It runs from Interstate 25 (I-25), U.S. Route 85 (US 85) and US 87 in Castle Rock, eastward to I-70 and US 40 near Limon.

It gives service through eastern Castle Rock to Franktown and then to Elizabeth then from Kiowa to I-70 and US 40 (Exit 352).

The route then exits the town and enters Franktown where it meets SH 83.

Following the construction of Interstate 25, the terminus became a business loop of I-25; however, the business loop was deleted in the 1990s, leaving SH 86's terminus at a local road.

[2] Media related to Colorado State Highway 86 at Wikimedia Commons