Morrison—Park of the Red Rocks—Evergreen—Echo Lake—Summit of Mount Evans—Idaho Springs;  55.7 miles, State 74, State 103. Oil-processed road entire distance.

This tour leads through the Denver Mountain Parks, a chain of recreational areas of varying size, all connected by highways radiating south and west from Denver. A charter amendment empowering the city to acquire and maintain these parks, condemn land in other counties for park purposes, and build and maintain roads outside the city limits, was adopted in 1912. The parks contain lodges, shelter houses, outdoor fireplaces, water supplies, and sanitary conveniences. Park rules forbid the picking of flowers, the removal or destruction of trees and shrubbery, the mutilation of property, and the building of fires except in designated spots. The parks are patrolled to enforce these regulations.

State 74 branches west (R) from US 285 (see Tour 15) in MORRISON, 0 miles (see Tour 15a), 14.7 miles southwest of Denver.

At 0.5 miles is the junction with an oil-processed road.

Right on this road through the 639-acre PARK OF THE RED ROCKS; geologically, the formations are of the type known as the Fountain Formation of the Pennsylvania period, of the Cambrian variety, consisting chiefly of quartzitic sandstone, with some shale, limestone, and flat-pebble conglomerates. The varied strata were formed by silt deposits on the bed of a sea that once covered the entire Middle West. A violent upheaval caused the sea to recede; rock strata were shattered and thrust upward at a sharp angle, leaving the ends exposed as they are today. Erosive forces have carved them into strange shapes. Many varieties of shells, teeth of curious fish, and plants are found preserved in the stone. Among the important discoveries in this vicinity was the thigh bone, 9 feet long and 28 inches in diameter, of an Atlantosaurus.

At 0.4 miles is the junction with a side road.

Right here to the SOUTH PICNIC GROUNDS, 0.2 miles, at the base of PARK CAVE ROCK.

The main road winds between Park Cave Rock (R) and FROG ROCK (L), and circles (L) PICNIC ROCK, 0.9 miles, to the. RED ROCKS PUEBLO (open 9-9 daily), 1.3 miles, resembling an Indian pueblo in design, the center of park activities. It houses a museum of Indian art sponsored by the Denver Art Museum (see Denver). At the rear of the building are picnic tables and benches (available only through reservation by phone; no charge). From the parking space (L) is a broad view of the chief formations in the park. These monoliths are, from left to right, PICNIC ROCK, ROCK OF THE NINE PARTS, named for its many visible strata, the TITANIC AND THE ICEBERG, so called for its resemblance to the ill-fated liner and the cause of its destruction, and SHIP ROCK.

At the Pueblo is the junction with a side road.

Left here through the deep crevice between Ship Rock and the Rock of the Nine Parts to the SOUTH ENTRANCE of the park and a junction with State 74, 1.4 miles.

The main road passes between the ROCK OF THE SEVEN LADDERS (R) and CREATION ROCK (L), 1.5 miles, to the junction with a side road 2.3 miles.

Right here to the NORTH ENTRANCE of the park, 1.1 miles, and the junction with the West Alameda Parkway, an alternative route to Denver, 9.4 miles.

On the main road is the junction with another side road, 2.4 miles.

Right here 0.3 miles to the NORTH PICNIC GROUNDS, situated in rugged surroundings.

The main road passes through a tunnel, 2.6 miles, through which is revealed a view of MOUNT MORRISON (7,880 alt.). The road skirts towering formations to a parking space at the base of CREATION ROCK, 3.4 miles, its summit reached by a series of steps.

At the parking space is the junction with a footpath.

Left here to a natural AMPHITHEATER, with a seating capacity of 10,000. The stage, 80 by 100 feet, is dominated by the massive slab of STAGE ROCK rising behind it. Mary Garden, opera singer, and Jascha Heifetz, violinist, have praised the natural acoustics of the amphitheater. The footpath circles Ship Rock and rejoins the main road, 0.4 miles.

State 74 ascends Bear Creek Canyon, winding along high above the stream between towering pine-clad slopes dotted with numerous summer houses, to IDLEDALE, 3 miles (6,426 alt., 60 pop.), formerly known as Starbuck, a supply point for occupants of near-by cottages.

Left from Idledale 0.2 miles to LITTLE PARK, a 400-acre wooded tract with shelter houses, tables, and fireplaces, part of the Denver Mountain Parks System.

CORWINA PARK (picnic facilities), 6 miles, a 298-acre tract, is a section of the Denver Mountain Parks.

KITTREDGE, 7.3 miles (6,825 alt., 350 pop.), is a resort at the head of a small valley.

