"The Berkeley of the Rockies"
Me and our dog, Cleo, after a short hike in Boulder
Boulder is an extraordinary little town just North-West of Denver, Colorado. Despite its small size, the city hosts a plethora of restaurants, hikes, and shops of all kinds. We spent four days in the city and faced a ludicrous syllabus of things to do. Here I'll name a few of my favorites from the four days.
Best Places to Eat
Out of the four days we spent in Boulder, my favorite place we ate would have been Avanti. Avanti serves a variety of food from seven small, distinct restaurants all serving their own kind of food. Some of the food they offer include Japanese, American, Persian, Jewish, Hispanic, and Italian food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The runner-up would be Bartaco (maybe pronounced Bar Taco, maybe pronounced Bartaco - we had a long debate over this), which serves primarily tacos. One note from Bartaco would be that the tacos are quite small and meant to be ordered in groups of 3-4.
It's also important to note that almost every restaurant we went to in Boulder had all online menus and was set up in a way where you order the food on your phone, and ordering nearly never involved speaking to the waiters/waitresses.
Best Places to Hike
During our visit to Boulder, we took two hikes - first, we took the Anne U. White trail. This trail is great for anyone looking for an easy and unchallenging hike through Colorado's striking forests and scenery. This hike was dotted with several small streams, as well as beautiful pines and greenery. The second hike we took was at Chautauqua Park. This hike offered a bit more diversity, with several possible paths stretching throughout the park. This trail is best for more vigorous hiking - such as jogging - but can also simply be walked, despite offering less greenery. What's nice about Boulder is that most of the town, not just the marked trails, are enjoyable walking territory. I took an early morning hike up the hill in our backyard, and that was about just as enjoyable as any of the other mentioned trails.
Best Shops
Boulder is especially distinctive when it comes to shopping. Being a tourist center, there are many shops and stores offering souvenirs - or simple board games and books, if that's what you're interested in. In particular, we had a truly amazing visit to the Boulder Book Store, which housed several thousand of our favorite books. The store was so fantastic, that simply wandering through the store without buying anything is as enjoyable as many of the other stores we visited. Crystal Joys Gallery was also an amazing place to look around since the shop offered a fantastic collection of rocks and minerals for any riveted traveler. If you're interested in any kind of shimmering gem or an age-old fossil as your souvenir, you should definitely consider dropping by this shop sometime during your stay.
Summarized
Boulder is truly a remarkable city to visit, and an excellent example of a quaint, Rocky Mountain village. Any traveler who wants to truly experience the history, scenery, and culture of Colorado would be lost without seeing Boulder. That being said, it is also important I choose the best out of the small fraction of the city I visited to list on my blog.
Best Restaurants:
Best Trails:
Anne U. White & Chautauqua Park
Best Shops:
A kind thanks to all the caring people in Boulder, and thank you for reading - I hope you enjoyed my article as much as I enjoyed my stay in Boulder, Colorado.
Comments