The route is a mainly rural, scenic, mountainous highway; not having many junctions.

It begins at I-70 (Exit 266) in Wheat Ridge as Ward Road.

It continues north through the western parts of Arvada where it becomes Coal Creek Canyon Rd.

The highway continues west-north-west through Coal Creek Canyon and aptly named Wondervu, across the Union Pacific Railroad tracks at Pinecliffe, eventually joining the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway northbound.

The route was established in the 1920s, when it began at 46th Avenue in Denver and headed northwest to Nederland.