Location
Cherry Creek rises in the high plateau, east of the Front Range, in northwestern El Paso County. It flows north, through Castlewood Canyon State Park where it is spanned by the historic Cherry Creek Bridge, past Parker and through portions of Centennial and Aurora, and into southeast Denver. It flows northwest through Denver, becoming an urban stream and joining the South Platte at Confluence Park in central Denver just west of downtown and approximately 5 miles (8 km) east of the foothills, near the site where the city of Denver was founded in 1858.
The 140-foot-high (43 m) Cherry Creek Dam, completed in 1950, forms Cherry Creek Reservoir in Cherry Creek State Park, providing flood control and irrigation. The dam lies immediately southeast and southwest of the Denver and Aurora city limits, respectively, approximately 8 miles (13 km), as the crow flies, from the creek's confluence with the South Platte.
The creek lends its name to the Cherry Creek neighborhood in south-central Denver, and also in particular to its Cherry Creek Shopping Center. In addition, the creek runs through the suburban Cherry Creek Public Schools. The Cherry Creek Bike Path follows the creek from Confluence Park in downtown Denver through Cherry Creek State Park and south, with some interruptions, towards Parker and Castlewood Canyon.
Read more about this topic: Cherry Creek (Colorado)