Discover Denver Trails: Denver Orbital Trail - 177 miles of urban and natural adventure!

  • Meet DOT, the Denver Orbital Trail. DOT is a 177-mile circuit around Denver, Colorado. It is the brainchild of Michael Tormey, who deserves all the credit for mapping out this Denver Trails route. This page is merely dedicated to the progress my wife, Beth, and I are making following his route as we walk bike, and hike the segments over the next several months.
Denver Trails DOT 11 Segments Complete

Map Created using onX BackCountry.

The map above shows our progress on the Denver Orbital Trail, marked in red and purple. The incomplete segments, shown in alternating black and brown, have yet to be completed. We’re strategically cycling on some of the longer paved sections to cover more ground faster. We believe this approach will help us fill up more segments in the near future. But it is not a race for us. It’s about learning about lesser-known areas, spending time together, and taking pictures—lots of them!

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Mike drew inspiration from other efforts from around the world. Such as:

The Denver Orbital Trail is a unique route divided into 28 segments of varying difficulty. Visit the official DOT website for comprehensive trail details and frequently asked questions. Mike generously provides maps and GPX files for free download and covers ways to tackle the segments, including public transportation options to many segments. He also shares direct links to the trails with step-by-step navigation on AllTrails. However, we’ve encountered some access issues, so after speaking to Mike, I put the tracks into other popular formats.

onX Users can get the routes here.

Gaia GPS users can get the routes here.

Google Maps users can get the official DOT routes here. Scroll down to see Mike’s Interactive Google Sheet. Click on each segment to learn more. 

I created a Google Sheet to group segments that can be conveniently done in a single outing. I’ve also tagged them for possible bicycle routes. Where permitted, experienced mountain bikers could ride nearly all of the trail. We are breaking our route up. Mostly riding pavement, hiking, walking, and everything else. You can see our progress below. You can download your own copy of the planning sheet here. (You cannot edit this version. But you can download a copy that you can modify for your needs.)

Denver Trails: DOT Segment Planning

Click on the Image Below to View our Live Tracker with Denver Trails Route updates and notes.

Relive Videos of Completed Denver Trails Segments

Denver Trails: Inside Rocky Mountain Arsenal

Segment 1
Downtown Golden, Lookout Mountain and Apex Park

Coming Soon!

Segment 2
Red Rocks ParK

Coming Soon!

Segment 3
Downtown Morrison and Bear Creek Lake Park

Coming Soon!

Segment 4:
Bear Creek Lake Park and C-470 trail

Coming Soon!

Segment 5: South Hogback Open Space, South Valley Park, and Deer Creek Canyon Park

Segment 6
Plymouth Mountain, Hildebrand Ranch Park, and Chatfield State Park

Coming Soon!

Segment 7
Chatfield State Park

Coming Soon!

Segment 8
Douglas County Open Space

Coming Soon!

Segment 19
Northfield Greenways and neighborhood parks

Coming Soon!

Segment 20
Sand Creek to Platte River

Coming Soon!

Segment 21
Platte River Trail to Riverdale Regional Park

Coming Soon!

Segment 22
Horizon Tributary Trail to Lee Lateral Ditch and Signal Ditch Trails

Coming Soon!

Segment 23
Signal Ditch Trail, Hunters Glen Lake, and Big Dry Creek Trail

Coming Soon!

Segment 24
Big Dry Creek Trail: Front Range Community College to Wadsworth Parkway

Coming Soon!

Segment 25
Big Dry Creek to Standley Lake

Coming Soon!

Segment 26
Farmers & Croke Canals Trail through Two Ponds National Wildlife Refuge

Coming Soon!

Segment 27
Majestic View Park, Ralston Creek Trail, and Blunn Reservoir

Coming Soon!

Segment 28
Fairmont Canal Trail to North Table Mountain, Tucker Gulch to Downtown Golden

Coming Soon!

Interactive Denver Orbital Trail

Click on any colored segment above to learn more. For more information, visit Mike Tormey’s official DOT website.

I did not create the Denver Orbital Trail. All credit goes to Mike Tormey. I hope you enjoy following our journey. But please visit Mike’s site and say thank you if you enjoy any of these resources. 

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