Ann Leggett - Insiders Guide® to Boulder and Rocky Mountain National Park

Ann Alexander Leggett is a freelance writer, publication/web designer, artist and owner of OceanGirl Design. She is the coauthor of several books including: Haunted Boulder, Ghostly Tales from the Foot of the Flatirons; Haunted Boulder 2, Ghostly Tales from Boulder and Beyond; Finding Hidden Valley ; and the 7th, 8th and 9th editions of the Insiders Guide to Boulder . Her work has also appeared online, in national magazines, and in a variety of local publications. She lives in Erie, Colorado.

INSIDERS GUIDE TO

BOULDER

AND ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

HELP US KEEP THIS GUIDE UP TO DATE

We would love to hear from you concerning your experiences with this guide and how you feel it could be improved and kept up to date. Please send your comments and suggestions to:

editorial@GlobePequot.com

Thanks for your input, and happy travels!

All the information in this guidebook is subject to change. We recommend that you call ahead to obtain current information before traveling.

To buy books in quantity for corporate use or incentives, call (800) 962-0973 or e-mail premiums@GlobePequot.com.

INSIDERS GUIDE

Copyright 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009 Morris Book Publishing, LLC

Insiders Guide is a registered trademark of Morris Book Publishing, LLC.

Text design: Sheryl Kober

Maps: XNR Productions, Inc. Morris Book Publishing, LLC

ISSN 1532-592X

ISBN 978-0-7627-5027-6

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Its infamous, its notorious, its beautiful, and its certainly unique. Welcome to Boulder. Nestled at the foot of the Flatironsthe great upthrust slabs of red rock that line the citys western borderBoulder is a vibrant city in the midst of breathtaking natural beauty. Surrounded by gently rolling plains, glittering threads of creeks and streams that attract and sustain a remarkable wealth of wildlife, and the great Rocky Mountains to the west, Boulder is, well, Boulder.

Why visit Boulder? Its not exactly a tourist spot, nor a mountain resortthough its close to many of Colorados most popular ones. It takes about an hour or so to drive to Rocky Mountain National Park, the Indian Peaks Wilderness, and many of the ski areas, including Winter Park, Breckenridge, and Keystone. A couple of hours more takes you to Vail, Aspen, and Steamboat Springs. Just up Boulder Canyon, Eldora Mountain Resort, a smaller ski area, is less than an hour away. Visit because Boulder has all the attractions of a big cityart and culture, fine educational institutions, an interesting populace, many excellent restaurants, and points of attractionbut without the hassle of the big city.

Most visitors to Boulder come to see family and friendsnot your typical tourists on a vacation adventurethough adventure possibilities abound in the area. The University of Colorado attracts families for graduation, holidays, and ski vacations, with many of the graduates staying in the area. After its early days as a mining supply townthere was no gold discovered right in Boulder, but nearby in the mountainsBoulders identity became firmly established as a university town in the late 1800s and continues to be so, with the university comprising about one quarter of the citys population. With its various scientific institutes, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder attracts an international population of scientists and engineers.

But Boulder is also an attraction unto itself. Its a national model for municipally owned open space and controlled growth. Its an inspiration for cities that want to preserve and revitalize their historic hearts, while nurturing commerce, the arts, and entertainment. Its an outdoor recreation mecca for regular folks and professional athletes alike. Anyone who enjoys hiking, backpacking, bicycling, rock climbing, mountaineering, running, and skiing will love Boulder. The annual Bolder Boulder 10k foot-race is one of the nations largest.

Many of us moved to Boulder because its such a great place to live. It has Colorados sunny dry climate, is close to the mountains, and is a manageable size. We enjoy the health-promoting attitude, good schools, recreational opportunities, and wholesome atmosphere for raising families and living the good life. Athletes from all over the world live and train in Boulder for many of the same reasons, plus the high elevation gives them a competitive edge.

Boulder also hosts many annual events and festivals, such as the Colorado Dance Festival, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, and Colorado Music Festival, welcoming a whole entourage of performing artists and audiences each summer.

So read on and explore all of Boulders fine offerings.

This city constantly evolves, yet it remains the same. I know that may sound contradictory, but its true. And it also happens to be one of the reasons I love it. The famous Flatirons stand as sentinels over one of the most beautiful places imaginable; to see them dusted with snow on a winters morning still takes my breath away. They, like the surrounding foothills and other familiar landmarks and institutions, are the constants that frame the artsy, cosmopolitan, diverse, controversial, and crazy city that is Boulder. In writing this newest edition of Insiders Guide to Boulder, I was constantly reminded of just how much this place has to offer, and how much it has become a part of my life for the last 30 years.

The help of the following people made my job easier and enjoyable, and for that I thank them wholeheartedly. My thanks to Pam Gonacha, friend extraordinaire, for her technical assistance with this book and in all areas of my life; to all of the people with the various organizations and businesses who provided information to make the guide a comprehensive resource, especially Kim Farin at the Boulder Convention & Visitors Bureau and Jennifer Pinsonneault at the Boulder Chamber of Commerce; to Kathryn Howes Barth for her love of history; to all the previous authorsgoing all the way back to Shelly Schlender, Claire Walter, Reed Glenn, Linda Cornett, and Roz Brownwho provided the excellent backbone text that makes this guide a success; and to my family and friends for putting up with all my craziness.

Most people, even those who have never been to Colorado, believe they have a pretty clear image of the state. Chances are it involves a skier flying down a mountainside with a fan of lighter-than-air powder rooster-tailing behind. And many are surprised when they land at Denver International Airport that the ski slopes arent just outside the jetway.

The fact is theres a whole lot more going on here, geographically, socially, economically, and recreationally. Oh, the skiing is here, and its great. But Colorado is also a place of flat-as-a-pancake plainsupthrust tables that bear a geologic history of inundation and drought, rich alluvial plains that nourish fields of potatoes and onions, tomatoes and corn, and orchards heavy with apples and peaches. The Rockies draw a handy north-south line through the state, dividing Colorado into the Eastern Slope and Western Slope. Although the line is blurring somewhat, a shorthand description puts the states agriculture primarily on the West and its population and growing high-tech industry along the Front Range on the East.