State Highway 74 | ||||
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Central Colorado with SH 74 marked in red
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Route information | ||||
Maintained by CDOT | ||||
Length: | 18.110 mi (29.145 km) | |||
Existed: | 1923 – present | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end: | I-70 at El Rancho | |||
US 40 at El Rancho | ||||
East end: | SH 8 at Morrison | |||
Location | ||||
Counties: | Jefferson | |||
Highway system | ||||
Colorado State Highways
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Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive
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Nearest city | Morrison, Colorado |
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Area | 688 acres (278 ha) |
Built | 1914 |
Architect | Olmsted Bros.; Civilian Conservation Corps |
MPS | Denver Mountain Parks MPS |
NRHP reference # | 90001706 |
Added to NRHP | November 15, 1990 |
State Highway 74 (SH 74) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Colorado. Running 18 miles (29 km) from Interstate 70 (I-70) in El Rancho to SH 8 in Morrison, the highway roughly follows a hook-shaped path running northwest–southeast. The section of the route north of the town of Evergreen is known as Evergreen Parkway and is a segment with a four- to six-lane roadway, with the section east of Evergreen mostly two lanes. The other section is known as the Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive, or just Bear Creek Road, and primarily parallels Bear Creek, passing through the towns of Kittredge and Idledale. The route, which is on the outskirts of Denver, passes through several of the city's mountain parks, including Bergen, Dedisse and Red Rocks parks.
An early road following the current path was established in the late 19th century for miners and loggers. As floods ravaged the road along Bear Creek through the early 20th century, measures were taken to prevent further damage. Other sites along Bear Creek, such as a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in Red Rocks Park and the Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive, as the section between Idledale and Morrison is called, have given the route a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. An early designation of the route number went further west than its current-day designation; that section was truncated by the late 1930s. Another eastern segment was added from Morrison east toward Denver in the 1940s, but that section too was removed. Newer improvements to the road include widening the Evergreen Parkway segment to four lanes and constructing an interchange with I-70.