Boulder: Recreation
Sightseeing
A highlight of downtown Boulder is the 16-mile-long Boulder Creek Path, which runs along the creek through the center of the city. The banks of the creek have been restored to their natural state, parks and picnic areas have been formed—including the attractive Boulder Sculpture Park—and many small waterfalls along the way are perfect for kayaking and tubing. The Open Space & Mountain Parks division of the City of Boulder encompasses 12 free public nature hikes of varying difficulty, each offering some of the most scenic views in the region. Among them is Sawhill Ponds, featuring 18 ponds; Flagstaff Mountain, a 6,850-foot peak that is home to the Flagstaff Nature Center; Royal Arch, a sandstone arch through which the city of Boulder can be viewed from above; and Boulder Falls, a five-acre site known as the "Yosemite of Boulder Canyon."
Boulder also caters to those who prefer less strenuous sightseeing excursions. Free tours are offered by the Celestial Seasonings Tea Co., including a tea sampling bar and a walk through the Mint Room, and by the Redstone Meadery, brewer of a honey wine known as mead. Gateway Park Fun Center features go-karts, batting cages, and miniature golf.
Arts and Culture
The Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra has been performing since 1958, and holds the majority of its performances at the Macky Auditorium Concert Hall on the campus of the University of Colorado at Boulder. Also performing at the Macky is Boulder Ballet, the major dance company of Boulder County. The Boulder Concert Band, comprised of 70 community members, offers a concert series and summer concerts in the area parks. Other musical institutions include the Boulder Chorale, the Boulder Youth Choir and Youth Symphony, and the Boulder Chamber Orchestra, which was founded in 2004. The Nomad Theatre is Boulder's only professional resident theater. Upstart Crow is an ensemble acting company whose season runs from early fall to midsummer and offers five major works. Boulder's Dinner Theatre entertains 80,000 attendees each year with food, drink, and major Broadway musicals.
In 2003 the American Association of Museums bestowed accreditation to the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) Museum of Natural History, the only university museum in Colorado ever to receive this honor. This museum houses nearly four million specimens of biology, anthropology, and geology, including fossils, local animals, and Southwestern cultural artifacts. The CU Heritage Center contains exhibits that chronicle the university's past, such as the baseball bat and glove used by alumnus Robert Redford in The Natural, as well as a moon rock on loan from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and space suits worn by former graduates who became astronauts. CU is also the site of the Sommers-Bausch Observatory and the Fiske Planetarium, the largest of its kind between Chicago and Los Angeles.
The city's many museums are not limited to the CU campus. The Boulder Museum of History houses nearly 30,000 objects
Boulder offers more than 30 art galleries, as well as several art museums. The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art features regional, national, and international exhibitions and performances. The University of Colorado at Boulder Art Galleries contain the works of regional artists and students as well as major national and international artists, and houses the Colorado Collection, a state-owned collection of 5,000 pieces. The Charles A. Haertling Sculpture Park displays the work of such artists as Jerry Wingren, Dennis Yoshikawa Wright, Tom Miller, and Beth Juliar-Skodge.
Festivals and Holidays
Boulder's most famous festival is the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, regarded as one of the best in the nation. The festival is held each summer at the University of Colorado at Boulder's outdoor Mary Rippon Theatre and the indoor University Theatre. January brings the Boulder Bach Festival, a three-day event featuring an orchestra, chorus, and soloists performing the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. For more than a month during the summer, the Colorado Music Festival presents classical music performed by musicians from around the world. The Pearl Street Art Fair is held each July, and the Aerial Dance Festival, featuring demonstrations of dancing through the air, takes place the following month. Film festivals include the Boulder International Film Festival, held for four days in February, and the Moondance International Film Festival, a competition that takes place each May. A variety of aspects of adventure is presented at the Boulder Adventure Film Festival each April.
The city hosts a number of unique festivals and events. The annual Polar Bear Plunge attracts participants intrepid enough to jump into the Boulder Reservoir on New Year's Day. The International Mead Festival, held in February, features more than 80 meads from seven countries and is the world's largest competition for mead, a beverage made of wine fermented with honey. Another record-setting event is held the following month, as the world's shortest parade—Boulder's St. Patrick's Day Parade—takes place over a course covering less than one city block. The Kinetics Sculpture Challenge, preceded a week earlier by the Kinetics Parade, invites teams to race kinetically designed sculptures over both land and water. The Boulder Creek Festival, which draws approximately 130,000 people over Memorial Day Weekend, features a rubber duck race, a children's fishing derby, and dog-agility demonstrations along with typical festival activities and fare. Several holiday events take place in November and December, including Switch on the Holidays, the Holiday Festival, and the Lights of December Parade.
Sports for the Spectator
The University of Colorado at Boulder provides the major sporting attractions in the city. The university's football team, the Buffaloes, is a member of the Big 12 Conference. The university also offers men's and women's basketball, cross country, golf, skiing, tennis, and track and field, and women's soccer and volleyball.
Sports for the Participant
Boulder was voted the "Nation's Reigning Bike Friendly Community" by the League of American Bicyclists in 2004. Residents love to bicycle, and Boulder boasts 35 miles of bike lanes, 48 miles of multiuse paths, and 50 miles of bike routes. On occasion, the city will even plow snow off important bike paths before plowing certain roads. Each year Boulder turns national Bike to Work Day in June into Bike to Work Week and offers free tune-ups, safety clinics, and "Walk and Roll" events.
Boulder offers a variety of outdoor activities the year round. Natural areas like the Boulder Creek Path and the city's large mountain park feature hiking, camping, and boating. The city operates more than 60 parks—800 acres of maintained park land and an additional 200 acres of natural land—offering recreational facilities of all kinds. There are 48 tennis courts, 22 ballfields, and 15 soccer fields, and as well as the public Flatirons Golf Course. Boulder is also a short distance away from several popular ski resorts and dozens of state and national parks.
Boulder, named "America's Best Running City" by Runner's World magazine in 2001, hosts several athletic competitions. The Bolder Boulder 10K race brings 50,000 runners from around the world to the city on Memorial Day. Three weeks later is the 5430 Sprint Triathlon, the first of three races making up the Boulder Triathlon Series; the second is the Boulder Peak Triathlon, held in July; followed in August by the 5430 Long Course Triathlon. Colorado's largest running event is the Nike ACG Boulder Backroads Marathon & Half Marathon, which takes place each September at the Boulder Reservoir.
Shopping and Dining
A major attraction in the downtown area is the Historic Pearl Street Mall district. Set up for pedestrian traffic, the mall is lined with shops, galleries, and restaurants. Along the way, street performers, gardens, and sculptures make the stroll enjoyable. Several large suburban malls add to countless smaller shops and specialty stores scattered throughout the area. Scheduled to open in the autumn of 2006 is Twenty Ninth Street, an 850,000-square-foot shopping center with an open-air environment that will be anchored by Foley's and a 16-theater cinema. More than 300 restaurants in Boulder offer a wide variety of foods, from traditional Western fare to exotic ethnic foods. Patrons won't find a smoking section in any of these establishments, as the city has adopted a no-smoking policy in its restaurants and taverns.
Visitor Information: Boulder Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2440 Pearl St., Boulder, CO 80302; telephone (303)442-2911; toll-free (800)444-0447; fax (303)938-2098; email visitor@bouldercvb.com