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+ 194

South Platte River Greenway

Gravel Riding Trail

Moderate
47.62 mi
1,164 ft
A beautiful greenway corridor passing through the heart of Denver.

The South Platte River Greenway is one of the longest greenway paths in the Denver Metro Area. This 48-mile trail begins far to the north of the metro area and follows the South Platte River through the very heart of downtown Denver. It continues heading south, winding through an assortment of suburbs, before finally passing through Chatfield State Park and ending at the mouth of Waterton Canyon, near where the Colorado Trail begins.

Historically, the South Platte River corridor was an extremely polluted riverway running through the heart of the city. The current greenway corridor is notable for its tremendous transformation from a neglected and polluted area into a beautiful natural resource and a fantastic recreational trail. The rehabilitation efforts began in 1974, and the trail was named a National Recreation Trail just four years later in 1978. Today, it's even better than ever and is one of the most popular recreational and human-powered transportation corridors in the city.

This mostly-paved greenway path is perfect for all types of trail users, ranging from road cyclists (both recreational cyclists and commuters) to walkers/hikers, runners, skaters, and more. The entire 48-mile point-to-point route is shown here, but you can ride as little or as much of it as you want as an out-and-back route. For an even longer ride, this path connects to other long-distance trails, such as the Cherry Creek Trail, High Line Canal Trail, and Bear Creek Trail.

And if you're on a mountain bike, you can use this trail as a prelude to the Colorado Trail by pedaling from downtown Denver to the beginning of the Colorado Trail and then following one of the most epic bikepacking routes in the nation all the way to the town of Durango, in the southwestern corner of the state.

The scale of your adventure on the South Platte River Greenway is entirely up to you!

Sources:


Written by Greg Heil
Created By
Strava Routes

Route and Elevation

Segments

NameDistanceElev. Diff.Avg. Grade
SPRT: Golf Course (South)1.30 mi23 ft0.2%
SPRT: Adams County Regional Open Space (South)1.07 mi7 ft0.1%
SPRT: 120th to 104th2.26 mi26 ft0.2%
104th to McKay 20200.99 mi13 ft0.2%
SPRT: 2018 McKay Cement0.63 mi16 ft0.3%
Platt river south, Monaco to Outhouse4.34 mi56 ft0.2%
Gravel Lakes Southbound Cruise1.29 mi20 ft0.2%
Over the Bridge0.82 mi20 ft0.1%
Platte River for CC to 2700.85 mi20 ft0.3%
Platte River - I-76 to Franklin2.86 mi46 ft0.2%
Sand creek to Edge of Lodo5.33 mi69 ft0.2%
Little Yorkle South0.44 mi-7 ft0.0%
Platte River - Franklin to 20th St3.02 mi23 ft0.1%
Lamb Chops to Bridge0.62 mi7 ft0.1%
Globeville to Cuernavaca1.57 mi-30 ft-0.1%
Whitsuns Sprint0.61 mi13 ft0.3%
31st to Park Ave.0.61 mi10 ft0.1%
Confluence Park to Frog Hollow2.03 mi20 ft0.1%
Confluence to Overland5.17 mi59 ft0.2%
Heather is better Sprint0.88 mi13 ft0.2%
Confluence Park to C470 TT15.56 mi223 ft0.3%
CX Shortcut - Reverse - Don't look for Trains.0.13 mi0 ft0.0%
MileHi2Bridge2.12 mi43 ft0.3%
Bronco bridge0.30 mi13 ft0.8%
Lakewood Gulch to Evans5.02 mi56 ft0.2%
Gulch-9th Southbound Sprint0.52 mi10 ft0.3%
upstream commute2.43 mi39 ft0.2%
Doughnut Smell Sprint0.32 mi-7 ft-0.2%
Lower-Platte Southbound Sprint0.53 mi-7 ft-0.1%
Up to the guns sprint0.57 mi16 ft0.3%
Alpe d'SPR0.16 mi20 ft2.0%
Bump0.07 mi7 ft0.5%
B-EE-RR-U-N (Southbound)9.36 mi115 ft0.2%
Platte past Vanderbilt Park - Southbound0.69 mi13 ft0.3%
park turn to overland park1.20 mi-23 ft-0.1%
Overland Park to Bridge #21.39 mi36 ft0.4%
Overland Park to Dartmouth 2.51 mi36 ft0.1%
Bridge #2 to Dartmouth1.16 mi13 ft0.0%
Oxford to Union - East side0.83 mi20 ft0.5%
Big Dry Creek to C470 - East Side Going South5.33 mi72 ft0.2%
Bridge to Bowles Eastside1.44 mi20 ft0.2%
lucille's to mineral2.40 mi36 ft0.2%
Nixon's Bridge - Mineral Bridge2.20 mi36 ft0.2%
Bowles Bridge - Wolhurst Cutoff3.24 mi26 ft0.1%
Bridge to Bridge Shortcut0.72 mi7 ft0.2%
Mineral Roundabout to Blackrock1.47 mi13 ft0.2%
Mineral Bridge To 4701.26 mi16 ft0.2%
Southbound Platte Cat Diesel0.83 mi7 ft0.0%
Chatfield Dam Spillway Climb North - Bridge to Access Road1.45 mi148 ft1.9%
to the first bench0.66 mi121 ft3.4%