The Central City Parkway: Gilpin County's direct road up from I-70

From the Denver and I-70 side, there are two main paved approaches to the Central City and Black Hawk area of Gilpin County. One is the canyon road up from Golden through Black Hawk. The other is the Central City Parkway, a road the city built to connect directly to Interstate 70 near Idaho Springs. It opened in 2004 and gives drivers a way to reach Central City without passing through Black Hawk first. Other mountain roads, such as the Peak to Peak Highway, also reach the area from other directions.

The parkway is modern and well-graded, but it is still a mountain road. It climbs and curves through high terrain, so the usual rules apply: in winter it can hold snow and ice, grades are steep enough to matter for brakes on the way down, and weather can change between the interstate and town.

For someone living in or visiting the area, the practical value is having a choice. If one route is jammed with casino traffic, closed, or rough in a storm, the other may be the better way home. As with any mountain road, check current conditions in winter before you rely on a route.

For road details, see the City of Central City; for current conditions and closures, check COtrip, Colorado’s official road-conditions site.