Beautiful trail. Great views. There is a trail area and an off leash dog park area. Parking lot is…read moresmall.

Amazing classic view of Boulder, as you arrive by car from Denver metro area. It can be beautiful…read moreon a blue sky day but you can also see to the continental divide. Today the high winds up there swirled snow and clouds almost vertically. To the right in this view is Longs Peak in RMNP. To the left is the Indian Peaks Wilderness area due west of Boulder. You might not use this this approach to Boulder on a weekday commute in when it will likely be bumper to bumper going very slow for several miles. And a bit dangerous with snow and ice and high winds at ground level. But on a beautiful clear dry winter day, it is classic and how so many people see Boulder for the very first time.

Sugarloaf Mountain is an excellent close front range option for a scenic hike. Parking is fairly…read moreeasy off Sugarloaf rd, really not far from downtown Boulder! It's an uphill and sometimes steep drive on dirt, but nothing a small car can't do. The hike itself starts unmarked but easy to spot the wide gate and uphill trail. You're in the woods for about the first third, then get some great views after some switchbacks. The top is denuded from a fire over 30 years ago, the Black Tiger Fire. Many large trees and stumps can be seen. This is a fantastic view and you can see in 360 degrees. It's particularly great for mountain views, sunrise, and cool clouds. The trail is pretty short 1.5 miles and around 300ft gain, with a broad open top. It's a great trail for most any skill level!

Colorado residents and visitors should make the time to take in this Rocky Mountain experience…read more This is a moderate hike for those in decent shape, just remember if you're not acclimated, you are hiking roughly from 7900ft to 8900ft. Sugarloaf Mountain is about a half hour outside of Boulder. It is easily seen from the plains-it's the mountain just behind the foothills that is uniformly cone shaped. Let me cut ahead to the pay-off before I fill in the details: A hike up Sugarloaf Mountain from the parking area pays off with magnificent 360 views. The Continental Divide is spread out before you in spectacular fashion. Long's Peak (one of the 14teeners) views are fabulous. To one side are steep drops down talus slopes into Four Mile Canyon. Turn around and you can see Denver and on a cool, clear day, probably Kansas. (not really but it seems that way). I have knocked around the high country quite a bit and been to the top of several peaks, and for the accessability and proximity to Denver and Boulder, Sugarloaf Mountain has some of the best panoramic views. Some of my personal highlights from Sugarloaf hikes: -Watching an eagle glide along on thermals, sometimes above me, sometimes below. -Waving at people in a glider and actually being able to hear the wings of the glider whistling through the air. -Watching the sun set below the snow-capped divide (you can see the Indian Peaks and Never Summer range from here) while sitting in adirondack style chairs made from loose slabs of stone on the western facing side of the peak. Drive west out of Boulder on Canyon (toward Nederland). About 5 miles. Turn right on Sugarloaf Rd., follow it about 4 miles to a right, watch for signs. Trailhead is just a dirt lot. Trail starts with gravel/dirt, becomes very rocky as you climb. Not very steep or challenging if you take your time. Also views of forest fire damage from recent years in surrounding foothills. Just don't do what I did with a visitor: Hiked up sugarloaf one day, biking the next day, on the third day of their visit (they were visiting from an elevation of 600ft.) we went to play racquetball in the morning. Ten minutes into racquetball my guest says "Are the lights in here flickering? Wait, I think I might pass out..." Oops. Altitude.

The trail was well maintained and the area was beautiful with great views. This park is off leaf…read morefor dogs. Parking lot is small.

Nice open space to walk the dogs, run, fish with the kiddos, or just sit with a to go order of food…read moreand enjoy the views. Unfortunately the parking lot is extra small right now because they're doing construction... 4 standard and 1 accessible space is all they have right now right on the water. Across the street is a larger parking area though and that's got plenty of spaces. Very dog friendly trail so if your pup is extra chaotic around others might want to have that in mind. The piece I traversed didn't have much shade so recommend sunglasses and a hat at the very least. Enjoy!

A creek that flows through Boulder. I've heard people go fishing and tubing here. I didn't do any…read moreof that; I merely walked/hiked alongside, and also randomly encountered the creek or one of its offshoots. You don't have to be an outdoorsy type to appreciate the creek.

I love Boulder Creek. It did take a bit of work to forgive it post flood but I am happy to announce…read morethat my relationship with the creek is no longer on the bedrocks. Year round I have seen people fishing in it's crisp waters and you just know summer is near/here with the CU students bouncing through the rapids on air mattresses, bike tubes, and inner tubes. I highly recommend bringing out of town guests to dip their feet or just gaze at it's beauty from the shore.

This is my favorite festival in Colorado! If you know me you know that I love anything that's off…read morethe beaten path- restaurants, events, festivals, and this weekend-long celebration definitely ticks off all the boxes of something you won't get to experience anywhere else! If you're a local or just happen to be visiting the weekend this festival is going on, I highly recommend checking it out for at least one of the days it's going on, you won't regret it!

This event is fantastic! Everyone should check it out. But, here are a few tips:…read more *RTD is your friend! This little town just does not have enough parking for this event. Take the bus for just a couple bucks from Boulder! *Wear your comfy shoes and be ready to wait in line for everything! Even in the bars! *Wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty! You will be hiking across town through snow, mud, etc. *Dress warm! This is a cold town in March! Gloves are a must! This event was much better organized this year. They are getting used to the volume of attendees. Last year there just weren't enough beer tents, no parking, and just had an overall disorganized feel. This year some fantastic improvements were made (parking attendants, an additional beer tent by the parade, etc.).

