What city in Colorado for (Denver, Aurora: living, stores, to move)

[stablegenius]

Originally Posted by pikabike

68-degree water happens in some reservoirs. Don’t expect it in the mountain areas, where summer water temp might reach only the low 50s.

The biggest diff from CA (water wise) will be the much shorter watersport season. Many months shorter. That and, of course, far fewer venues, none of them oceanic. CO water is downright boring compared to any coastal state’s, unless you want whitewater boating.

I'm ok with boring, and/or small. When I lived in Orlando I didn't get to the coast much, I just want to have the option.

[pikabike]

Pueblo Reservoir, a state park, has the longest open season, and it is pretty warm in that area.

Not sure what “semiurban” is. Pueblo is a small to medium city.

If you want to live in the Denver area, I agree that Aurora Reservoir is, hands down, the nicest place for self-powered watersports. You can also boat with electric trolling motors.

Read up on CO’s requirements regarding Aquatic Nuisance Species. Rules vary by jurisdiction.

[StarrySkiesAbove]

I have SUPs and kayaks and we use them quite often summer through fall. Although the water in most of our lakes and reservoirs can be cold for swimming it’s fine for SUPs (although definitely cooler than 68 degrees in most places). Stand up paddle boarding is very popular here, there are even clubs and meet ups and most lakes now have rentals available. The bigger problem on some of the lakes can be wind, that’s why we take the kayaks and the boards; if it’s too windy we don’t bother with the SUPs and go out in our kayaks.

My favorite spots to SUP and kayak are places we like to camp at, Steamboat Lake, Pearl Lake, Ridgway Reservoir, Paonia Reservoir, Lake Irwin and Lost Lake near Crested Butte, Vega Reservoir, Haviland Lake near Durango to name a few.

Closer to home (Colorado Springs) for day trips Rampart Range Reservoir and Eleven Mile Reservoir but usually only take the kayaks to Eleven Mile; the wind up there and the cold water makes SUPs pretty dicey. We go up to the reservoirs off the Pikes Peak Highway but during tourist season on the weekends you can get stuck in traffic jams of people driving up to Pikes Peak. For a quick after work or lunch hour paddle hubby and I head over to Prospect Lake near downtown, we live in central COS so it’s only a few minutes drive. It’s a small lake but they have designated days for hand propelled watercraft so it’s great to get a quick workout. In the summer months there is SUP yoga several mornings a week.

I do need to note though that many of the lakes have State Park or use fees.

[stablegenius]

Thanks StarrySkiesAbove. pikabike, semi-urban just means I want to be in an area with some tall buildings, nice restaurants, bars and nightlife, but not too much. It's hard to explain. In Orlando we were in a neighborhood considered dense by their standards, but not at all dense compared to SD. And I had a few good breweries, bottleshops, bars and restaurants within 3 miles to frequent.

[otowi]

Pueblo is something I would consider given your list. Lake Pueblo is well known for water recreation and has about the longest season for Colorado. But, a lot of our urban areas don't have many 'tall buildings', including Pueblo. Another possibility is John Martin Reservoir, but it gets a lot more rural out that way - you'd be looking at La Junta or Lamar, which are both less than 10,000 people.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by stablegenius

Thanks StarrySkiesAbove. pikabike, semi-urban just means I want to be in an area with some tall buildings, nice restaurants, bars and nightlife, but not too much. It's hard to explain. In Orlando we were in a neighborhood considered dense by their standards, but not at all dense compared to SD. And I had a few good breweries, bottleshops, bars and restaurants within 3 miles to frequent.

It seems like you’re looking for the Denver suburbs. Have you ever been here?

[TCHP]

Originally Posted by StarrySkiesAbove

I have SUPs and kayaks and we use them quite often summer through fall. Although the water in most of our lakes and reservoirs can be cold for swimming it’s fine for SUPs (although definitely cooler than 68 degrees in most places). Stand up paddle boarding is very popular here, there are even clubs and meet ups and most lakes now have rentals available. The bigger problem on some of the lakes can be wind, that’s why we take the kayaks and the boards; if it’s too windy we don’t bother with the SUPs and go out in our kayaks.

My favorite spots to SUP and kayak are places we like to camp at, Steamboat Lake, Pearl Lake, Ridgway Reservoir, Paonia Reservoir, Lake Irwin and Lost Lake near Crested Butte, Vega Reservoir, Haviland Lake near Durango to name a few.

Closer to home (Colorado Springs) for day trips Rampart Range Reservoir and Eleven Mile Reservoir but usually only take the kayaks to Eleven Mile; the wind up there and the cold water makes SUPs pretty dicey. We go up to the reservoirs off the Pikes Peak Highway but during tourist season on the weekends you can get stuck in traffic jams of people driving up to Pikes Peak. For a quick after work or lunch hour paddle hubby and I head over to Prospect Lake near downtown, we live in central COS so it’s only a few minutes drive. It’s a small lake but they have designated days for hand propelled watercraft so it’s great to get a quick workout. In the summer months there is SUP yoga several mornings a week.

I do need to note though that many of the lakes have State Park or use fees.

This^^^

I also replied to your original post as well with more details. SUPing in CO is definitely possible and very popular.

[pikabike]

If by tall buildings you mean skyscrapers, Denver is the only CO city that matches.

It’s not semiurban, though. The suburbs might do for you, unless you want nightlife, bars, restaurants in walking distance. As long as you don’t mind driving on often-crowded roads, there is a decent choice of reservoirs to SUP on in the warm season.

City of Lakewood (more like a big, spread-out suburb starting on the western edge of Denver) has a municipal park with two small lakes. I think one of them, Big Soda, is entirely nonmotorized use, and the other one, Bear Creek Lake, allows trolling motors but not powerboats.

[Nn2036]

Sacramento/ Sierra foothill/Lake Tahoe, CA fit your description

[Poncho_NM]

Originally Posted by stablegenius

I'd like to potentially move to a place in Colorado with

-Lakes that warm up enough in the summer to boat on, or at least stand up paddle on
-Lots of sun
-A semi urban environment. I want to be able to do some cool city stuff, but also get away from it when I want (Denver is too urban for me)

Grand Lake, Colorado?