287 is a lovely drive UNLESS the weather is bad or it is nighttime. There are a lot of serious accidents on that stretch after dark, mostly due to drunk driving, but the narrow road doesn't help.

We had a beautiful run up 287 this summer -- until a truck with a big travel trailer started to loose control and swerve side to side as it was driving toward us. We veered off onto the verge, and watched as the trailer went up on 2 wheels -- the arc was basically across most of the two lanes. Amazingly the driver got it back under control -- I was wondering how soon we'd have phone service again so that 911 could be reached, but luckily it wasn't needed.

Another option is to go from 28th Street (Boulder) to the Longmont Diagonal, and just stay on it after it passes through Main Street (Longmont) and then catch I25 North, then take the Ft. Collins exit marked for 287. This adds miles but cuts time since 287 through Longmont, Loveland and all of Fort Collins is often slow and not the greatest scenery.