I absolutely fell in love with the Town of Ward, visiting through Estes Park. Ward has cometh a…read morelong way since founded in 1860. Ornery, beautiful, windy and cold in the winter, and winter lasts 9 months a year. So why do people live here all year? Admittedly it takes a special kind of person to even want to live here. You have to be okay with isolation, cold, roads that don't get plowed, the constant hyperawareness of the possibility of wildfire, power that goes out, internet service that is at the mercy of the elements, the occasional marauding bear, mountain lion, raccoon, 90 mph winds for 2 weeks in a row, snow drifts that bury cars, shoveling tons of snow, literally tons, spending 3 months collecting the firewood that you spend 9 months burning, and many more exhausting, exasperating, exhilarating activities. And for what? Well, if you love winter and self-propelled winter activities like cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, you have it made in the shade. The lifestyle encourages simplicity and humility. And then there's the 2 to 3 months of glorious, green summer during which we hold our breaths, praying not to get struck by lightning or idiots with campfires. What it all amounts to is a population of people who some might describe as recluses or misfits, but who are our community, who do fit in here, and they are strong and quarrelsome, kind and opinionated, artistically gifted and emotionally ornery . They are who they are, nothing more and nothing less. And that's why we live here.

From kids who throw rocks at the cyclists from behind junker cars, to the sweetest post office…read moreclerk in the world, Ward has it all. Definitely a wake-and-bake town, like a smaller version of Santa Cruz without the homeless population.

It's just as good as the real one AND you don't have to pay money or have a giant city full of…read morepeople farting around you. I've never been to New York but anywhere there are people - you got these funny guys eating garbage every day and laughing if they know their butt horn stench made your innocent tummy wrench. And you got these other people that actually can't control their butt rubber band and they're just leaking all day long (no need to knock on the meat lovers... worst gas I ever smelled - 1 was an all-the-meats american that drank 12 coors every day and the other was a hard working VEGAN?!?!?!? - go figure - everybody stinks). And just so you know that butt rubber band is a really strong rubber band. When u die you leave your bones, hair, nails, and a really thick and valuable (to most cultures of the past) butt rubberband that could keep 5 gallons of water from leaking out of a flexing garbage bag. Anyway - If you don't want to get on a boat just to see the old immigration dreams - you can go to Longmont. The Statue of Liberty is a weird idol.

Another mini statue of liberty replica in colorado!…read more This one is near a bunch of other neat statues. Teddy roosevelt, and some nursery rhyme ones in the park near by. She is a pretty little lady, and i'm glad i got to stop by and see her. The day we stopped by, the park had a number of interesting characters around so we didn't stay too long. But definitely worth stopping by.

Right now, the town of Frederick is having an "Active Living Event" that starts today, December 7th…read more2020 and ends in January 4th of 2021! Helpful, motivational, and a loving community!! Driving less than 20 miles by car, Frederick's stationary town can be found Northwest from Brighton, CO!! Do not let the sight of numerous oil tanks in every corner, stop you from gazing the beauty of Weld County. I enjoy driving through Dacono on US-85 N and finally getting off exit for Frederick. Aside from the humble, friendly and private community, the town is very safe and conservative. The roundabouts are a thing in most neighborhoods, but I found myself seeing friendly faces and lots of kid-pet friendly parks. The town has not yet seemed to boom as much as Denver, and it's a escape from the city life for sure. Similar to Brighton's country scenery, Frederick has mainly flat land ranches. Neighborhoods are again, quiet, but very inviting! I visited Frederick because it's Brighton's neighbor and proud partner in crime. Do not let media also present and show bias for this lovely, quiet town. It's definitely a blessing if you want to work in the oil and gas industry for sure. Also, I'd like to thank my high school teacher who brought warm smiles during my youth! She allowed me to use photos from this wonderful city to use for my Yelp Review!

As a whole I would like to say the town it's self is great and I enjoy living in the area but I…read morefound out when it snows it's as if they have never seen snow or ever dealt with it. Every time it snows there is never a plow that comes through so everyone over in the farm area have just figured out how to deal with this on their own. This last big snow we got around 2' and not one plow for 3 days then after we had a nice path and everyone could get their vehicle out of their drive and down the road they sent their super snow removal crew to mess everything up. Plow went through one time and we went from being able to get to having a 3.5' hard wet snow pile all down the north side of the road. I called and talked to the road crew supervisor and I would have had a better conversation with a wall. The guy actually asked me where he was suppose to put the snow when I asked how stupid you have to be to plow 3' of snow into a empty drive so people can't get out and have to shovel again. I guess with a plow it would be to much to push it to the end of the street like they do in ever other state that gets snow. But after my conversation I could understand why these mounds were left. Pure 100% laziness. The guy tried to tell me they have a lot to do well we were fine until you blocked all our drives again. Needless to say I took my truck and ran through the huge piles and knocked it down since they obviously had no intentions on coming back to fix the issue. My wife was finally able to get out of the drive again after I did this. I then called the city manager and left a complaint on her voicemail and about a hour later low and behold plows come through again to leave huge piles where we had just dug them out and run them over so we could get out. I will leave some pics of the second time through I didn't get any the first time I was to pissed cause my kids had to get somewhere and my wife couldn't even get out of the drive. Thanks so much city of Frederick for making it dangerous for everyone on our street cause if anything was to happen and anyone need to leave unless you have a 4x4 you aren't going anywhere. I think it's time you hire someone who has dealt with snow or knows how to deal with snow and don't ask someone else where they should push the snow it's so obvious where you push snow out of the way of everyone not in their drives.