Originally Posted by MWP
Hi everyone. First post. I'm sure many of you Denver folks are familiar with this map of urban bike trails that was in the Denver Post last year:
link. I live in Broomfield and I'm thinking of taking part of the South Platte River Greenway to downtown. I see that there's a path that links up to it starting at about Pecos and 96th ave maybe? Do any of you know exactly where that route begins? Or if you've got any other good routes to downtown from the Broomfield area, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!
Get thee to your local bike shop or REI. You need a DBTC Denver Metro Map. It is the most comprehensive bike map covering any metro area just about anywhere on the planet! It will have almost all (there may have been additions to the system since the last update) bike routes available in the Denver Metro area.
Now, as for your route, the Platte trail is way east of Broomfield. Way, way east. Starting in Olde Towne Broomfield, at 120th and Wadsworth, you'd have to go roughly 10 or 15 miles to the east and south to get to the Platte and then go another 15 or more miles to the south to get to Downtown. Not necessarily your best bet.
The best way of getting Downtown from Olde Towne Broomfield would be to find your way to Dry Creek in Arvada. Don't get confused with the Dry Creek Trail near Broomfield, that one takes you north. You will probably need to do some road riding (sorry) to get there and I'm kind of sketchy on the details of how to get there from Broomfield. That area isn't in my normal stomping grounds. The only map I have handy at the moment is also from 1992 so things may have changed a bit.
Take old Wadsworth south off of 120th to 92nd. This is probably the worst part of the route. Old Wadsworth has never been that great for riding anyway. At 92nd you want to go left to Vance then right towards the shopping center at Wadsworth and 88th. Once you get to 88th you'll want to go left (there is a bike path here but be careful, it has lots of nails and debris on it. You'll want to turn right into the neighborhood at the first chance (I think it's at Gray) and continue south on Gray towards Lake Arbor. This neighborhood is tricky to navigate since none of the roads seem to go anywhere. Once you get in there you might never leave.
Once you've found your way through this mess, you start into the next Arvada mess, which is the next neighborhood below 80th. You should come out on Ingallis. Go south about 2 blocks and watch for a park on your left (east). This is where the bikepath you want to follow starts. It's not a great path but it does get you out of Cul-de-sac hell. Follow this south and east and it will, after a few miles cross under Sheridan and Federal and eventually put you on the Clear Creek Trail around 64th and Pecos. From there just follow the Clear Creek trail towards the east and eventually you will connect with the Platte River Trail. Go south on the Platte to Cherry Creek (The REI Flagship store is right there) and turn left towards Downtown. Where you get off of Cherry Creek is up to you.
If you don't want to do the whole route, or if you don't have time, drive over to the Park-n-Ride at 70th and Broadway and ride to Downtown from there. You still follow the Clear Creek Path (Hint: It's just across the street to the south in that little park there) and you shorten the route by about half without getting lost in Arvada's Cul-de-sac hell!
Good luck.