Have your Colorado adventures ever taken you to Riverdale Road between Thornton and Brighton? If so, you've traveled the very "Gates of Hell."

Riverdale Road is an 11-mile nightmare featuring paranormal activity in every color of the rainbow. Whether you realize it or not, it's entirely possible you've crossed paths with these "Gates of Hell."

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What Will You Find On Riverdale Road in Colorado?

Riverdale Road runs between Thornton and Brighton, Colorado, shadowing the South Platte River. What can you expect to encounter? Well, for starters:

  • Skylake Ranch Community Gardens
  • Colorado Agricultural Canal
  • Larson Farms
  • Riverdale Dunes Golf Course
  • Riverdale Regional Park

A Few More Things You'll Find On Riverdale Road:

In addition to those landmarks, Only In Your State reports, you may also encounter:

  • Ghost of a Camaro driver (and his car) will try to coax you into racing to your death
  • Demon phantom dogs
  • Demon children playing on the side of the road
  • Phantom jogger, who may have been killed in a hit and run, whose heartbeat you can hear. Legend has it that if you let him approach your driver's side window, you'll die. This haunting takes place at Jogger's Hill near 120th Avenue.
  • Lady in white roaming the road, searching for her way home
  • Bodies hanging from trees during a full moon
Gates of Hell Colorado map
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Legends of Riverdale Road

This stretch of road is notorious for having been the location of a Native American burial ground, the gruesome murder of a family, and various satanic rituals.

How to Identify the Gates of Hell Road in Colorado

According to Colorado Urban Legends, the origins of this tale may belong to the burned ruins of a mansion.

Those courageous enough to travel through the Gates of Hell come upon the ruins of the old mansion. It is said that the man that built it lost his mind. One night, he set the entire mansion ablaze with his wife and children asleep inside before he disappeared, never to be held accountable. Muffled screams can be heard echoing against these now crumbling walls that bared witness to the unspeakable crime. Is the lady in white that walks the road the lost spirit of the woman that died at her husband’s hands in this place? Is she still trying to escape the fire, or looking for her murdered children? Though people stop to offer her help when they see her, she silently continues on her path, eyes forward, never turning. The good Samaritan will continue driving down Riverdale Road, only to look in the rearview mirror to see that she is gone.

Other Tales of Atrocities On Riverdale Road

Colorado Urban Legends shares other stories of horrible events taking place along Riverdale Road, including:

  • Slaves being burned and hung from a tree near the South Platte River
  • Underground chicken coop with strange writing on the walls where the mansion builder would conjure spirits

On The Other Hand...

Thornton Police Department spokesperson Matt Barnes told 9News "After speaking with dispatchers, we are aware of the urban legends out there regarding this road and how it might be haunted. However, we have not been able to remember or locate any calls for service worth mentioning that would be in any way related to these urban legends.”

The Most Haunted Road in Colorado
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It's highly likely you've crossed paths, literally with Riverdale Road between Brighton and Thornton. If your Colorado outings involve traveling I-25, I-70, or I-76, you've been in the area. Ultimately, this makes for another case of something being in the eye of the beholder. The next time you're near Denver, alter your course and travel Colorado's "Gates of Hell."

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