State Highway 72 is a 51 miles (82.1 km) long state highway passing through the foothills and the eastern edge of the Front Range

Front Range

The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the north-central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered moving west along the 40th parallel north across...

.

Route description

The route is a mainly rural, scenic, mountainous highway; not having many junctions. It begins at I-70

Interstate 70 in Colorado

Interstate 70 is a transcontinental Interstate Highway in the United States, stretching from Cove Fort, Utah to Baltimore, Maryland. In Colorado, the highway traverses an east–west route across the center of the state. In western Colorado, the highway connects the metropolitan areas of Grand...

 (Exit 266) in Wheat Ridge

Wheat Ridge, Colorado

The City of Wheat Ridge is a Home Rule Municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Wheat Ridge is a western suburb of Denver. The Wheat Ridge Municipal Center is approximately west-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver...

 as Ward Road. It continues north through the western parts of Arvada

Arvada, Colorado

The City of Arvada is a Home Rule Municipality located in Jefferson and Adams counties in the Denver metropolitan area of the U.S. State of Colorado. Olde Town Arvada is located northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver...

 where it becomes Coal Creek Canyon Rd. The highway continues north-north-west through Coal Creek Canyon and aptly named Wondervu, across the Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....

 tracks at Pinecliffe

Pinecliffe, Colorado

Pinecliffe is an unincorporated town and a U.S. Post Office located in Boulder County and Gilpin County, Colorado, United States. The Pinecliffe Post Office, in Boulder County, has the ZIP Code 80471.-Geography:...

, to Nederland

Nederland, Colorado

The Town of Nederland is a Statutory Town established in 1885 located near the Continental Divide and Barker Meadow Reservoir in the mountains of southwest Boulder County, Colorado....

 where it meets SH 119. It goes north past Ward

Ward, Colorado

Ward is a Home Rule Municipality in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The population was 150 at the 2010 census. The town is a former mining settlement founded in 1860 in the wake of the discovery of gold at nearby Gold Hill...

 to its terminus with SH 7

Colorado State Highway 7

State Highway 7 in the U.S. state of Colorado is a state highway. Approximately long, it is located in the north-central portion of the state, traversing the mountains on the east of the continental divide south of Estes Park as well as portions of the Colorado Piedmont north of Denver...

 east of Allenspark

Allenspark, Colorado

Allenspark is a census-designated place in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The population was 528 at the 2010 census. The Allenspark Post Office has the ZIP Code 80510.-Geography:Allenspark is located at ....

.

History

The route was established in the 1920s, when it began at 46th Avenue in Denver

Denver, Colorado

The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

 and headed northeast to SH 119

Colorado State Highway 119

State Highway 119 is a long state highway in north central Colorado. It extends in a southwest to northeast direction, from a junction with US Route 6 in Clear Creek Canyon between Golden and Idaho Springs to a junction with I-25 east of Longmont....

 in Nederland

Nederland, Colorado

The Town of Nederland is a Statutory Town established in 1885 located near the Continental Divide and Barker Meadow Reservoir in the mountains of southwest Boulder County, Colorado....

. The other section of the highway northeast of Nederland was designated as SH 160. By 1936, the terminus had been moved to SH 58 (now moved). The section from SH 93 through Denver was paved by 1946, and the route was paved entirely by 1958. In 1968, SH 160 was deleted and SH 72 took the route from Nederland to Raymond.

Major intersections

{| class=wikitable
!County
!Location
!Mile
!Destination
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=2|Jefferson

Jefferson County, Colorado

Jefferson County , whose slogan is the "Gateway to the Rocky Mountains", is the fourth most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. Located along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, Jefferson County is adjacent to the west side of the state capital, Denver....

|Wheat Ridge

Wheat Ridge, Colorado

The City of Wheat Ridge is a Home Rule Municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Wheat Ridge is a western suburb of Denver. The Wheat Ridge Municipal Center is approximately west-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver...

|0.00
|
|Interchange
|-
|
|10.65
|
|
|-
|rowspan=3|Boulder

Boulder County, Colorado

Boulder County is the sixth most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county seat is Boulder. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is the City of Boulder...

|rowspan=2|Nederland

Nederland, Colorado

The Town of Nederland is a Statutory Town established in 1885 located near the Continental Divide and Barker Meadow Reservoir in the mountains of southwest Boulder County, Colorado....

|bgcolor=#ddffdd|29.37
|bgcolor=#ddffdd|
|bgcolor=#ddffdd|Begin concurrency
|-
|bgcolor=#ddffdd|32.37
|bgcolor=#ddffdd|
|bgcolor=#ddffdd|End concurrency
|-
|
|54.06
|
|
|-