Interesting Things To Do In Boulder Colorado

An Overview of Boulder

Boulder is a vibrant, outdoor-oriented town at the edge of the Rocky Mountains in Northern Colorado. The city is well-known for its breweries, active downtown area, numerous hiking trails and excellent restaurants. There are many interesting things to do in Boulder, with the Flatiron rock formations to the west, mountain streams cutting through the center of town, prairie settings to the east and beautiful parks throughout.

Interesting Things To Do In Boulder Colorado

The Flatirons

Visitors arriving in Boulder will likely immediately notice the distinct rock formation on the horizon. These large, stark stones create a flat, slab-like shape, leading to some of the best hiking trails in the region. The hikes around the Flatirons include The Senintel Trail, all Green Mountain routes and the Kohler Mesa Trail.

The Long Canyon Trailheads

Slightly north of the Flatirons, there’s another set of trails roughly centered around Flagstaff Road. These excellent hiking routes include the Trail to Flagstaff Trailhead, the Gregory Canyon Trailhead, the Chautauqua Trail Overlook and access to Long Canyon.

Boulder Falls

Found along Boulder Canyon Drive, Boulder Falls is a short, easy walk leading to a low buy mighty waterfall. There’s no trailhead leading to the falls, but there’s a small parking area nearby.

Sugarloaf Mountain

Sugarloaf is a large, mountainous area with incredible scenery, numerous campsites, mountain meadows and several hiking trails.

Betasso Preserve Trailhead

This trail leads to a spacious outdoor park known to be an excellent site for hiking, biking and horseback riding in a series of rugged, grass-covered foothills.

Boulder Creek Path

Following the main stream which rolls into Boulder from the Rocky Mountains, this creek path accesses some of Boulder’s most accessible parks and floating areas for rafters and people relaxing on water tubes. The path eventually passes Eben G. Fine Park, the Boulder Public Library which bridges the waterway and Scott Carpenter Park.

Pearl Street

This is a popular pedestrian and vehicular avenue lined with shops, restaurants, cafés and historical buildings.

Nederland

Nederland is a small town located on the banks of the Barker Meadow Reservoir. The small town is easily accessible from Boulder and remains a popular area to look for wildflower blooms or enjoy nearby skiing oppertunities. The town itself has a few interesting attractions, including an outdoor historic venue known as the Nederland Mining Museum and a unique attraction called the Carousel of Happiness.

University of Colorado Museum of Natural History

This is an excellent museum linked to the University of Colorado known for its collection of fossils, dinosaur skulls and natural, preserved specimens.

NIST-F1 Cesium Fountain Atomic Clock

This cesium fountain clock found in the National Institute of Standards and Technology sets the accurate standard time and frequency standard for clocks throughout the United States. The clock is accurate within 1/15,000,000,000 of a second per year. That ratio is accurate enough to ensure the clock wouldn’t have gained or lost a second, even if it began running at the creation of the universe.

Valmont Butte

This stark, now-abandoned outcrop was once a prominent native American spiritual site, eventually gutted to make room for a mining settlement.

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