Origin
Lafayette, CO
Late night in Lafayette on Friday
Local time
5:13 AM
MDT
Current temp
77°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Lafayette, CO to Commerce City, CO
Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 17, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
29m
Distance
19.3 mi
31 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$3
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 27m
★
6 AM
0h 30m
8 AM
0h 35m
10 AM
0h 31m
12 PM
0h 31m
3 PM
0h 32m
5 PM
0h 35m
8 PM
0h 28m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Lafayette, CO
Wikimedia Commons
Commerce City, CO
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
This straightforward 19.3-mile drive from Lafayette, CO to Commerce City, CO will take you about 29 minutes, making it a perfect day trip within the Mountain West region. The route primarily uses the Denver–Boulder Turnpike and Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway, with about 48% of the journey on highways. With a modest fuel cost of around $3, this trip is budget-friendly. You won't need to split this drive or plan an overnight stay; it's designed for a quick, efficient transit between two points in Colorado. Its mixed profile means you'll experience both quicker highway speeds and potentially slower local road sections.
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 29m. Total distance: 19.3 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
29m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (48%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Drive Character
Expect a mixed drive on this 19.3-mile trip. While 48% of the route is on highways, including the Denver–Boulder Turnpike, you'll also encounter local roads like South 112th Street. The longest uninterrupted stretch you'll cover is 8.8 miles on the Denver–Boulder Turnpike, offering a period of consistent speed. As you transition between these road types, the driving experience will shift from more open highway travel to potentially more stop-and-go conditions as you approach your destination in Commerce City. This variety keeps the drive from being entirely monotonous.
Expect a mix of faster highway mileage and slower local approaches near the beginning or end.
There are about 19 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Denver–Boulder Turnpike is the longest continuous segment at about 8.8 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 early in the drive near South Public Road.
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 14 decision points packed into just 19.3 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 29m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: near the start (South Public Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 5.8 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 11.7 miles (US 36 / Denver–Boulder Turnpike): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Critical Maneuvers
5 of 14 key pointsThese are the spots where you need to pay the most attention. Preview them before you drive.
6
0 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
South Public Road
Turn left onto South Public Road
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / right lanes.
7
5.8 mi into trip
|
~11m in
Turn left toward US 36 East: Denver
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
Toward US 36 East: Denver
6
11.7 mi into trip
|
~18m 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.
8
13.7 mi into trip
|
~20m in
|
US 36 / Denver–Boulder Turnpike
Keep slight right at fork onto US 36 / Denver–Boulder Turnpike toward I 25: Denver, Fort Collins
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Toward I 25: Denver, Fort Collins
8
18.4 mi into trip
|
~26m in
Take the exit toward US 85, CO 2 North: Vasquez Boulevard
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.
Exit 2B
Toward US 85, CO 2 North: Vasquez Boulevard
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 Lafayette, CO to Commerce City, CO, road signs begin pointing toward Fort Collins along the way.
Fort Collins
13.7 mi in
|
~20m
|
via US 36
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Denver–Boulder Turnpike | 8.8 mi | 10m |
| South 112th Street | 4.2 mi | 6m |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway | 3.4 mi | 4m |
| South Public Road | 1 mi | 2m |
| CO 121 | 0.5 mi | 1m |
| North Vasquez Boulevard | 0.4 mi | <1m |
| Dexter Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Denver–Boulder Turnpike
— 8.8 mi, about 10m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Lafayette, CO and Commerce City, CO.
1
Start on this road
206 ft
·
16 sec
·
this road
2
Turn right
50 ft
·
9 sec
3
Turn left onto South Public Road
1.0 mi
·
2 min
·
South Public Road
Use the straight / right lanes.
4
Enter roundabout onto South 112th Street
74 ft
·
2 sec
·
South 112th Street
5
Continue on South 112th Street
0.2 mi
·
29 sec
·
South 112th Street
6
Turn left onto US 287
4.0 mi
·
6 min
·
South 112th Street
Use the left / straight lanes.
7
Continue on CO 121
0.5 mi
·
1 min
·
CO 121
8
Turn left
0.3 mi
·
44 sec
Toward US 36 East: Denver
Use the left lane.
9
Merge onto US 36
1.2 mi
·
1 min
·
Denver–Boulder Turnpike
10
Keep slight right at fork onto US 36
1.9 mi
·
2 min
·
Denver–Boulder Turnpike
11
Keep slight right at fork onto US 36
2.5 mi
·
2 min
·
Denver–Boulder Turnpike
12
Keep slight right at fork onto US 36
2.0 mi
·
2 min
·
Denver–Boulder Turnpike
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
13
Keep slight right at fork onto US 36
1.3 mi
·
1 min
·
Denver–Boulder Turnpike
Toward I 25: Denver, Fort Collins
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
14
Continue on I 270
3.4 mi
·
4 min
·
Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
15
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
25 sec
Exit 2B
Toward US 85, CO 2 North: Vasquez Boulevard
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
16
Merge onto US 6; US 85; CO 2
0.4 mi
·
36 sec
·
North Vasquez Boulevard
17
Turn left onto Dexter Street
0.2 mi
·
52 sec
·
Dexter Street
Use the left lane.
18
Turn left
0.1 mi
·
53 sec
19
Arrive at destination
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$2.91 one way
$5.82 round trip
$3.83/gal
25.4 MPG avg
7 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.05 | $3.08 | $6.16 |
| premium | $4.39 | $3.34 | $6.68 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $4.26 | $8.52 |
Estimated Tolls: $0.62
Denver–Boulder Turnpike
(8.8 mi)
$0.62
Toll estimates based on average 2024-2025 rates. EZ-Pass/SunPass discounts may lower the actual cost.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$3
Tolls
$1
Total
$4
Estimated CO2 emission: 6.8 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 71% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 5.8 | 0 | $2.03 | $0.93 |
| Efficient EV | 4.8 | 0 | $1.69 | $0.77 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 7.7 | 0 | $2.70 | $1.24 |
Gas CO2
7 kg
EV CO2
2 kg (71% 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
Commerce City, CO
Late night in Commerce City on Friday
Local time
5:13 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
29m 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 Lafayette, CO to Commerce City, CO covers 19.3 miles and takes about 29m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.
The main roads are Denver–Boulder Turnpike, South 112th Street, Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
The midpoint is about 9.7 miles from Lafayette, CO. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.
At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $2.91 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 14 decision points packed into just 19.3 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 29m.
The main spots that need attention: near the start (South Public Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 5.8 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 11.7 miles (US 36 / Denver–Boulder Turnpike): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
On the drive from Lafayette, CO to Commerce City, CO, road signs begin pointing toward Fort Collins along the way.
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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