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Early roads

In 1873, John Evans, then the governor of the Territory of Colorado, constructed a toll road from Morrison to Evergreen via the Bear Creek canyon. The early road offered access to various mining and logging resources along the creek. This road had over twenty bridges over the Bear Creek, most of which were made of wood from the surrounding region. By the late 1870s, toll roads became no longer common, and the path became one maintained by Jefferson County, used primarily to access mining camps.

Floods

Bear Creek was especially prone to flooding, as was seen in the year 1896 when Morrison, at the eastern terminus of SH 74, was almost destroyed. On occasion, sightseers along the road were threatened by floods, such as one in 1925 where cars on the road were carried into the river. To control flooding along the creek and therefore preserve safety along the road, the Denver manager of parks sought to build a dam near Evergreen. The dam, finished three years after the flood, created Evergreen Lake, may have contributed to increases in tourism in the nearby city with the same name.

Works cited

• Colorado Department of Transportation. "Highways to the Sky" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-05-20.
• Cowden, R. (1934). Location of Bear Creek Canyon Highway. University of Colorado Highway Conference. pp. 44–47.