Estes Park via 34 or 36?

Okay, so we decided to tackle this part of the trip on Sat instead of Fri afternoon. We'll take 34 out of Loveland. As for Denver traffic, it looks like we'll try getting off I70 East of Denver and follow a route suggested in another recent thread.
Regards,
Gary

It has been years since we lived in Estes so not sure on this anymore. Thom is the local expert, trust me on that.

But, to avoid Boulder, we used to come up the interstate 25 to Hwy 66 to Lyons and up the 36 ---- HATED the 36 thru Boulder!

The only part of US 36 that is 4-lane is the Boulder Turnpike and 28th Street between Denver and north Boulder.

If you are on I-70 in Denver and want to use US 36 on a Friday afternoon, you cannot avoid a Denver-Boulder bumper-to-bumper traffic jam. If you can figure out a way to avoid Denver and Boulder completely on a Friday afternoon, you will be considerably better off. Otherwise, you and everyone in Denver will be heading for a summer weekend in the mountains at the same time. Even early Saturday morning would be better than Friday afternoon.

FunTwoDrv wrote:
Thom, Lauren,
Thanks for the input. From Google Earth, it appears 34 is mostly two lane whereas 36 looks like its mostly four lane. At least on the four lane, we can stay in the right lane and shouldn"t be too much of an aggravation to traffic. However, since we will be doing this on a Fri afternoon, perhaps the lesser traveled route(34) may be more prudent!

Gary

Both roads are 2 lane. There's no 4 lane section of US 36 between Lyons and Estes Park. US 34 does offer several places that are 3 lanes, with the center/2nd lane available for westbound/up canyon traffic. There is one longer stretch of 3 lanes between Drake and Estes Park in the area of Loveland Heights.

Thom, Lauren,
Thanks for the input. From Google Earth, it appears 34 is mostly two lane whereas 36 looks like its mostly four lane. At least on the four lane, we can stay in the right lane and shouldn"t be too much of an aggravation to traffic. However, since we will be doing this on a Fri afternoon, perhaps the lesser traveled route(34) may be more prudent!

Gary

FunTwoDrv wrote:
Thanks for the responses. CDOT website indicates 34 should be open on 5/25. If 36 is the heavier traveled then maybe we should stick with 34. Our MH is challenged just going up the grades in Western NC. Between the climb up the Rockies and the altitude, we're probably going to be more a moving obstruction!
We're coming in from the East on I70 on a Fri afternoon. I'll take another look at the Peak to Peak route and decide.
Busskipper, I'm not brave enough the tackle Trail Ridge in the MH...hope to do it several times in the Bug though!LOL

Thanks again,
Gary

As others have noted, US 34 in the Big Thompson is scheduled to open on Thursday afternoon, 5/25. The construction zone is a 3 mile area, west of the narrows and near Cedar Cove, where substantial blasting and rock moving has taken place. It's supposed to be a complete opening with no traffic impacts, according to the CDOT emails I get.

If you're coming in on I-70, it's about 6 of one and half dozen of the other, as far as difficulty of US 34 vs US 36. Both follow a valley/canyon/river for a goodly portion up. US 36 has been substantially reconstructed, that construction project finished up last year and the roadway for most of the way up is a big improvement, particularly on the lower areas out of Lyons.

IMHO, it would be way out of your way to consider the Peak-to-Peak. You could take CO 7 up from Lyons, but that route is rough and has not had major flood reconstruction yet, and is somewhat steeper than US 36/34. Also, at the top from the Larimer/Boulder line in to Estes Park, the roadway is very rough, and there's a very long decline into Estes Park. It would, however, be a wonderful drive in your Bug, once you're in Estes and settled in.

Trail Ridge Road is scheduled to open on May 26th, weather permitting. Last year, it opened, and then immediately closed, and was closed at night due to adverse conditions. The snowstorm last week dumped 31 inches of snow in Estes Park, and 50+ inches at Bear Lake, on TOP of what they already had. A property owner in Estes that I know said she was up there right after the storm and it wasn't too bad in town, the snow had compacted, and a lot of it melted early on, due to the warm weather that preceded the storm. I talked to a ranger up there a couple days ago, asking about Glacier Basin, he suggested it might be a good idea to bring a snow shovel!

You will have a climb no matter route you take; be aware of that. Estes is at 7500 feet.

I love the 34 (lived in Estes 8 years) but think the more gradual for you would be the 36 - but far more congested.

Good news 34 is opening tomorrow

Thanks for the responses. CDOT website indicates 34 should be open on 5/25. If 36 is the heavier traveled then maybe we should stick with 34. Our MH is challenged just going up the grades in Western NC. Between the climb up the Rockies and the altitude, we're probably going to be more a moving obstruction!
We're coming in from the East on I70 on a Fri afternoon. I'll take another look at the Peak to Peak route and decide.
Busskipper, I'm not brave enough the tackle Trail Ridge in the MH...hope to do it several times in the Bug though!LOL

Thanks again,
Gary

If you want a much more scenic drive, get into Golden and take Hwy 6 to Blackhawk, you travel along Clear Creek. Then Hwy 119 north (Peak to Peak Hwy with GREAT views). 72 into Estes. This is not the quickest route but by far the most scenic.