Origin
Lakewood, CO
Late night in Lakewood on Tuesday
Local time
4:23 AM
MDT
Current temp
34°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Lakewood, CO to Fort Collins, 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
1h 23m
Distance
70.1 mi
113 km
Drive Score
7/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$11
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
1h 17m
★
6 AM
1h 24m
8 AM
1h 37m
10 AM
1h 28m
12 PM
1h 27m
3 PM
1h 29m
5 PM
1h 36m
8 PM
1h 20m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Lakewood, CO
Wikimedia Commons
Fort Collins, CO
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Lakewood to Fort Collins is 70.1 miles and takes about 1 hour 23 minutes via Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway, with a fuel budget near $11 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This drive stays within Colorado, moving you from the Mountain West region to another part of the Mountain West. Given the relatively short distance and duration, this trip is easily manageable as a same-day excursion. Expect a route that primarily utilizes surface roads for a significant portion of the travel time.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway | 41.7 mi | 41m |
| North Valley Highway | 18.1 mi | 23m |
| East Mulberry Street | 4 mi | 7m |
| West 6th Avenue Freeway | 2.7 mi | 3m |
| South Wadsworth Boulevard | 1.3 mi | 2m |
| US 6 | 1.3 mi | 2m |
| West Mulberry Street | 0.3 mi | <1m |
| South Sherwood Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway
— 41.7 mi, about 41m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Lakewood, CO and Fort Collins, CO.
1
Start on CO 121
1.3 mi
·
2 min
·
South Wadsworth Boulevard
2
Take the ramp
0.2 mi
·
21 sec
Toward US 6 East: Denver
Use the slight right lane.
3
Merge onto US 6
2.7 mi
·
3 min
·
West 6th Avenue Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
4
Take the exit onto US 6
1.3 mi
·
2 min
·
US 6
Toward I 25: Fort Collins, Colorado Springs
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
5
Merge onto I 25
8.5 mi
·
11 min
·
North Valley Highway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
6
Keep slight right at fork onto I 25
4.3 mi
·
5 min
·
North Valley Highway
Use the slight right lane.
7
Keep slight right at fork onto I 25
5.3 mi
·
5 min
·
North Valley Highway
Use the straight / right lanes.
8
Continue on I 25
42 mi
·
41 min
·
Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
9
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
23 sec
Exit 269B
Toward CO 14 West: Fort Collins
10
Merge onto CO 14
4.0 mi
·
7 min
·
East Mulberry Street
Use the straight lane.
11
Continue on West Mulberry Street
0.3 mi
·
45 sec
·
West Mulberry Street
Use the left / straight lanes.
12
Turn right onto South Meldrum Street
499 ft
·
29 sec
·
South Meldrum Street
13
Turn left onto West Magnolia Street
476 ft
·
18 sec
·
West Magnolia Street
14
Continue on South Sherwood Street
0.2 mi
·
39 sec
·
South Sherwood Street
15
Arrive at destination
South Sherwood Street
Where to Stop
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Mid-route town
Meal stop
35 mi into the route
Best for: Lunch, fuel, and a longer reset
This sits close to the middle of the route, so it works well for the longest stop of the day.
Pacing Suggestions
Fuel and coffee
A short stop after about 15 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.
Meal break
The midpoint is around 35 miles from Lakewood, CO, which is a good place for a longer meal and fuel stop.
These stop ideas are pacing suggestions — the exact town or exit can change with traffic, hotel plans, and fuel range.
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 105 decision points cluster between mile 1.3 and 18.3 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
5
1.3 mi into trip
|
~2m in
Take the ramp toward US 6 East: Denver
Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight right lane.
Toward US 6 East: Denver
5
1.5 mi into trip
|
~3m in
|
US 6 / West 6th Avenue Freeway
Merge onto US 6 / West 6th Avenue Freeway
Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7
4.3 mi into trip
|
~6m in
|
US 6
Take the exit onto US 6 toward I 25: Fort Collins, Colorado Springs
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Toward I 25: Fort Collins, Colorado Springs
6
14 mi into trip
|
~20m in
|
I 25 / North Valley Highway
Keep slight right at fork onto I 25 / North Valley Highway
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight right lane.
6
18.3 mi into trip
|
~26m in
|
I 25 / North Valley Highway
Keep slight right at fork onto I 25 / North Valley Highway
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / right lanes.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$10.56 one way
$21.12 round trip
$3.83/gal
25.4 MPG avg
25 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.05 | $11.18 | $22.37 |
| premium | $4.39 | $12.13 | $24.25 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $15.48 | $30.95 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$11
Estimated CO2 emission: 24.5 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $7 in charging · 0 stops · 68% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 21 | 0 | $7.36 | $3.36 |
| Efficient EV | 17.5 | 0 | $6.13 | $2.80 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 28 | 0 | $9.81 | $4.49 |
Gas CO2
25 kg
EV CO2
8 kg (68% 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
Fort Collins, CO
Late night in Fort Collins on Tuesday
Local time
4:23 AM
MDT
Current temp
32°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
2 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
1h 23m 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?
This route covers 70.1 miles with a relatively low highway percentage, meaning you'll spend most of your time on surface streets. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway accounts for the longest continuous stretch at 41.7 miles. After that, you'll transition to North Valley Highway and eventually East Mulberry Street, navigating more local traffic and intersections. Be prepared for more frequent stops and speed adjustments as you move off the main highway.
Only 6% highway — the rest is turn-by-turn surface driving.
15 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 41.7 mi on Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
8/10
Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 1.3 miles in.
Driving Effort
8/10
Demanding - plan breaks and stay ahead of the key maneuvers
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This drive requires moderate attention. Across 70.1 miles you will encounter 10 spots where lane choice or exit timing matters. Not difficult for experienced highway drivers, but worth previewing the tricky sections before you go.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 1.3 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 1.5 miles (US 6 / West 6th Avenue Freeway): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here; at 4.3 miles (US 6): Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
On the drive from Lakewood, CO to Fort Collins, CO, road signs begin pointing toward Colorado Springs along the way.
Colorado Springs
4.3 mi in
|
~6m
|
via US 6
About the Cities
Starting 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.
Arriving in Fort Collins, CO
Full guide →Fort Collins is a city of about 170,000 in north central region of the western U.S. state of Colorado. The seat of Larimer County, the city lies 59 miles (95 km) north of Denver on the Cache La Poudre River at the eastern edge of the Front Range foothills. Fort Collins is the home of Colorado State University and is a major research center.
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 1h 23m. Total distance: 70.1 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
1h 23m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
Scenic Drive
Mostly surface roads route profile.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 41.7 miles on Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway. 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 Fort Collins, 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 1.3 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 1.5 miles (US 6 / West 6th Avenue Freeway): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here; at 4.3 miles (US 6): Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Fort Collins, 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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