Parks & Recreation - Parks And Recreation Centers
From the Boulder Creek Path and mountain parks to the reservoir and recreation centers, our city is rich with recreational facilities, both indoor and out, public and private. Boulder offers a total of 56 urban parks and more than 100,000 acres of open space and mountain parks, a one-acre reservoir, a golf course, two outdoor pools, three athletic complexes, a 7.5-mile linear creekside park, three recreation centers, and an extensive program of classes and activities. Following is a description of some of Boulder’s most popular parks and their special features. Details on additional outdoor recreational activities can be found in our Sports chapter.
Parks & Recreation - Sports
Many people move to Boulder specifically for what’s contained in this chapter: bicycling, hiking, camping, skiing, rock climbing, running, and other outdoor sports. Boulder has been called “the sports town” by Outside magazine, and you’ll share the trails, parks, and facilities with some of the nation’s and world’s best athletes, who come here to train.
Non-Olympians also abound, and you’ll find them poking around in sporting goods shops and at meetings of the various clubs and organizations for bicycling, skiing, rock climbing, and hiking listed in this chapter.
If you’re a spectator rather than a participant, you’ll be in the minority, but you’ll have plenty of exciting games to watch. Football fans cheer for CU-Boulder’s Buffaloes, who are members of the NCAA Division I Big 12 Conference and former national football champions, and the National Football League’s Denver Broncos. If you like basketball, you can follow CU’s women and men Buffaloes, as well as the National Basketball Association’s Denver Nuggets. Other sports teams in our area include the Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball team, the Colorado Avalanche National Hockey League team (formerly Quebec’s Nordiques, the Avalanche have firmly endeared themselves to Coloradans by winning the 1996 and 2001 Stanley Cup), and various college teams. The Rockies and Avalanche are both based in Denver.
City: Boulder, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
2. Central Park
City: Boulder, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
Description: There’s always something going on in this pretty park in the heart of downtown, with its historic passenger train, creekside picnic tables and lawns, bandshell, and plentiful green grass for lounging and watching the passing crowds. Right on the Boulder Creek Path and across from the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art and the Boulder Dushanbe Tea House, the park is also adjacent to the Saturday and Wednesday Farmers’ Market along 13th Street.
3. Eben G. Fine Park
City: Boulder, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (303) 413-7200
Description: Green grass, rushing cool water, lofty trees, creekside picnic tables and grills, a covered shelter, and playground equipment make this mouth-of-the-canyon park a popular retreat from the heat. The Boulder Creek Path passes by on its way up the canyon. The rustic shelter, with generous picnic tables and its own grill, can be rented for parties. Call the number listed above.
4. Foothills Community Park
City: Boulder, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
Description: This 69-acre site was purchased in 1985 with money from a voter-approved bond issue. The south portion of the park between Locust and Cherry Streets opened in 2001. It has two playgrounds, two outdoor hockey rinks, and open, grassy areas for sledding, Frisbee, ball playing, and just running around. The park is also linked to Open Space trails and to the Foothills Community Gardens, one of three community gardens in Boulder.
5. Salberg Shelter
City: Boulder, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (303) 413-7200
Description: This small park in the north-central part of town has a crafts building, playground, and plenty of space to play Frisbee or stretch out under the trees and take an afternoon nap. The shelter, with restrooms, a lighted stage, tables and chairs, and a grill, can be rented year-round by calling the Parks and Recreation Department at the listed number.
6. Scott Carpenter Park
City: Boulder, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (303) 441-3427 (pool)
Description: Named for Boulder’s own astronaut, this is a favorite warm-weather spot for kids, with its outdoor pool and playground featuring a rocket jungle gym commemorating the feats of its namesake. Open swim is from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day. Admission for residents on a per-visit basis is $6.00 for adults, $4.00 for seniors age 60 and older, $3.50 for teens ages 13 through 18, and $3.00 for kids ages 3 through 12. Annual and multi-entry passes are available.
7. Skatepark
City: Boulder, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (303) 441-3410
Description: Next door to Scott Carpenter Park is a street-course for skateboarders, in-line skaters, and BMX bicyclists. The unsupervised park is free and open dawn to dusk. There are rails, curbs, bowls, and free forms to challenge the most daring air-eater. It’s skate-at-your-own-risk; helmets and pads are strongly recommended. The park was designed by nationally known skateboarder and skatepark designer Michael McIntyre with advice from Boulder area skateboarders. BMX bikes have the run of the facility 7 to 10 a.m. daily. And graffiti artists are welcome to demonstrate their abilities on a graffiti wall just north of the Skatepark.
8. Spruce Pool
City: Boulder, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (303) 441-3426
Address: 2102 Spruce Street
Description: This outdoor pool is a particular favorite of summer lap swimmers, who stop by before and after work or over the lunch hour for a wet workout. Open swims are from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday from mid-June to early September. In addition to lap lanes, there is a separate kiddie pool and a great slide. Sunbathers can stretch out on a grassy hill that borders the pool. Red Cross–certified swim lessons are available. Fees for residents and nonresidents are the same as for the Scott Carpenter Park pool, listed previously.
City: Boulder, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
Address: 5660 Sioux Drive
City: Boulder, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
11. Chautauqua Park
City: Boulder, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (303) 442-3282
Description: At the base of the Flatirons, Boulder’s first park opened as a summer camp and retreat for visitors from Texas in 1898 and was originally called Texado Park. Perched on a hill overlooking the city, the park features a sweeping grassy area below the camp’s cottages (some for rent and some owner-occupied) and communal buildings; it invites casual summer sports such as Frisbee throwing and badminton. An auditorium hosts a summer concert series and popular movie series. Many concertgoers bring their own picnics to enjoy under the shady cottonwoods. A dining room serves meals year-round. There are two playgrounds and several hiking trails into the foothills.
City: Boulder, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
13. East Boulder Recreation Center
City: Boulder, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (303) 441-4400, (303) 441-4150
Address: 5660 Sioux Drive
Description: Boulder’s newest recreation center combines a senior center and recreation center. The Senior Center wing includes a cafeteria, a common area, an arts-and-crafts room, and computers with Internet access for public use. The recreation facility features a 25-yard indoor lap pool and leisure pool with waterslide and children’s play area; gymnasium with adjustable basketball hoops; extensive weight rooms with free and body-master weights, rowing machines, and stationary cycles; a climbing wall; an aerobics room; and a dance studio. Outdoors you’ll find tennis, basketball, and racquetball courts, as well as a wheelchair-accessible playground. Kayakers make use of the pond.
14. North Boulder Recreation Center
City: Boulder, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (303) 441-3444
Address: 3170 Broadway
Description: This heavily used center reopened in spring 2003 after a major overhaul. The renovated center has a leisure pond with a twisting body slide; a separate 25-yard lap pool with a ramp for swimmers with disabilities; an expanded weight room and yoga center; a children’s garden; an enhanced gymnastics center with a foam pit, vaulting space, and area for “air tumbling”; expanded locker rooms; and a new family locker room.
15. South Boulder Recreation Center
City: Boulder, CO
Category: Parks & Recreation
Telephone: (303) 441-3448
Address: 1360 Gillaspie Drive
Description: This center has a pool with a wheelchair ramp, a hot tub, a sauna, locker rooms, showers, classrooms, a gymnasium, an expanded weight room, a racquetball/handball court, outdoor sand volleyball courts, and four outdoor tennis courts. On Sundays, a huge inflatable pyramid is put in the pool for kids to play on. Neighboring Viele Lake offers canoeing and paddleboating, as well as a fitness course around the lake.