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Trip from Brighton, CO to Boulder, CO

Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 18, 2026 · Editorial standards

Drive Time

38m

Distance

28.7 mi

46 km

Drive Score

8/10

Great drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$4

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 9 min
4 AM
0h 35m ★
6 AM
0h 38m
8 AM
0h 44m
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.

Best Time Drive vs Fly
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city in and county seat of Adams County, Colorado, United States

Brighton, CO

Wikimedia Commons

city in and county seat of Boulder County, Colorado, United States

Boulder, CO

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

The drive from Brighton, CO to Boulder, CO covers 28.7 miles and takes about 38m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on Northwest Parkway, Denver–Boulder Turnpike, East 160th Avenue for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is mixed drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 8.3 miles on Northwest Parkway. At current regular gas prices, budget about $4.32 one way before food or hotel costs.

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 38m. Total distance: 28.7 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 (58%). Some complex stretches to watch for.

Drive Character

The drive from Brighton, CO to Boulder, CO covers 28.7 miles and takes about 38m, using a mix of highways and local roads.

Expect a mix of faster highway mileage and slower local approaches near the beginning or end.
There are about 22 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Northwest Parkway is the longest continuous segment at about 8.3 miles.

How Hard Is This Drive?

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 0.2 miles in near West Bridge Street.

Driving Effort 10/10

Focused - lots of decisions in a short distance, but it is over quickly

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

This is a short but busy drive. With 16 decision points packed into just 28.7 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 0.2 miles (West Bridge Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 18.6 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here; at 20.4 miles (US 36 / Denver–Boulder Turnpike): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.

Critical Maneuvers

5 of 16 key points

These are the spots where you need to pay the most attention. Preview them before you drive.

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
18.6 mi into trip | ~23m in

Take the exit toward US 36 West: Boulder

Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here

Use the right lane. Toward US 36 West: Boulder
6
20.4 mi into trip | ~26m in | US 36 / Denver–Boulder Turnpike

Keep slight right at fork onto US 36 / Denver–Boulder Turnpike

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight / slight right lanes.
6
24.9 mi into trip | ~31m in | US 36 / Denver–Boulder Turnpike

Keep slight left at fork onto US 36 / Denver–Boulder Turnpike

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight lane.
6
28.6 mi into trip | ~37m in | 19th Street

Turn right onto 19th Street

Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight / right lanes.

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 Brighton, CO to Boulder, CO, road signs begin pointing toward E470 Toll North along the way.

E470 Toll North

8.2 mi in | ~11m

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Northwest Parkway 8.3 mi 9m
Denver–Boulder Turnpike 8.3 mi 9m
East 160th Avenue 6.7 mi 8m
E-470 1.7 mi 1m
28th Street 0.8 mi 1m
York Street 0.7 mi 1m
Arapahoe Avenue 0.6 mi 1m
West Bridge Street 0.6 mi 1m
Longest stretch: Northwest Parkway — 8.3 mi, about 9m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Brighton, CO and Boulder, 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 onto CO 7

147 ft · 2 sec · West Bridge Street
7

Continue on CO 7

0.4 mi · 53 sec · West Bridge Street
Use the straight lane.
8

Continue on CO 7

6.7 mi · 8 min · East 160th Avenue
Use the straight lane.
9

Turn left onto York Street

0.7 mi · 1 min · York Street
Use the left lane.
10

Take the ramp

0.4 mi · 55 sec
Toward E470 Toll North
11

Merge onto E470

1.7 mi · 1 min · E-470
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
12

Continue on NW

8.3 mi · 9 min · Northwest Parkway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
13

Take the exit

0.3 mi · 42 sec
Toward US 36 West: Boulder Use the right lane.
14

Merge onto US 36

1.4 mi · 1 min · Denver–Boulder Turnpike
15

Keep slight right at fork onto US 36

2.4 mi · 2 min · Denver–Boulder Turnpike
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
16

Keep slight right at fork onto US 36

2.2 mi · 2 min · Denver–Boulder Turnpike
17

Keep slight left at fork onto US 36

2.3 mi · 2 min · Denver–Boulder Turnpike
Use the straight lane.
18

Continue on US 36

0.8 mi · 1 min · 28th Street
Use the left / straight lanes.
19

Turn left onto Arapahoe Avenue

0.6 mi · 1 min · Arapahoe Avenue
Use the left lane.
20

Turn right onto 19th Street

143 ft · 11 sec · 19th Street
Use the straight / right lanes.
21

Turn left

87 ft · 4 sec
22

Arrive at destination

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$4.32 one way

$8.65 round trip

$3.83/gal 25.4 MPG avg 10 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.05 $4.58 $9.16
premium $4.39 $4.96 $9.93
diesel $5.61 $6.34 $12.67

Estimated Tolls: $1.78

Northwest Parkway (8.3 mi) $1.00
Denver–Boulder Turnpike (8.3 mi) $0.58
E-470 (1.7 mi) $0.20

Toll estimates based on average 2024-2025 rates. EZ-Pass/SunPass discounts may lower the actual cost.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$4

Tolls

$2

Total

$6

Estimated CO2 emission: 10 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 8.6 0 $3.01 $1.38
Efficient EV 7.2 0 $2.51 $1.15
EV Truck/SUV 11.5 0 $4.02 $1.84

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.

Forecast as of Apr 13, 2026

Origin

Brighton, CO

Late night in Brighton on Saturday

Local time

1:13 AM

MDT

Current temp

73°F

Mostly Sunny

W 9 mph 3% chance Live forecast

Red Flag Warning

Red Flag Warning issued April 13 at 11:54AM MDT until April 13 at 8:00PM MDT by NWS Denver CO

Red Flag Warning

Red Flag Warning issued April 13 at 11:54AM MDT until April 13 at 8:00PM MDT by NWS Denver CO

Destination

Boulder, CO

Late night in Boulder on Saturday

Local time

1:13 AM

MDT

Current temp

70°F

Mostly Sunny

WSW 9 to 14 mph 10% chance Live forecast

Red Flag Warning

Red Flag Warning issued April 13 at 11:54AM MDT until April 13 at 8:00PM MDT by NWS Denver CO

Red Flag Warning

Red Flag Warning issued April 13 at 11:54AM MDT until April 13 at 8:00PM MDT by NWS Denver CO

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

3 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

38m on the road

The weather snapshot is not static. If you are leaving later, give both cities one more quick forecast check before departure.

Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.

Frequently Asked Questions

The drive from Brighton, CO to Boulder, CO covers 28.7 miles and takes about 38m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are Northwest Parkway, Denver–Boulder Turnpike, East 160th Avenue. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

The midpoint is about 14.3 miles from Brighton, CO. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $4.32 one way. This estimate uses 25.4 MPG — your actual cost will vary with your vehicle's fuel efficiency and current gas prices.

Leave by 9 AM and you'll arrive before lunch. Even a 4 PM departure gets you there before dark in summer.

This is a short but busy drive. With 16 decision points packed into just 28.7 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 38m.

The main spots that need attention: at 0.2 miles (West Bridge Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 18.6 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here; at 20.4 miles (US 36 / Denver–Boulder Turnpike): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.

On the drive from Brighton, CO to Boulder, CO, road signs begin pointing toward E470 Toll North along the way.

How this page is built

Compiled by the Trip.ovh 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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