Palmer Lake
Distance: 83.65 km
Elevation Gain: 978 m
Elevation Loss: 979 m
Difficulty:
604 (Moderate)
FIETS Index: 0.60 FIETS
Avg Grade: 1.47 %
Max cat climb: 2
Min elevation: 1831 m
Max elevation: 2239 m
Ride Category:
Hilly
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Perry Park Road, SH 105, climbs south from Castle Rock, Colorado, USA, to the top of the Palmer Divide, the ridge between the South Platte and Arkansas river basins. Just beyond lies Palmer Lake, the town General William Jackson Palmer founded in 1871 for his Denver & Rio Grande Railroad; steam trains climbing to the divide stopped at its lake for water. Cyclists came early too: in 1897 a group set out to extend Denver’s cycle path to Palmer Lake, making it 50 miles in all, and many riders took the train up and rode home downhill.
The ride heads south from the western edge of Castle Rock on a long, gentle climb. The ride’s highest point, about 2,240 m up, comes at the crest of the divide just north of Palmer Lake. The ride turns at the town’s northern edge, short of the lake itself, and heads back north, downhill off the divide towards Castle Rock, the way those riders of the 1890s went home.
