section from Baily
to Kenosha Pass, while nice, might be pretty scary with very
little shoulder and cars going pretty fast. OTOH, coming out
of the S. Park valley down towards Buena Vista would be a
great ride.

It is an option

--
Craig Brossman, Durango Colorado (remove ".nospam" to reply)

I agree with the comments about 285 from Denver. What worked
for me is along the i-70 corridoor, frontage roads almost
all the way to the Eisenhower Tunnel. You'll need to ride on
the I-70 shoulder for the last few miles, just before the
tunnel, take the exit for 6, go over Loveland Pass and head
towards Breckenridge, then continue on to Fairplay over a
pass (forgot the name) and hang a right onto 285 towards
Buena Vista.

From the top of Loveland pass to Buena Vista is a good days
ride for me.

"Craig Brossman" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

nomd said:

anyone know what rt. 285 from Denver to Fairplay or
Buena Vista is like. Is it multi lane highway or two
lane rd. ? Is it scenic ? I was thinking of taking it
out of Denver on my way to Crested Butte and eventually
to the San Juan range. It looked like a pretty tame road
to start a tour with and get used to the altitude. Whats
the traffic like in august?

--

Others have given good information on 285, I might also
consider going out 70 to Copper, then S. on 24. 70 has a
pretty good shoulder much of the way, you'ld have to climb
Loveland Pass (very little traffic) and bypass the tunnel,
but once you turn off 70 towards Leadville, it should be
very nice. Not nearly as windy as 285 can get near South
Park, very nice views, more little towns, I tend to think
less traffic than 285. I would not want to ride 285 near
Denver or Conifer, and even some of that section from
Baily to Kenosha Pass, while nice, might be pretty scary
with very little shoulder and cars going pretty fast.
OTOH, coming out of the S. Park valley down towards Buena
Vista would be a great ride.

It is an option

--
Craig Brossman, Durango Colorado (remove ".nospam"
to reply)