Colorado 285 and 126 from Denver to Deckers

[jcoker]

We are heading out to Deckers CO from the north off of I-25 later this month. Any help with grades and general or alternative better routes? We have looked in the HWY grades and route book. Just concerned because there is a climb in altitude from around 5000 feet to about 8700 within 11 miles. We will be driving a small class C, Ford V10 with a Jeep Wrangler behind.
Thank you for any advice or suggestions.

[BarryG20]

The route is good no problems 126 while fine is not overly wide at all and in some places on a few turns a bit narrow. Speed limit is slow in areas but you will have no problem.
Someone mentioned taking 67 to Sedalia as a possibility. That road is currently closed between the paved portion of 67 and twin spruce so no go. Your rig would not have a problem on it though it can be washboard and is slow. There is the Lone Pine road which is much shorter but is probably not appropriate for an RV especially towing as it is narrow and has a 15% grade for part of it and is more dirt than gravel. I just went through there the other day and went in on Lone Pine and came out on 285. Both ways took right around the same amount of time from/to Castle Rock. Sedalia way is much shorter but the road is much slower.

[fanrgs]

The route you picked is the easiest for an RV. US 285, not CO 285, is a four-lane, divided highway that goes from Denver to Pine Junction, where you turn to go into the two-lane, paved road to Deckers. The grades are relatively easy (for Colorado) and you shouldn't have any problems with your rig. You should probably use the same route when you leave, as CO 67 from Deckers to Sedalia is a much steeper climb and gravel for a short distance.

If I were driving your RV into Denver's I-25 traffic from the north, I would turn West off I-25 onto I-76, then West on I70 to C-470, then South to US 285. That route will avoid downtown Denver.

[Thom02099]

jcoker wrote:
We are heading out to Deckers CO from the north off of I-25 later this month. Any help with grades and general or alternative better routes? We have looked in the HWY grades and route book. Just concerned because there is a climb in altitude from around 5000 feet to about 8700 within 11 miles. We will be driving a small class C, Ford V10 with a Jeep Wrangler behind.
Thank you for any advice or suggestions.

US 285 is fine from CO 470 up to Pine Junction where CO 126 meets up. At the very beginning, coming off CO 470, there's some twisties going up and be aware of the speed limit there, as the Morrison PD is very aggressive in speed enforcement. The likelihood is that you'll not be speeding, however. Just be aware.

It's a fairly steady climb up to Conifer/Aspen Park area, but it's also all 4 lane and it's not steep. From Conifer to Evergreen there's some hills but nothing to be overly concerned about. Mostly 4 lane, there's some stretches that are 3 lanes (climb lane up) and a couple of places it's 2 lanes.

Once you get to Pine Junction and get on CO 126, it's all down hill to Deckers for the most part. It's not steep but it is a decline. Used to drive that all the time (my step daughters lived outside of Pine) and it's an easy drive. Twisty, yes but not steep. You'll be fine.