Allenspark (Denver, Colorado Springs, Arvada: house, YMCA, elementary schools)

[equinecpa]

My family is looking to relocate to Co...we are horse enthusiasts and are considering the area around Allenspark. I can't find much on the Allenspark town itself -is it friendly? How crowded does it get during the tourist season?

How long does it take to drive from Allenspark to Boulder?

And lastly we have a budding figure skater...does anyone know if there is active figure skating in Boulder? What about schools-I believe Allenspark kids go to Estes Park? Can they go to Boulder schools (if she skated in Boulder, it obviously would be simpler to go to school there too)?

[Neditate]

I don't know much about the town except that there does not seem to be much of a "town". I've really only driven through to get to my favorite restaurant (Fawnbook Inn). I don't live very far away but do not know anyone who actually lives there, mostly just people with summer cottages in the area.
The drive to Boulder is approximately 50-55 min.
There is a rink at CU (I skated there years ago). Ice Arena | Facilities | Recreation Center | CU-Boulder
The YMCA in Lafayette has a rink:
Figure Skating | YMCA of Boulder Valley (http://www.ymcabv.org/ymcaweb/ice_figure_skating.html - broken link)

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

Have to agree here that Allenspark really isn't a town so to speak. As Nediate said, it's mostly summer cottages. I would think it would be very isolating living there if you have kids who want to be involved in a lot of things. And you'd get tired of the drive really quick to get down to Boulder.

[suzco]

I'll echo what the others have said, that there's really no "there" there in Allenspark.

For serious ice skating, if it's figure skating you're talking about (and the coaching you need for serious ice skating), the closest to Boulder is at Westminster Promenade.

CU and the Y in Lafayette are both good if you want introductory lessons or enjoy skating and need a rink to skate, but for serious figure skating and coaching Westminster is closest. (For example, for some years, Rachael Flatt, a US Olympic skater in the Vancouver Olympics, skated at Westminster before moving on to the Broadmoor [in Colorado Springs] for her training.)

Ft.Collins and South Suburban Denver both also have facilities and serious coaching for figure skating. Apex in Arvada has great facilities, but doesn't have the same professional coaching available.

If figure skating as a serious pursuit is in your and your kid's future, Allenspark would be an inconvenient place to live. I can't imagine enduring the hassle of getting to all those early morning and after school practices and lessons living in Allenspark.

[boulderite]

Ditto what the others said about Allenspark. No town center, and the thing I like least is that the entire town runs along the busy 'peak to peak' highway. Also it has occurred to me in the past is that Allenspark is in a valley with a river running through, so possibility of flooding is a consideration.

I was thinking you might want to consider the Gold Hill, Jamestown communities. Both are about 10 miles west of Boulder so close enough to commute without too much hassle (approx 20 min. drive).

Lots of horses/horse people in both towns. They both have quaint general stores/cafe's, close-knit and friendly communities, and wonderfully unique mixed grade elementary schools, but there are a couple of advantages to GH in my opinion (I am biased having lived in GH though!)

Gold hill has a wonderful 5 star restaurant (thegoldhillinn.com) with a great live music scene and wonderful outdoor festivals throughout the summer. Next door to the Inn is the Bluebird Lodge which runs a murder mystery series throughout the summers which the local kids often get involved in.

Also in GH is The Colorado Mountain Ranch (coloradomountainranch.com), a wonderful horse ranch with great summer camps for kids (& lots of horses!)

Third is that they now have a community run-non-profit-bio-diesel bus service to/from Boulder which is great for parents commuting & for kids to get to/from town without having to rely on parents all the time. (the-climb.com)

For more info the town has it's own website (goldhilltown.com)

I used to train ice skating in Littleton Colorado! and have been to the open sessions at the rink at CU, and there seemed to be some pretty serious training from what I saw. Of course (maybe when older) Colorado Springs is a western mecca for Ice Skating training.

[ mod cut ]

Cheers & Good Luck to you!

[sickofjerz]

We almost went to see your house when we were house hunting. We drove around Gold Hill for a good 20 minutes and even with the realtor's gps we couldn't find it so we gave up. It did look nice in the pictures, good luck with the sale/rent.

[Neditate]

It occurred to me as I was driving home from Superior yesterday that there are horse properties in every area surrounding Boulder. There is no need to live in the mountains and be so far away from activities for your children. People have horses in Superior, near Eldorada Springs (Marshall), Lafayette and Louisvile, Niwot, Longmont, Erie, north of Boulder (Neva Road), and Lyons.

[boulderite]

sickofjerz~ I'm so sorry you couldn't find us! What a bummer to be driving around lost for such a time. I hope you had a chance to stop into the General Store (next time ask them, they'll point you in the right direction!).

Neditate~ I agree, there are tons of horse properties in the base of the Boulder area foothills, all the areas you mentioned... It's just down to whether ecquinecpa really wants to live IN the mountains or next to them... The nice thing about living next to them is that you often get to see them better