Idledale, CO

Idledale is an unincorporated Jefferson County community on the north side of Bear Creek, about four miles west of Morrison along Colorado Highway 74. The road follows Bear Creek Canyon through a mountain corridor that connects the Denver metro to the foothills and mountain parks. Idledale began as Starbuck Heights, nearly washed away in a 1933 storm, and rebuilt under the name it carries today.

ATTRJeffrey Beall / CC BY-SA 3.0

Highway 74 remains the community's central fact. The Bear Creek Canyon Scenic Mountain Drive is a historic road district, and the canyon's rock walls, creek, and flood history shape every trip through the area. Jefferson County's historic survey records the former Idledale Elementary School and the town's mid-century connection to the Denver Ordnance Plant; today the community is primarily residential. The canyon remains decisive. Jefferson County schools serve local children, while Morrison and the larger metro provide nearby services. Idledale is a foothill settlement where a narrow canyon road ties residential life to Denver's mountain edge.