Origin
Lakewood, CO
Late night in Lakewood on Tuesday
Local time
4:20 AM
MDT
Current temp
34°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Lakewood, CO to Greeley, 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
67.8 mi
109 km
Drive Score
9/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$10
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
1h 17m
★
6 AM
1h 24m
8 AM
1h 36m
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
Greeley, CO
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Lakewood to Greeley is 67.8 miles and takes about 1h 23m via Heartland Expressway, with a fuel budget near $10 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This trip stays within Colorado, moving from the Mountain West region to the same region. It's a straightforward drive that should feel familiar if you've traveled in the Denver metro area before. Plan for a mix of highway and surface roads, making it an easy option for a quick trip between these two locations.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Heartland Expressway | 33.7 mi | 35m |
| County Road 49 | 22 mi | 25m |
| South Wadsworth Boulevard | 5.4 mi | 10m |
| East 18th Street | 3.7 mi | 5m |
| 8th Avenue | 0.9 mi | 1m |
| 9th Street | 0.8 mi | 1m |
| 10th Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| 10th Avenue | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Heartland Expressway
— 33.7 mi, about 35m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Lakewood, CO and Greeley, CO.
1
Start on CO 121
5.4 mi
·
10 min
·
South Wadsworth Boulevard
Use the straight / right lanes.
2
Take the ramp
0.3 mi
·
34 sec
Toward I 70 East, I 76 East: Denver, Fort Morgan
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
3
Keep slight left at fork
0.6 mi
·
1 min
Toward I 76 East: Fort Morgan
Use the left / right lanes.
4
Merge onto I 76
12 mi
·
13 min
·
Heartland Expressway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
5
Keep slight right at fork onto I 76
22 mi
·
21 min
·
Heartland Expressway
Toward I 76 East: Fort Morgan
Use the slight left / slight right lanes.
6
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
22 sec
Exit 34
Toward Kersey Road
Use the slight right lane.
7
Turn left onto CR 49
22 mi
·
25 min
·
County Road 49
Use the straight / right lanes.
8
Turn left onto East 18th Street
3.7 mi
·
5 min
·
East 18th Street
Use the left lane.
9
At end of road, turn right onto US 34 Business; US 85 Business
0.9 mi
·
1 min
·
8th Avenue
Use the right lane.
10
Turn left onto US 34 Business
0.2 mi
·
28 sec
·
10th Street
Use the left lane.
11
Turn right onto US 34 Business
503 ft
·
16 sec
·
10th Avenue
Use the right lane.
12
Turn left onto US 34 Business
0.8 mi
·
1 min
·
9th Street
Use the left lane.
13
Turn left onto 19th Avenue
262 ft
·
11 sec
·
19th Avenue
14
Arrive at destination
19th Avenue
Where to Stop
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Mid-route town
Meal stop
34 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 33.9 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 125 decision points cluster between mile 5.7 and 66.8 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
7
5.7 mi into trip
|
~11m in
Keep slight left at fork toward I 76 East: Fort Morgan
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the left / right lanes.
Toward I 76 East: Fort Morgan
7
18.2 mi into trip
|
~25m in
|
I 76 / Heartland Expressway
Keep slight right at fork onto I 76 / Heartland Expressway toward I 76 East: Fort Morgan
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight left / slight right lanes.
Toward I 76 East: Fort Morgan
7
40 mi into trip
|
~47m in
Take the exit toward Kersey Road
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight right lane.
Exit 34
Toward Kersey Road
7
65.8 mi into trip
|
~1h 19m in
|
US 34 Business; US 85 Business / 8th Avenue
At end of road, turn right onto US 34 Business; US 85 Business / 8th Avenue
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
7
66.8 mi into trip
|
~1h 21m in
|
US 34 Business / 10th Avenue
Turn right onto US 34 Business / 10th Avenue
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$10.22 one way
$20.43 round trip
$3.83/gal
25.4 MPG avg
24 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.05 | $10.82 | $21.63 |
| premium | $4.39 | $11.73 | $23.46 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $14.97 | $29.94 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$10
Estimated CO2 emission: 23.7 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $7 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 20.3 | 0 | $7.12 | $3.25 |
| Efficient EV | 17 | 0 | $5.93 | $2.71 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 27.1 | 0 | $9.49 | $4.34 |
Gas CO2
24 kg
EV CO2
8 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
Greeley, CO
Late night in Greeley on Tuesday
Local time
4:20 AM
MDT
Current temp
58°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
33°F
Brighton, CO
34 mi in
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
24 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
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?
You'll spend about half the drive, 50%, on highways. The longest stretch without a significant turn or exit is 33.7 miles on the Heartland Expressway. After that, expect to transition to surface roads like County Road 49 and South Wadsworth Boulevard. This means you'll notice a change in the driving environment from higher-speed cruising to more local traffic and intersections.
50% 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: 33.7 mi on Heartland Expressway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
7/10
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 5.7 miles in.
Driving Effort
7/10
Demanding - plan breaks and stay ahead of the key maneuvers
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This drive requires moderate attention. Across 67.8 miles you will encounter 12 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 5.7 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 18.2 miles (I 76 / Heartland Expressway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 40 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here.
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 Greeley, CO, road signs begin pointing toward Fort Morgan along the way.
Fort Morgan
5.4 mi in
|
~10m
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 Greeley, CO
Full guide →Greeley is a city of about 110,000 in the north central region of the western U.S. state of Colorado. The seat of Weld County, the city lies 49 miles (79 km) north-northeast of Denver on the South Platte River, the historic route of the Pikes Peak Gold Rush of 1858-1861. The city was founded in 1870 by Nathan Meeker, who named it for Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune and promoter of the Union Colony of Colorado. Greeley is the home of the University of Northern Colorado. The most well-known event in the town is the annual Greeley Independence Stampede, which attracts an estimated 400,000 attendees every summer.
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: 67.8 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.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (50%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 33.7 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 Greeley, 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 5.7 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 18.2 miles (I 76 / Heartland Expressway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 40 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Greeley, 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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