Cherry Creek State Park

Thursday's weather was even nicer than Sunday's. The forecast high was over sixty degrees.  I set out on my bike for Cherry Creek State Park, which is southeast of Denver.   I started the ride on the rather-short Weir Gulch trail.  It ends at Barnum Park which has nice views of downtown.  Getting downtown from there was a little difficult. I found my way and picked up the Cherry Creek Trail, which I suspect is the most popular route in town. It travels about 12 miles to Cherry Creek State Park along Cherry Creek almost completely off road.

Full Screen Version
Cherry Creek State Park has a lot of additional trails.  I rode around the southern extent of the lake at the center of the park.   Once outside of the park, I rode of surface streets for the majority of the return ride, but most of them had a bike lane I could use.   I especially enjoyed riding down Quincy Street, pretty much down hill the whole way.  I did connect back with the South Platte Trail for about two-and-a-half miles.  The home stretch, Florida Avenue, was a bit a of challenge.  I was pretty tired and had to ride in to the wind

Trip Statistics
Length: 43.4 miles
Ride Time: 3 hours 51 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
Avg. Speed: 11.2 MPH
Max. Speed: 26.8 MPH
Total Ascent: 1,600 ft.
Max Elev.: 5,709 ft.

Elevation Profile

Downtown Denver from Barnum Park

Cherry Creek Trail

Cherry Creek Lake

Cherry Creek State Park