May 2009 Golden to Denver along Clear Creek

One of my favorite rides is Clear Creek from Golden to Denver. The other day we had our first 90+ degree day of 2009. I decided it would be a good time to ride Clear Creek.

I took the 16L RTD bus from Denver to Golden. I caught it at Colfax & Lipan.
This is the stop at Colfax & Lipan. The light rail stops there too.


The #16L drops me off in Golden, right next to Clear Creek. The sign on the bus was changing from Golden to Via Colfax when this picture was taken.



Welcome to Golden. Nice little town.

You get off the Bus at 10th and Washington. You can go one more stop on the bus but I like to explore Golden for a bit before I proceed.
Anyway you ride East on 10th for two blocks, then just past Ford street turn left at Tucker Gulch. Here's a picture.

is a long ways from Clear Creek. At first you follow Church Ditch along a hill side.
















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This is where Tucker Gulch meets the Clear Creek Trail
The first part of the trail

A bridge inspector was knocking off big chunks of concrete with a hammer. I'm no engineer but I know that can't be good. Colorado, low taxes, lousy infrastructure.
See the exposed re-bar?

We pass the Massive Coors Brewery.












































A train was switching some cars. It's unusual to see a caboose these days.













This is Church Ditch. It's my meditation spot.
















At the bottom of this photo there's a road. Up on the hill the dark line is an old water flume. Water was diverted in the mountains to deliver to the city.













This part of the Clear Creek Trail is new and pretty nice I must say















Here's the bridge over highway 58.

There's the Beer Train. New logo, no more cursive script.

There's a big tree watching over the bike path. Used to be a rail line. Tree has seen a lot.

This is a new section of trail.














One of many bridges over Clear Creek.



















Plenty water.













Clear Creek was very full.



















Water features all along the trail.












No swimming.


















A bunch of birds nesting on a tree on an island.















Clear Creek has lots of single track. You can see the concrete path on the left.












I saw sprinklers, it was 90 degrees, I went for it. Whoosh, instant cool down.












Another bike bridge over Clear Creek.



















Green is the new black. I mentioned that a year ago in regards to this same stretch of trail.














Clear Creek was running high.















Wet April equals green May.
















I stopped along the Fisher Ditch to see my dead tree friend.














That's the Fisher Ditch.














Another bridge over Clear Creek.















Concrete stream into Clear Creek.

















When you see the grafiito tagged mobile home you know you're near Federal Avenue. You can catch a bus back to Denver at Federal but today I kept going.















I knew Smokey's Bar-b-que was just past Federal so I kept going.




















Open Monday through Friday 9 to 5.









Today I had the barbeque beef. Yummy.

















Clear Creek running high.










Above the dam.
















At the dam.

































Water being diverted to the Colorado Agricultural Canal and Lower Clear Creek Canal.

May 2009 Ralston Creek Trail from the top

The last time I rode Ralston Creek I noticed there was a RTD bus stop up at the top of the trail. At the time I was riding up Ralston and down Clear Creek but I made a note to investigate the bus route. It was RTD route 52 and it only makes 10 runs up there a day. Three in the morning, seven in the afternoon. In the morning RTD arrives there at 6:20, 6:51 & 7:19 AM so you'd need to get up really early to get there in the AM. In the afternoon the first run stops at 3:48 PM so for this trip, that's the one I took. I left Denver @ 2:42 PM. plot your route here:
http://www.rtd-denver.com/

Here we are at W 64th & Virgil Way. Turn right when you get to Violet Way.Good ol' Rocky Mountains. Go East bound on this trail off Violet way.
Then you hit the Ralston, watch out for Coyotes. They're harmless despite what you hear.

There is some single track but it belongs to the equines.
I don't care, I rode that single track but would have yielded to horses.
Tunnel.
More single track.
Some rough
Some smooth
Some through neighborhoods, watch the signs.



Nice and green.
Ralston Creek.

Weeping Willow trees along Ralston.
When you hit the white bridge the trail merges with the Clear Creek Trail.
That's the Clear Creek Trail.There's Clear Creek.I saw a Dinosaur along Clear Creek. It was on the roof of a gas station.
This is the diversion for Fisher Ditch.Here's my dead tree friend near the diversion for Fisher Ditch. I always stop to say hi.Clear Creek.
Clear Creek Trail goes all the way to the Platte River but you can catch a bus as the creek passes certain roads. I got off the Clear Creek Trail at Federal Avenue near W60th st and caught an RTD 31 bus towards downtown.
Then I transferred to a bus to take me home. I could have also gotten off at Washington street & caught a #7 to downtown. You can also ride to the Platte and follow the Platte back to Denver. Ralston > Clear creek is a 4 star ride.