Origin
Brighton, CO
Morning in Brighton on Tuesday
Local time
7:53 AM
MDT
Current temp
33°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Brighton, CO to Lakewood, CO
Pin this tripCompiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 21, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
38m
Distance
27.2 mi
44 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$4
one way
EV Charging
Good
6 stations
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 35m
★
6 AM
0h 38m
8 AM
0h 45m
10 AM
0h 40m
12 PM
0h 40m
3 PM
0h 41m
5 PM
0h 44m
8 PM
0h 36m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Brighton, CO
Wikimedia Commons
Lakewood, CO
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
This 28.1-mile drive from Brighton to Lakewood, Colorado, is a quick 34-minute trip, making it perfect for a single-day excursion. You'll primarily navigate local streets, with US 85 South serving as a key artery for a portion of the journey. With a modest fuel cost estimated at $4, this route is economical for getting between these two points in the Mountain West region. The drive is characterized by frequent turns, so plan to stay alert. Given its short duration and minimal stops, you won't need to consider an overnight stay.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Heartland Expressway | 11.8 mi | 13m |
| CanAm Highway | 8.2 mi | 9m |
| North Wadsworth Boulevard | 5.8 mi | 11m |
| West Bridge Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| South Main Street | 0.1 mi | <1m |
| Bush Street | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| South Wadsworth Boulevard | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Heartland Expressway
— 11.8 mi, about 13m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Brighton, CO and Lakewood, CO.
1
Start on Bush Street
414 ft
·
14 sec
·
Bush Street
2
Turn right onto South Main Street
0.1 mi
·
24 sec
·
South Main Street
3
Turn left onto West Bridge Street
427 ft
·
8 sec
·
West Bridge Street
Use the left lane.
4
Enter roundabout onto CO 7
142 ft
·
2 sec
·
West Bridge Street
5
Continue on CO 7
266 ft
·
4 sec
·
West Bridge Street
6
Enter roundabout
304 ft
·
5 sec
Toward US 85 south
7
Continue
0.2 mi
·
29 sec
Toward US 85 south
8
Merge onto US 85
8.2 mi
·
9 min
·
CanAm Highway
Use the left lane.
9
Merge onto I 76; US 6; US 85
12 mi
·
13 min
·
Heartland Expressway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
10
Take the exit
0.6 mi
·
1 min
Exit 1A
Toward CO 121: Wadsworth Boulevard
Use the straight / right lanes.
11
Keep slight left at fork
0.1 mi
·
20 sec
Toward CO 121 South: Wadsworth Boulevard
Use the left / right lanes.
12
Turn left onto CO 121
5.8 mi
·
11 min
·
North Wadsworth Boulevard
Use the left lane.
13
Continue on CO 121
369 ft
·
15 sec
·
South Wadsworth Boulevard
Use the left lane.
14
Arrive at destination
CO 121
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 115 decision points cluster between mile 0.1 and 21.2 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
5
0.1 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
South Main Street
Turn right onto South Main Street
Navigation decision point
7
0.2 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
West Bridge Street
Turn left onto West Bridge Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
6
0.3 mi into trip
|
~0m in
Enter roundabout toward US 85 south
Roundabout - know your exit number before entering
Toward US 85 south
7
20.6 mi into trip
|
~24m in
Take the exit toward CO 121: Wadsworth Boulevard
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / right lanes.
Exit 1A
Toward CO 121: Wadsworth Boulevard
7
21.2 mi into trip
|
~26m in
Keep slight left at fork toward CO 121 South: Wadsworth Boulevard
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the left / right lanes.
Toward CO 121 South: Wadsworth Boulevard
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$4.10 one way
$8.20 round trip
$3.83/gal
25.4 MPG avg
10 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.05 | $4.34 | $8.68 |
| premium | $4.39 | $4.71 | $9.41 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $6.01 | $12.01 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$4
Estimated CO2 emission: 9.5 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $3 in charging · 0 stops · 70% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 8.2 | 0 | $2.86 | $1.31 |
| Efficient EV | 6.8 | 0 | $2.38 | $1.09 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 10.9 | 0 | $3.81 | $1.74 |
Gas CO2
10 kg
EV CO2
3 kg (70% less)
This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.
DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.
Travel Intel
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Destination
Lakewood, CO
Morning in Lakewood on Tuesday
Local time
7:53 AM
MDT
Current temp
34°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Time zone
Same local time
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
1 degrees warmer at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
38m on the road
Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
Expect a turn-heavy local drive for most of this 28.1-mile journey. Since there's no highway share, you'll be navigating city streets and surface roads for the entire 34-minute duration. This means you'll be constantly adjusting your course, making it less about long stretches of open road and more about precise navigation. The lack of a longest uninterrupted stretch indicates a consistent pattern of intersections and changes in direction throughout the trip. Be prepared for a dynamic driving experience.
43% highway, the rest on surface roads — varied driving throughout.
14 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 11.8 mi on Heartland Expressway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
8/10
This route mixes highway mileage with some local-road sections near the start or finish. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.1 miles in near South Main Street.
Driving Effort
8/10
Focused - busy navigation packed into a short drive
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a short but busy drive. With 11 decision points packed into just 27.2 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 38m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles (South Main Street): Navigation decision point; at 0.2 miles (West Bridge Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.3 miles: Roundabout - know your exit number before entering.
About the Cities
Starting in Brighton, CO
Full guide →Founded 1887
Brighton is a city of about 42,000 in the Denver Metropolitan Area of the western U.S. state of Colorado. The seat of Adams County and also extending into adjacent Weld County, the city lies northeast of Denver along the South Platte River. A former farming community, Brighton is now a residential suburb of Denver.
Arriving in Lakewood, CO
Full guide →Lakewood is a city of about 160,000 in the Denver Metropolitan Area of the western U.S. state of Colorado. The city lies in Jefferson County, immediately west of Denver and east of the Front Range foothills.
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 38m. Total distance: 27.2 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
38m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (43%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 11.8 miles on Heartland Expressway. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
It helps. This route has a higher-than-average number of complex decision points, which get harder in the dark. If the last hour of the trip is on surface roads or mountain grades, aim to arrive at Lakewood, CO before sunset when you can. Check the Trip Plan for departure windows that land you in daylight.
Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.
The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles (South Main Street): Navigation decision point; at 0.2 miles (West Bridge Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.3 miles: Roundabout - know your exit number before entering.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Lakewood, CO before heading back.
How this page is built
Compiled by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, and EIA for fuel prices. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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