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Great Motorcycle Roads – Denver, Boulder, Idaho Springs, Castle Rock, Central City, Black Hawk, Nederland, Winter Park
There is plenty of good riding right around Denver. North and west of the city there are a series of canyons leading up to the Peak-to-Peak Highway, which runs north-side from US 6 to Estes Park. An excellent day trip would be west on I-70 to where US 40 crosses Berthoud Pass, north to Winter Park, to Granby, to Grand Lake, over Trail Ridge Road to Estes Park, and then the Peak-to-Peak back to Blackhawk, and down any of the several canyons to Denver. 
South and west of Denver there is plenty of good riding as well. One must-do ride is over Squaw Pass between Bergen Park and Idaho Springs, with a jaunt up to the top of Mount Evans. For another, take US 285 out of town over Kenosha Pass, or get off US 285 at Pine Junction onto Colorado 126 and head south into the Deckers area. Deckers has long been a favorite mountain getaway that is close enough for a day trip. At Deckers you can either get onto Colorado 67 north back to the flat lands or go south on 67 to Woodland Park. Heading west out of Woodland Park on US 24 will take you over Wilkerson Pass into South Park. From there you can get back onto US 285 and head back to town, go north over Hoosier Pass to Breckenridge, or continue west to Buena Vista, where your options are wide open. Click on any of the highlighted areas for more details. Of course, this being Colorado, even the interstate is pretty impressive as you go through the mountains. Glenwood Canyon, in particular, is spectacular. The first towns you come to on I-70 when you enter the mountains are the old mining towns of Idaho Springs and Georgetown. Here's a shot looking down onto Georgetown with I-70 on the left. You won’t see this view from the interstate; it’s taken from Guanella Pass. Guanella Pass is a terrific pass that has only recently been paved and I just now finished building its page. There is also a page up with campgrounds along Guanella Pass Road. Click on the images to enlarge the view.
Lookout MountainRight at the foothills west of Denver, at Golden, there is a road up Lookout Mountain that goes to Buffalo Bill's Grave. It's a nice ride up or down and the view from the top is great. Here's some video of that ride. Riding Up Lookout Moutain -- Time LapseRiding Down Lookout Mountain
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