Littleton

Littleton is its own city and the seat of Arapahoe County, about 9 miles south of downtown Denver on the South Platte River, with edges that reach into Douglas and Jefferson Counties. Denver and Englewood sit to the north, Greenwood Village to the northeast, Centennial to the east, Highlands Ranch to the south, and Columbine, Columbine Valley and Bow Mar to the west and northwest. Santa Fe Drive (US 85) runs the whole length of town.

A flour mill, a railroad and a county seat

Richard Sullivan Little, a surveyor from New Hampshire, filed land claims here in 1862, and in 1867 he and his neighbors built the Rough and Ready Flour Mill. The railroad came through in 1871 and the town incorporated in 1890. Littleton beat Englewood for the county seat in 1904. After World War II, Martin Marietta built Titan rockets nearby, and houses went up fast through the 1950s, '60s and '70s.

Louthan Heights, Arapaho Hills and the postwar blocks

Most of the housing is detached single-family homes, with apartments mixed in. Close to downtown, Louthan Heights is a small local historic district on the 5600 block of South Louthan Street.

Arapaho Hills, bounded by Arrowhead Road, West Berry Avenue, South Manitou Road and South Lowell Boulevard, is a modernist subdivision. Edward Hawkins designed the first model house, and Bruce Sutherland and John Eatwell drew the house specs for the rest, built between 1955 and 1964. It joined the National Register in 2012. If you want a mid-century modern house in Littleton, this is the pocket to watch.

In November 2025, voters passed a measure that freezes the city's single-family land-use code and limits the council's ability to allow denser housing. Expect single-family blocks to stay that way.

Main Street and Littleton Boulevard

Downtown is a short run of red pressed brick along West Main Street, roughly from Curtice to Sycamore, with storefronts from the 1880s through the 1950s. Town Hall, from 1920, is Jules Benedict's Italian Renaissance design. Town Hall Arts Center has been putting on a Main Stage season in Littleton for more than 40 years, and Western Welcome Week has filled the street with events every year since the late 1920s.

For an everyday meal on Main, Cencalli Taqueria at 2389 W. Main does quesabirria tacos and more than 15 fresh margaritas, and Grande Station at 2299 W. Main serves breakfast all day, steaks and bison tacos, with live music on its covered patio. The Melting Pot does fondue at 2707 W. Main in the town's 1916 Carnegie library building, which later served as the police station, and a block north of Main, Mango Tree Coffee at 5624 S. Prince St. pours coffee alongside pastries and burritos, and its stated mission includes helping kids in need around the world. Out on Littleton Boulevard, the Cherry Cricket has a Littleton location at 819 W. Littleton Blvd. for burgers, shakes and a big patio.

East of downtown, Littleton Boulevard has a run of mid-century commercial buildings from 1949 to 1967, worth a slow drive if you like that era.

South Platte Park and the river trail

South Platte Park covers 880 acres along two and a half miles of the river, with seven lakes and about 4 miles of natural-surface trail. Hudson Gardens, on Santa Fe Drive, has more than 30 acres of gardens and trails and is free every day. Breckenridge Brewery moved to a 12-acre Littleton campus in 2015, and its 300-seat Farm House restaurant and beer garden sits beside the river and its bike trail, with fire pits and lawn games.

Getting to Denver

RTD's C Line light rail stops at Littleton-Downtown and ends at Littleton-Mineral, by the Aspen Grove shopping center, and runs north to Union Station. It took over from the D Line, which has been suspended since June 2026 and which RTD plans to retire. Santa Fe Drive heads north to Englewood and Denver, Belleview Avenue (Highway 88) runs near the north edge, and C-470 runs along the south edge.

Historic review and the Littleton mailing address

The Downtown Littleton Historic District, approved in 2021, covers every property on Main Street, Alamo Avenue and the streets between them. Designated properties get review for demolition and exterior changes. Build that review into your plans before you change the outside of a designated house.

Eleven ZIP codes carry the Littleton name, covering Columbine, Highlands Ranch, Ken Caryl and more. A Littleton address doesn't mean the city limits, so confirm the actual city, county and school district.