Origin
Denver, CO
Late night in Denver on Tuesday
Local time
2:57 AM
MDT
Current temp
35°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Denver, 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
15m
Distance
8.1 mi
13 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$1
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 14m
★
6 AM
0h 15m
8 AM
0h 18m
10 AM
0h 16m
12 PM
0h 16m
3 PM
0h 16m
5 PM
0h 18m
8 PM
0h 14m
★
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Denver, CO
Wikimedia Commons
Lakewood, CO
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
If you are looking to travel from Denver to Lakewood, this 7.9-mile transit is a quick and straightforward trip across the Mountain West. You can easily complete the entire journey in about 15 minutes, making it an ideal candidate for a one-day outing. Budgeting for your trip is incredibly simple, as you will only need about $1 for fuel. Since the drive is so short, there is no need to worry about overnight logistics or complex planning. You will navigate entirely through local streets rather than major highways, providing a direct connection between these two Colorado cities. Whether you are commuting or heading out for a local visit, this route offers a practical and efficient way to move between these nearby urban centers.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| West 6th Avenue Freeway | 4.4 mi | 5m |
| North Wadsworth Boulevard | 1.5 mi | 3m |
| East 8th Avenue | 0.9 mi | 2m |
| Grant Street | 0.8 mi | 1m |
| North Kalamath Street | 0.1 mi | <1m |
| South Wadsworth Boulevard | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| East Colfax Avenue | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
West 6th Avenue Freeway
— 4.4 mi, about 5m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Denver, CO and Lakewood, CO.
1
Start on this road
379 ft
·
29 sec
·
this road
2
Turn right
62 ft
·
8 sec
3
Turn right onto I 70 Business; US 40; US 287
358 ft
·
14 sec
·
East Colfax Avenue
4
Turn right onto Grant Street
0.8 mi
·
1 min
·
Grant Street
Use the right lane.
5
Turn right onto East 8th Avenue
0.9 mi
·
2 min
·
East 8th Avenue
Use the straight / right lanes.
6
Continue on North Kalamath Street
0.1 mi
·
22 sec
·
North Kalamath Street
7
Continue on 6
4.4 mi
·
5 min
·
West 6th Avenue Freeway
Toward West 6th Avenue Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
27 sec
Toward CO 121 South: Wadsworth Boulevard
Use the right lane.
9
Turn straight onto CO 121
1.5 mi
·
3 min
·
North Wadsworth Boulevard
10
Continue on CO 121
369 ft
·
15 sec
·
South Wadsworth Boulevard
Use the left lane.
11
Arrive at destination
CO 121
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 75 decision points cluster between mile 0.1 and 6.3 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
4
0.1 mi into trip
|
~0m in
Turn right
Navigation decision point
4
0.1 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
I 70 Business; US 40; US 287 / East Colfax Avenue
Turn right onto I 70 Business; US 40; US 287 / East Colfax Avenue
Navigation decision point
6
0.2 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
Grant Street
Turn right onto Grant Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
6
0.9 mi into trip
|
~2m in
|
East 8th Avenue
Turn right onto East 8th Avenue
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / right lanes.
6
6.3 mi into trip
|
~11m in
Take the exit toward CO 121 South: Wadsworth Boulevard
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
Toward CO 121 South: Wadsworth Boulevard
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$1.22 one way
$2.44 round trip
$3.83/gal
25.4 MPG avg
3 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.05 | $1.29 | $2.58 |
| premium | $4.39 | $1.40 | $2.80 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $1.79 | $3.58 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$1
Estimated CO2 emission: 2.8 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 2.4 | 0 | $0.85 | $0.39 |
| Efficient EV | 2 | 0 | $0.71 | $0.32 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 3.2 | 0 | $1.13 | $0.52 |
Gas CO2
3 kg
EV CO2
1 kg (67% 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
Late night in Lakewood on Tuesday
Local time
2:57 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 cooler at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
15m 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 that keeps you engaged behind the wheel. You will spend 0% of your time on highways, relying instead on a network of city streets including East Colfax Avenue, Grant Street, and East 8th Avenue. Because this is entirely a local experience, there are no long highway stretches to speak of, with the longest uninterrupted segment being 0 miles on East Colfax Avenue. The personality of this route is defined by consistent urban navigation rather than open-road cruising. You should prepare for frequent turns and steady city traffic as you transition across the 7.9-mile distance.
54% highway, the rest on surface roads — varied driving throughout.
11 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 4.4 mi on West 6th Avenue Freeway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
4/10
This route mixes highway mileage with some local-road sections near the start or finish. There are only a few real navigation decisions along the way. The trickiest moment comes around 0.1 miles in.
Driving Effort
4/10
Easy - simple navigation with a manageable amount of wheel time
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a straightforward 15m drive. You will face about 7 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles: Navigation decision point; at 0.1 miles (I 70 Business; US 40; US 287 / East Colfax Avenue): Navigation decision point; at 0.2 miles (Grant Street): Lane positioning matters here.
About the Cities
Starting in Denver, CO
Full guide →“Mile High City” · Founded 1858
Denver is the capital of the western U.S. state of Colorado and the dominant city of the Rocky Mountain Region. Founded in 1858 as the placer gold mining camp known as the Cherry Creek Diggings, the "Mile-High City" is today the most populous city within a 560-mile (900 km) radius and the center of the Front Range Urban Corridor of more than five million residents. Denver embraces its cowboy and mining past but also looks toward the future with a vibrant arts and performing arts scene, dozens of great outdoor festivals, and distinct neighborhoods each offering a unique experience. You'll find everything a cosmopolitan city has to offer including a spectacular view of and easy access to the beautiful Rocky Mountains, which arise only 12 miles (19 km) west of the Colorado State Capitol.
Top landmarks
- • Denver Art Museum — museum in Denver, Colorado, United States
- • Denver Mint — United States Mint branch in Denver, Colorado
- • Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception — church in Colorado, United States
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 15m. Total distance: 8.1 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
15m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (54%). Straightforward navigation.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 4.4 miles on West 6th Avenue Freeway. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
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: Navigation decision point; at 0.1 miles (I 70 Business; US 40; US 287 / East Colfax Avenue): Navigation decision point; at 0.2 miles (Grant Street): Lane positioning matters here.
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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