Left from Kittredge on a side road to PENSE PARK, 4.5 miles, a 320-acre area in the Denver Mountain Parks System, on the divide between Bear and Turkey Creeks.

The highway continues up Bear Creek Canyon to EVERGREEN, 9.5 miles (7,037 alt., 275 pop.), the center of a region of hotels, resorts, and summer residences. The town is built along the narrow tree-fringed canyon, and the highway constitutes its only street.

Left from Evergreen on State 73 to CUB CREEK PARK, 0.8 miles, 549 acres in a region of primitive grandeur. The road winds through wooded slopes to a junction with US 285 (see Tour 16a), 8 miles.

The road skirts EVERGREEN LAKE, 9.7 miles, to DEDISEE PARK, 9.9 miles, its 400 sloping acres part of the Denver Mountain Parks System, and ascends steadily to BERGEN PARK, 15 miles, a 26-acre tract on the site of the Bergen homestead. T. C. Bergen settled here in 1859, building a small house in the center of a wild expanse he planned to use as a stock range. Later he erected a two-story hotel used as an overnight stop by travelers bound for the South Park region. His 50¢ meals, "never higher, and never lower, whatever the times," were noted throughout the territory. Bergen was later a member of the Constitutional Convention of Colorado and a member of the First State Legislature. The State Historical Society has erected a marker on the site of the hotel.

Right from Bergen Park to FILLIUS PARK, 0.5 miles, a 69-acre plot in the Denver Mountain Parks; leaving the park, 0.9 miles, the road winds between wooded slopes to the junction with US 40 (see Tour 7b), 2.7 miles.

The highway passes FORSBURG PARK (picnic facilities), 19.6 miles, crosses the eastern boundary of Arapaho National Forest (see Tour 7b), 25.8 miles, traverses SQUAW PASS (9,807 alt.), and skirts a shoulder of SQUAW MOUNTAIN (11,733 alt.). West of Squaw Mountain, State 74 passes CHIEF MOUNTAIN (11,709 alt.), 29.5 miles, and WARRIOR MOUNTAIN (11,260 alt.), 30 miles, and crosses the eastern boundary of ECHO LAKE PARK, 33.4 miles.

From ECHO LAKE (10,605 alt.), 33.6 miles, set in a natural park, numerous trails lead along the surrounding slopes; at the lower end of the lake are picnic and campgrounds.

Left from Echo Lake on a graded road to SUMMIT LAKE PARK, 8.7 miles, a 160-acre area about SUMMIT LAKE, a snow-fed body of water in a glacial cirque on the slope of Mount Evans. In a series of hairpin curves the road winds upward to the SUMMIT OF MOUNT EVANS (14,259 alt.), 13.2 miles, the highest automobile road in the United States. The last few yards are made on foot. The peak was originally named Mount Rosalie by Albert Bierstadt, German painter, in honor of his wife; Bierstadt and Fitz-Hugh Ludlow climbed the mountain in 1863. On a second trip to the region he began painting his Storm in the Rocky Mountains in which the peak appears. In 1870 the mountain was renamed for John Evans, second Territorial Governor of Colorado (1862-65).

On the crest of Mount Evans stands the COSMIC RAY LABORATORY of the University of Denver, the highest laboratory in the world, built in 1936 for the furtherance of scientific study of the cosmic ray; it is also used for meteorological observation and experiments in biochemistry. Carl Anderson, R. A. Millikan, and A. H. Compton, three of the six Americans who have won the Nobel Prize in physics, have made studies here. The laboratory is a conical structure; flat side walls were eliminated to enable the building to withstand a wind velocity of 150 miles an hour. It consists of two rooms, each 20 by 24 feet, one equipped as a laboratory, the other as living quarters for six observers. The building was constructed in Denver, cut into sections, and transported by truck to the mountain. Protection against lightning is afforded by metal strips on walls, roof, and floor, which are connected with buried ground wires.

At Echo Lake is the junction with State 103, which the tour now follows.

At 48.8 miles is the junction with a foot trail.

Left on this trail up Chicago Creek Canyon to LOWER CHICAGO LAKE, 4.2 miles, and UPPER CHICAGO LAKE, 4.5 miles, walled in on three sides by precipitous cliffs. The cliff (L) can be scaled by experienced climbers, the climb ending at Summit Lake (see above).

The highway continues down the granite-walled corridor of Chicago Creek Canyon to IDAHO SPRINGS, 55.7 miles (see Tour 7b), at the junction with US 40 (see Tour 7b).