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Old 11-11-2013, 09:21 AM
 
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wakeboarding?

You'll not be doing this in the mountain lakes due to the very cold water temperatures.

But there are many smaller lakes along or near the Front Range which have warmer temps. Several are dedicated to power boating activities with a ski club, or some are public lakes where they've accomodated these activities.

Boulder Res is nearby, but the permit fees are (IMO) staggering unless you use the place a lot each season.

Off the top of my head, public res's ... there's Chatfield and Cherry Creek in the Denver metro area, Bonny out on the plains (closer than McConnaughy), Sterling, Horsetooth ... those are the big ones.

Of the smaller lakes with powerboating, there's everything from lakes around Morrison, Greeley, Ft Collins. There's a lot more which would turn up with a search among the boat/ski shops .... many of these are water storage facilities for agricultural irrigation companies so the season can range from a couple of months to 6 months in a given year.

Bottom line is that there's a lot of powerboating activity to accomodate your wakeboarding. For "lake life", when I drive past the waterski lake on Greeley's East side highway, there's a lake with buoys/markers out there, a launching ramp, and camping sites all along the shoreline where you can beach your boat. The same is true at so many other facilities in the region ...

longer trips would include heading over to Nebraska's water parks. There's a host of sizable water storage areas with camping, some just minutes over the border along the I-80 corridor. I mention these because McConaughy (while huge at 30 miles long by almost 5 miles wide in spots) is very exposed out on the plains and frequently gets very strong winds which kick up chop that won't have you wakeboarding/skiing, while the smaller lakes sit in more protected areas. One lake is a power plant cooling res, and the water is even warmer. What's significant about these lakes/campgrounds is the easy access yet most are virtually unused except on the major holiday weekends ... Memorial Day, 4th July, Labor Day. I've camped out at these places for decades and almost always had the entire lake to myself during the week and sometimes on weekends. Pretty amazing to pull into a string of campgrounds with hundreds of sites in the trees along the shoreline and nobody else is there .... which may not be the case in the more popular nearby to Boulder powerboating sites that can get mobbed almost every day during the season.

Last edited by sunsprit; 11-11-2013 at 09:46 AM..
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Old 11-13-2013, 07:54 AM
 
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fwiw, People water ski at Boulder Reservoir just north of town.
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Old 11-13-2013, 09:05 AM
 
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With all this in mind, what city would you guys recommend that has a good local scene (bars, grocery, coffee shops)? Living in Boulder seems totally unrealistic but I would still like to enjoy a bike ride to a shop of some sort. I'll be flying into Denver the beginning of March to begin my search of the state - Denver, Golden, Broomfield, and Boulder (and possibly a day trip on I70 to snowboard). Is West Denver worth looking into?
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Old 11-13-2013, 04:09 PM
 
Location: Berkeley Neighborhood, Denver, CO USA
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Default Where is work?

Quote:
Originally Posted by MC_Whitaker View Post
Denver, Golden, Broomfield, and Boulder... Is West Denver worth looking into?
The most important question to answer is: Where is work?
Commuting into Boulder is painful.
The largest Apple store in greater Denver is in the Cherry Creek Mall.
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Old 11-13-2013, 09:57 PM
 
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davebarnes, honestly wherever there is an Apple store. That's the glory of it, haha. I have the choice of Boulder, Broomfied, or Denver.
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Old 11-14-2013, 02:11 PM
 
Location: OH>IL>CO>CT
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MC_Whitaker View Post
davebarnes, honestly wherever there is an Apple store. That's the glory of it, haha. I have the choice of Boulder, Broomfied, or Denver.
Well, in that case, go for the Cherry Creek Mall store in Denver. All the "local scene" you can handle, and loads of cheap apts in the Glendale area (just SE of Cherry Creek area). Also access to the most well-known trail in Denver High Line Canal | Denver Water , besides Cherry Creek itself.

(As a 35 year resident, I would have recommended Broomfield, but it's "local scene" is sadly lacking. Its all spread out as it is really just a "bedroom" community. Never had an "old town", etc to speak of.)
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Old 11-16-2013, 07:43 AM
 
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Reed is giving you some good advice. The only positive for the Broomfield store is you could live close to Boulder, but not commute in. You could also live in Golden.

With all that said, it would be hard to beat Cherry Creek Mall for you. That area of Denver is great because so many different types of neighborhoods come together right there.

Congress Park is just north and full of cool old houses and has a bit of funky feel. Maybe like Decatur or Candler Park.

Capitol Hill is North West and full of young people out having fun. Think Virginia Highlands.

Baker is to the West and it is a bit edgy and up and coming. Maybe like a cool part of East Atlanta.

South is Wash Park and Belcaro. Think N. Brookhaven and Chastain Park.

This is just a couple of the bigger neighborhoods close by. All of the neighborhoods in Denver have less crime than their partner in Atlanta.

I hope that helps!
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Old 11-16-2013, 02:03 PM
 
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Wow, thanks for that brown_dog_us! Gives me a great visual as to what to expect. Virginia Highlands and Candler Park are some of my favorite places in Atlanta! I'll check out the area in March when I visit. My only concern on living in Denver is the commute to a variety of trails. (Mountain Biking and Hiking). Whats the commute time like for that?
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Old 11-16-2013, 02:16 PM
 
11,547 posts, read 52,903,008 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MC_Whitaker View Post
Wow, thanks for that brown_dog_us! Gives me a great visual as to what to expect. Virginia Highlands and Candler Park are some of my favorite places in Atlanta! I'll check out the area in March when I visit. My only concern on living in Denver is the commute to a variety of trails. (Mountain Biking and Hiking). Whats the commute time like for that?
One of the strengths of those metro Denver areas that brown_dog mentions with a Cherry Creek work location is that there is an extensive system of bike/hike trails right on your doorstep ...

much of the trail system is through areas that have landscaping that isn't much different than you'll see in the foothills. For all intents, it's little different than the trees and vegatation around you that you'd have in the foothills, and much of the foothills views are similar ... with subdivisions and development around them. You have to ride up into the hills some distance before the development density thins out. Indeed, some of the park areas of Denver have views that are pretty much what you'll see in the foothills.

I used to ride from my shop in Lakewood (just a few blocks from Colfax/Sheridan Ave) to the Cherry Creek area, entirely on the trails system which was a few minutes of riding from my origination point. I could do that generally in well less than an hour. Realistically, you could bike much of the year from your residence to the foothills area in just about the same time as it would take to drive your car over to a foothills starting point for a ride ... it's that close and accessible.

IMO, if you had the choice between a Bouder and metro Denver at your income level, it's Denver ....
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Old 11-17-2013, 09:34 AM
 
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Sunspirt, again, I really appreciate yours and the others that have given feedback on this post. I have a pretty good idea on what I want to now and what expectations I need to have set.
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