What city has best access to kayaking, mountain biking, rafting and hiking?

[sunsprit]

I used to live at "Foot of the Mountain" cabins on the West side of Boulder, right at the base of Canyon leading up to Nederland ... in 1965.

With the (relatively) light traffic load back then, we could ride our motorcycles at speeds far in excess of the posted limits and it took about 20 minutes to get to Nederland. In today's traffic, I can't believe that you could do it faster than that ... and that was just from the far West side of Boulder to Nederland, not all the way over to the Boulder road leading to I-25 and then on into Denver.

I'd bet that a helicopter ride direct from Nederland to downtown Denver would be close to 45 minutes .... any Flight for Life pilots on this forum?

Similarly, a drive from North Evergreen to downtown Denver is typically an hour drive. I've got friends that live up one of the draws just behind the Evergreen Exit of I-70 and work at West Denver hospitals ... and they figure about an hour to get each way to work in clear weather. Another friend in Evergreen Meadows (closer to Conifer than Evergreen) commutes to the East side of Downtown ... on a large motorcycle, weather permitting ... and averages well over an hour for the trip. That's in clear weather and in off rush hour traffic times ... rush hour through Evergreen can be painfully slow with the lights and traffic density trying to get to Denver.

Even the Turkey Creek Canyon area, or Waterton Canyon ... beautiful areas in the foothills, can be and frequently are rather problematic for many months of the year to commute to Denver. You can do it if it's the focal point of your life to put out that much energy and time to do so ... and many folks do it ... but don't think it's going to be easy and 45 minute convenient to downtown Denver.

Throw in some nasty weather conditions ... ice on the hill down into the Denver area, three lanes of traffic effectively shut down to one or two with fog or bright sunshine in the AM, a little fender-bender on the road .... and the commute time from the foothills to Denver will soar.

The best, and most realistic, options for commuting a reasonable time/distance to Denver remain in the Western suburbs close by, but not in, the moutains.

[Mikela17]

you guys have been great...love the advice. it's so hard to figure out what city to look for rentals in while we are still living in texas....especially because i know our list is a difficult one.

as far as price range goes, we will be buying in about a year and would like to find a home for under 250k. i know, i know...unlikely...but hopefully we can spend the next year living in a great rental and be close to all of our hobbies and can really take the time to get to know upcoming neighborhoods, as well as existing neighborhoods where we can find a compromise of value & location.

thanks so much for all of your help...can't wait to get there!

[Fuzz]

The best recommendation would be for you to come and visit the areas mentioned here. Lakewood, Morrison, and Golden are pertty much next to each other, within a 10-15 minutes of each other.

For rentals, there are lots of apartment complexes all over western Lakewood. I'm sure Golden does too. Not sure if Morrison has many rental units -- it's a pretty small town tucked into Bear Creek Canyon.

[High Altitude]

I live in evergreen on the south side but not that far back, a few miles. I use to commute to downtown denver every day and it would take 45 min about 70% of time. Always an hour or less except for about 5-10 times a year.

I use to live in North evergreen, much closer to I70, and the drive was about 10-15min faster.

[High Altitude]

Originally Posted by Mikela17

as far as price range goes, we will be buying in about a year and would like to find a home for under 250k.

This won't get you much in Evergreen. Older (mostly original summer houses) 2 bed (maybe 3) house/cabin most likely with out a garage or a Condo.

Stick with Arvada, Lakewood etc...... You will get much more house for your money and still be closer to the mountains compared to other suburbs south, south west of Denver.

[Jaxx99]

Like many have said here, you really can't have it both ways. Either a killer commute to work, or a long commute to the mountains.

One of the most disheartening things when I first moved to Denver in the 90's was the drive to the mountains to ski on Saturday mornings.

Here is what I had envisioned:
- Wake up at 7, grab a warm cup of coffee in a nice stainless steel mug like on the commercials, get in my small suv, drive the hour or so to the beautiful rockies, get out and ski in sunny blue skies by 8:45 - 9am. Smiling the whole time.

Here is what I got:
- Wake up at 7, grab that cup of coffee in a hurry because we're trying to beat some traffic. Get on I-70. Crap - traffic already??? In Wheat Ridge? Sit in traffic, thinking it was going to speed up, but all these people with skis on their car are going to the same dang place. Stop to pee. Get back in, keep driving. Get to the slopes by 10:30, mad that we missed the morning. Have lunch somewhere before the lunch rush hits, and buy a 1/2 day pass and just ski the afternoon. Sit in traffic on the way home.

Sorry for digressing. My vote is for Lakewood. Be closer to work and further from the hobbies -- you'll be thankful.
- Wake up at

[Fuzz]

^^^ What Jaxx said is very true. If you live in Lakewood, Morrison, or Golden, it'll ease that pain a lot because you're that much closer to I-70. As I mentioned, I lived in Lakewood (around Kipling & Morrison/Hwy-8) for 4 years -- I could leave the house by 6:45, still beat most of the traffic, and be on the slopes by opening. You have killer mountain biking right in your backyard though.

I didn't work downtown, but drove past it on my way to the airport quite a bit. During the morning rush hour, it would take me about 15-20 minutes to get to the downtown exits.

EDIT: Also, be prepared to sit in traffic back down from the mountains to Denver on weekend afternoons/evenings during the winter. It once took me 5 hours to get back from Copper. Summer traffic isn't as bad, but it's not much better, and getting rapidly worse.

Weekend ski traffic was the main impetus for our recent move to Summit County -- now we're 15 minutes from 5 ski areas.

[Jaxx99]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

^^^ Weekend ski traffic was the main impetus for our recent move to Summit County -- now we're 15 minutes from 5 ski areas.

Congrats. If you can be so lucky, moving to the mountains is the thing to do. None of this high-plains, urban sprawl (Denver) stuff. You've got it figured out.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Jaxx99

Congrats. If you can be so lucky, moving to the mountains is the thing to do. None of this high-plains, urban sprawl (Denver) stuff. You've got it figured out.

Thanks. It worked mainly because my work is not location-specific. As long as I have a phone line, high-speed internet, and relatively easy access to an airport, I can work anywhere. So we decided to take the plunge.