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Trip from Centennial, CO to Denver, CO

Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 17, 2026 · Editorial standards

Drive Time

23m

Distance

15 mi

24 km

Drive Score

6/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$2

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 6 min
4 AM
0h 22m ★
6 AM
0h 24m
8 AM
0h 28m
10 AM
0h 25m
12 PM
0h 25m
3 PM
0h 25m
5 PM
0h 28m
8 PM
0h 23m

Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.

Downtown Centennial, CO, CO

Centennial, CO

Wikimedia Commons

consolidated city-county and capital of Colorado, United States

Denver, CO

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

The drive from Centennial, CO to Denver, CO covers 15 miles and takes about 23m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on East Panorama Circle, South Chester Street, East Dry Creek Road for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. At current regular gas prices, budget about $2.26 one way before food or hotel costs.

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 23m. Total distance: 15 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

23m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.

First-Time Driver

Mostly highway driving (0%). Straightforward navigation.

Scenic Drive

Turn-heavy local drive route profile.

Drive Character

Expect a 23m drive with frequent turns across 15 miles of local and secondary roads.

This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 15 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
East Panorama Circle is one of the defining roads on this drive.

How Hard Is This Drive?

Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. Navigation is very simple - set it and forget it for most of the drive.

Driving Effort 1/10

Very easy - short and simple to drive

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

The drive from Centennial, CO to Denver, CO is easy. At 23m with 0% highway, most drivers will find it relaxed and low-stress.

Where does it get tricky?

This route does not have any notably tricky sections. Most of the drive from Centennial, CO to Denver, CO is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
East Panorama Circle
South Chester Street
East Dry Creek Road
I 25 North
South Valley Highway
Downing Street
Emerson Street
East Buchtel North Boulevard

Some road-level metrics are being recalculated.

Longest stretch: East Panorama Circle — detailed segment metrics are refreshing.

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Centennial, CO and Denver, CO.

1

Start on the route

495 ft · 41 sec · the route
2

Turn left

118 ft · 11 sec
3

Turn right onto East Panorama Circle

0.1 mi · 23 sec · East Panorama Circle
4

Turn right onto South Chester Street

384 ft · 15 sec · South Chester Street
5

Turn right onto East Dry Creek Road

0.3 mi · 46 sec · East Dry Creek Road
6

Turn left onto I 25 North

0.3 mi · 35 sec · I 25 North
7

Merge slight left onto South Valley Highway

9.3 mi · 10 min · South Valley Highway
8

Take the exit slight right toward Downing Street, Washington Street, Emerson Street

0.1 mi · 15 sec · Downing Street, Washington Street, Emerson Street
9

Keep slight left to continue on Emerson Street, Washington Street

0.3 mi · 40 sec · Emerson Street, Washington Street
10

Continue on East Buchtel North Boulevard

0.6 mi · 1 min · East Buchtel North Boulevard
11

Turn right onto South Logan Street

2.7 mi · 5 min · South Logan Street
12

Turn left onto East 13th Avenue

0.1 mi · 27 sec · East 13th Avenue
13

Turn right onto Sherman Street

0.1 mi · 34 sec · Sherman Street
14

At the end of the road, turn right

299 ft · 22 sec
15

Arrive at your destination

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$2.26 one way

$4.52 round trip

$3.83/gal 25.4 MPG avg 5 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.05 $2.39 $4.79
premium $4.39 $2.59 $5.19
diesel $5.61 $3.31 $6.62

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$2

Estimated CO2 emission: 5.2 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 60% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 4.5 0 $1.58 $0.72
Efficient EV 3.8 0 $1.31 $0.60
EV Truck/SUV 6 0 $2.10 $0.96

Gas CO2

5 kg

EV CO2

2 kg (60% 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 15, 2026

Origin

Centennial, CO

Late night in Centennial on Friday

Local time

5:37 AM

MDT

Current temp

77°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Denver, CO

Late night in Denver on Friday

Local time

5:37 AM

MDT

Current temp

46°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

31 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

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.

Frequently Asked Questions

The drive from Centennial, CO to Denver, CO covers 15 miles and takes about 23m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are East Panorama Circle, South Chester Street, East Dry Creek Road. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

The midpoint is about 7.5 miles from Centennial, CO. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $2.26 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.

The drive from Centennial, CO to Denver, CO is easy. At 23m with 0% highway, most drivers will find it relaxed and low-stress.

This route does not have any notably tricky sections. Most of the drive from Centennial, CO to Denver, CO is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.

The route from Centennial, CO to Denver, CO does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.

How this page is built

Compiled and maintained by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy (Helsinki). Each route is built from authoritative open government and mapping datasets rather than crowdsourced reviews. Distances and geometry come from OSRM over OpenStreetMap. Fuel cost uses EIA weekly regional averages. Pages are published only after passing our data-quality checks; our methodology page documents refresh cadence, editorial standards, and known limitations.

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Explore more options from Centennial, CO or browse trips ending in Denver, CO.

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