Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BOULDER FOR CHILDREN
It's easy to keep the kids happy and busy here: most of what makes adults so giddy about a Boulder holiday -
nature and adventure - ignites kids too. There's a huge amount of outdoors options for all ages. For something a
bit more academic, great free monthly shows are put on by CU's Wizards Program (
Click here
).
Outdoors Options
Families would be happiest booking a bungalow at the Chautauqua Lodge. These rustic but pleasantly updated
homes include a kitchen, a screened-in front porch and a backyard, and open onto Chautauqua Park (
Click here
).
Which means the kids can ramble through the grasses and interact with nature at ground level, while you keep
one eye on them, and another on your glass of wine while you relax on the porch. The Royal Arch trail (
Click
here
) can be a long slog for a toddler, but they do fine on the Boulder Falls Trail (
Click here
).
Kids of all ages love to go tubing (
Click here
)
on Boulder Creek, and bike shops can rent kid-sized wheels. The
Boulder Creek Bike Path (
Click here
) is a perfect family ride. The Boulder County Farmers' Market (
Click here
)
is another fun family experience, with plenty of music and color and flavors, as well as ample grass space for pic-
nicking near the Creek. There's also the nearby Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (
Click here
), which offers
free guided art activities on its front porch, in the thick of the market, on Saturdays (9am to 1pm).
On hot days, toddlers love the Pearl Street Mall's Pop Jet Fountain (
Click here
). Prepare for squeals of delight,
and bring a towel and a change of clothes. Among various public pools, the best is the cool spring water one in
Eldorado Springs (
Click here
)
.
A Drive Away
About 20 miles (20 minutes by car on the freeway) from Boulder, halfway to Denver in the suburb of Westmin-
ster, is the Butterfly Pavilion (
Click here
). Its indoor atrium is alive with tropical gardens and 1200 butterflies
from rainforests around the world - not to mention tarantulas, scorpions, giant millipedes and more. The nearby
Sunflower Farm (
Click here
)
in Longmont also welcomes families on Farm Fest Sundays (May to November) to
help feed baby animals, collect eggs, ride ponies and explore the giant tree house.
Shopping
Given the hipster student vibe, the yuppie cash flow and Boulder's status as a go-to green
hot spot, it's not all that shocking to find a bit of shopping here. Along with some high-
end vintage consignment houses, there are a few boutiques with happening labels, and
there's plenty of eco and athletic gear on offer too. Whether you're patrolling Pearl Street
Mall and its outskirts, (much) hipper East Pearl, or the more corporate 29th St Mall,
you're bound to do some boutique and gallery browsing between bouts of mountain mar-
veling.
Pearl Street Mall
MALL
The main feature of downtown Boulder is the Pearl Street Mall, a vibrant pedestrian zone
filled with kids' climbing boulders and splash fountains, bars, galleries and restaurants.
