State Highway 72 (SH 72) is a state highway passing through the foothills and the eastern edge of the

Front Range The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado, and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountere ...

. Its southern terminus is at

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...

(I-70) in

Wheat Ridge The City of Wheat Ridge is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Wheat Ridge is located immediately west of Denver and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The ...

, and its northern terminus is at SH 7 east of Allenspark.

Route description

The route is a mainly rural, scenic, mountainous highway; not having many junctions. It begins at

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

(Exit 266) in

as Ward Road. It continues north through the western parts of

Arvada Arvada () is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson and Adams counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 124,402 at the 2020 United States Census, with 121,510 residing in Jefferson County and 2,892 residing in Adams Cou ...

where it becomes Coal Creek Canyon Rd. The highway continues west-north-west through Coal Creek Canyon and aptly named Wondervu, across the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

tracks at Pinecliffe, eventually joining the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway northbound. For three miles along the ''Byway'' it coincides with SH 119. The two routes diverge at Nederland. From Nederland, SH 72 continues north along the ''Byway'' past

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

to its terminus with SH 7 east of Allenspark.

History

The route was established in the 1920s, when it began at 46th Avenue in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and headed northwest to Nederland. The section of the present-day SH 72 north of Nederland was designated as SH 160. By 1936, the southeastern terminus had been moved to SH 58, itself since relocated. The section from SH 93 east was paved by 1946, and the route was paved entirely by 1958. In 1968, SH 160 was deleted and SH 72 took the route from Nederland to

Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...

Major intersections

References

External links

* Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT): Colorado Scenic Byways - Peak To Peak Highway {{DEFAULTSORT:Colorado State Highway 072 072 Transportation in Jefferson County, Colorado Transportation in Boulder County, Colorado Transportation in Gilpin County, Colorado Wheat Ridge, Colorado Arvada, Colorado