lariat loop national scenic byway

This tour is great for anyone who has interest in geological formations and dinosaurs. Who doesn't love to learn about rocks and dinosaurs. My children loved it. I have a 16 year old and a 12 year old. We also had a 11 year old traveling with us. I sent pictures back to my husband and he shared with all his Geologist friends and they loved it.

We did the drive in short time, not much for hiking with 18 mo with us.. We started in Golden, went up to Buffalo Bills grave, then wrapped up at Red Rocks.. Be wary of cyclists near Golden, some of them really cruise on the way down.. Buffalo Bills does have restrooms, gift shop, and food items as well.. There are spectacular views of the foothills, mountains (from MN, so they were beautiful to me).. They are many stops along the way, not well marked that I could see though..

Absolutely beautiful. You can do it in a couple of hours or spend a few days along the route, visiting parks, doing hikes of various difficulty, examining the red rocks amphitheater formations, the bill cody museum, mother cabrini shrine, quaint towns with various points of interest, and restaurants. it can be tailored to various tastes.

Did not have much time to tour this area and found this on TA. Did the route and as others say is very pretty. Red Rock amphitheater is interesting to visit, but enjoyed Wild Bill's grave.Not so much as the grave, but he is buried on a beautiful site. The best view of the mountains as well as the plains. If you want to take pictures, be sure to visit it. Also the road down toward Golden is scenic too

We took most of a day to meander along the Lariat Loop. We started at Dinosaur Ridge, picnicked at Red Rocks Amphitheater, headed up to Buffalo Bill's museum and grave at Lookout Mountain. From there we drove through Bear Creek Canyon, stopped to walk the trails at Evergreen Lake, and ended up snapping photos of the Denver bison herd. We went on a weekend day, so the traffic wasn't bad, and there were not toooo many cyclists. There are a lot of places to pull off and take pictures. The scenery is top notch - you just can't stop looking! Highly recommend this drive with some stops.

The folks at the Visitors Center in Golden suggested we go up Lookout Mountain first rather than taking the loop the other direction and having to come back down that mountain road into Golden at the end of the trip. This drive up was not too bad--apart from dealing with the bicycles. Made stops to enjoy the view on both sides of the mountain. Great scenic drive on this loop. The lake at Evergreen was especially beautiful.

Great scenic drive for a day trip to the top of Lookout Mountain. Be cautious of bicyclist going both up and down on the road.

The road up to Lookout mountain is scary so we went the other way. Even though it was a cold and misty rainy day, the drive was awesome. Highly recommend the drive.

Be sure to stop at the pullovers for the best views! We made the mistake of thinking the views were best at the top of Lookout Mountain, we were wrong.

Driving up the road can be daunting if you have not navigated mountain roads with lots of switchbacks. Be careful of the bikers and runners that use this road. Share it with them. Enjoy the view from the top rather than while driving. View is excellent of Golden, Denver in the distance and the plains. At the top is Buffalo Bill's grave and his wife (William F. Cody). There is a small museum dedicated to him and a small restaurant and gift shop. Worth a visit.

I really recommend that you download the map @ http://www.lariatloop.org/maps-video/ or pick one up from a tourist information and plan your tour and decide what you want to see if you follow the map. If you just want to drive and enjoy the different changes in scenery with occasional stops to enjoy the views or small towns, you can probably drive the entire 40 mile loop in 2-3 hours. With so many interesting attractions and points of interest on the route, you should plan it as a day trip and that will not even give you enough time to stop at every attraction along the way so research and plan on what you really want to see or decide what to come back to another time. We started the loop going south first and then around, but can be driven in either direction. We had not plan on going to Mt. Evans (read other reviews in tripadvisor), but saw the turn-off for it enroute and since we were “in the area” decided to take a little detour and was well worth the trip. However, it took almost 2 hours round trip back to the loop route map which cut into making it in time to do a stop at the Coors Brewery in Goldin, CO (http://www.millercoors.com/golden-brewery-tour.aspx). You will be driving in mountain areas and want to plan to do your drive when you have the most daylight as most of the loop consists of a 2-lane road and switchbacks that require attentive driving until you get back to the interstate. Having a car or phone GPS with you is also handy.

My trip was for the scenic views so I did not stop at all the historic locations. Would be interesting for a history buff. Lots of beautiful views of mountains and valleys.

Take the Loop to go up to and see Lookout Mountain Rd., Buffalo Bill Museum and many additional site.When you get to Southern end of loop you will go thru town of Morrison. There is a small museum called the Morrison Museum - an absolute must to visit.Town itself had many restaurants and a great place to end the loop drive if you start in the AM at Lookout Mtn Road.

I read this in many vacation guides and was also told by people at the Welcome Center that this was a good scenic ride......Well in FACT it is NOT! The roads are not marked, there are no signs, the ones they do have are so small if you blink you miss them. We road around for an hour lost only to happen upon and roadway called "Clear Creek Canyon". Thats worth every minute. Its absolutely gorgeous views and lots of scenery! Stay clear of the Lariat Loop and head on over to Clear Creek Canyon instead, you won't be dissatisfied!!

This byway circles through some of the areas most beautiful scenery and has several locations to stop and enjoy things along the way, ie, Lookout Mountain, Buffalo Bill Museum, Golden, CO and the Red Rock Park and Amphitheater. If you want to visit each of the things on the route, allow yourself a few hours at a minimum.