The Scenic Circles
Sensation Point
on the Lariat Trail
from an old postcard
"The system, roughly speaking, covers an area of 150 square miles, and begins twelve miles from Denver. An eight mile concrete roadway extends from Denver to the foot of the first park on Lookout Mountain. The circle trip from Denver, returning by way of Morrison, the southern gateway, is sixty-five miles, of which fifty is exclusively over mountain roadways."
Take a Virtual Tour
As driven in 1918
Denver's Scenic Circle Trip -- E Circle Trip E. A clockwise circle from Denver out Santa Fe Drive and Platte Canyon Road to Deer Creek Canyon, north along South Fork of Turkey Creek, with a side trip west to Conifer and back, then northwest to Evergreen, north to Lookout Mountain, Golden, and return to Denver via Rock Rest. This scenic circle expands the basic foothills loop south to take in the Platte River and Deer Creek Canyons, adding Deer Creek and Turkey Creek Parks to the shorter loop trip. The return trip includes downhill travel on the Lariat Trail Scenic Mountain Drive, for a total of 92.6 miles, historically, if the side trip to Conifer is taken. Milepoints along the way are shown in white circles. Enlarge your browser window, then supersize the map of Circle Trip E. (Use Back button to return to this page.) Historic description of Circle Trip E: Tips for taking this route today: For foothills (Lariat Loop) portion, see other circles. Take Hwy 285 to Conifer if doing that side trip. On return, exit Hwy 285 at Indian Hills to pick up connection to foothills loop via Parmalee Gulch at Kittredge. Proceed to follow route west to Evergreen, or return via Hwy 74 to Morrison if driving south loop only. Return to Introduction to Scenic Circles. |
Denver Mountain Parks Foundation, 2006-07.
All rights reserved.