Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive - Morrison CO

City:: Morrison, CO
Site Type:: Park Roads and Bridges, Parks and Recreation
New Deal Agencies:: Work Relief Programs, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Quality of Information:: Minimal
Marked:: Unknown
Site Survival:: Extant

Description

Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive is a 2-mile stretch of Colorado Highway 74 between the towns of Morrison and Idledale, just west of Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. The route is noted for its enclosing granite cliffs and diverse vegetation.

During the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) raised the bed of the road, which had originally been built by the Denver Motor Club. The project involved the construction of six 20-foot retaining walls along the edge of Bear Creek.

Source notes

https://www.historycolorado.org/location/bear-creek-canyon-scenic-mountain-drive

Site originally submitted by Shaina Potts on April 21, 2013.
Additional contributions by Richard Walker.

Location Info

Colo. Hwy. 74
Morrison, CO 80465
Jefferson County

Coordinates: 39.6571338, -105.21958

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One comment on “Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive – Morrison CO”

Lynwood O'Leary June 12, 2018

Anyway one can find out about history a series of stone walls built along Hi way 73 in Evergreen Colorado, during the depression, by the CCC ? These walls are still standing today and the local high way dept. is going to repair some of the damage due to deterioration over the years. CCC built other much larger stone walls along Hi way 74 in Bear Creek canyon (along with raising the road above Bear Creek) during the depression, and I’m guessing they also built the walls in Evergreen, Colorado. There is a CCC museum in Morrison, Colorado which might have records on these projects. The Jefferson County, Colorado Hi way dept. has maps of the location, but we (the Jefferson County Historical Society) would like to get the history on the walls.

Thanks.

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One comment on “Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive – Morrison CO”

Lynwood O'Leary June 12, 2018

Anyway one can find out about history a series of stone walls built along Hi way 73 in Evergreen Colorado, during the depression, by the CCC ? These walls are still standing today and the local high way dept. is going to repair some of the damage due to deterioration over the years. CCC built other much larger stone walls along Hi way 74 in Bear Creek canyon (along with raising the road above Bear Creek) during the depression, and I’m guessing they also built the walls in Evergreen, Colorado. There is a CCC museum in Morrison, Colorado which might have records on these projects. The Jefferson County, Colorado Hi way dept. has maps of the location, but we (the Jefferson County Historical Society) would like to get the history on the walls.

Thanks.