The northwestern segment of the highway is part of the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway and furnishes an access route to Estes Park, Colorado and Rocky Mountain National Park.

From Estes Park, SH 7 climbs into the mountains of southwest Larimer County and skirts the east side of Rocky Mountain National Park, providing the closest vehicle approach to the popular trailhead to the summit of Longs Peak.

Near the community of Raymond it intersects State Highway 72, which takes the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway designation with it to the south, while SH 7 turns to the east and follows South St. Vrain Creek downstream onto the piedmont at Lyons, where it intersects US 36.

It runs straight east from Boulder as the extension of Arapahoe Avenue to U.S. Route 287 (US 287) north of Lafayette, jogging one mile (1.6 km) to the south while concurrent with US 287, then going due east again, as Baseline Road, to I-25.

East of I-25 it jogs one mile (1.6 km) south, then due east as 160th Avenue (part of the Greater Denver street numbering system) through Brighton to I-76 in the eastern part of Brighton.