BOULDER ON A BUDGET
Boulder offers best of wilderness adventure and city comforts Chautauqua Park, in the southwest corner of Boulder, Colo., has easy access to hiking trails.
Explore wild landscapes and metropolitan amenities without breaking the bank,
Hiking through Forest Canyon Pass, nearly 3,500 metres above sea level, is a little like jumping into an ice-cold pond: it is sobering, invigorating and takes a little getting used to. When I wasn’t catching my breath because of the altitude, I was taking in the picture-book panoramas of Rocky Mountain National Park.
It is tough to beat a visit to Boulder, Colo., if you are looking to get back to nature — easy access to several national forests and one of the finest national parks in the country helps — but you do not actually have to leave the city at all to experience some exceptionally fine hiking and outdoor activities, as well as some satisfying dining experiences. Boulder is, however, an expensive city. Its real estate costs are some of the highest in the nation, and with Google and Amazon increasing their presence in town, that issue is not likely to go away anytime soon. Fortunately, I was able to get the most out of Boulder for a minimal amount of cash during a visit in July.
I flew into Denver International Airport and, faced with high on-airport rental car costs, opted to make the somewhat long trek via ride-share to a downtown Avis location. My $42 (U.S.) per day got me a shiny new Subaru Outback (it would not be the last one I saw during this Colorado sojourn). On my way north, I stopped in the town of Louisville at Moxie Bread Co., a top-notch bakery that uses organic heirloom wheat. I arrived near closing time, when most of the items were sold out — the friendly guy behind the counter took pity on me and gave me a free coffee. The flaky croissant ($4.50) was excellent, as was a slightly tangy loaf of millabrod bread ($6).
Boulder is where the Rockies meet the Great Plains, and if you look at a topographical map of the area, you can see exactly how stark and sudden the change comes as you move from east to west: all placid and flat before hitting a wall of mountain, positioned north-tosouth, just west of the city. And while Boulder’s altitude is already famously high — more than 1,600 metres — I felt the urge to get slightly higher. I headed for the popular Chautauqua Park in the southwest corner of town. At the base of Green Mountain, it offers easy access to trails and hiking up into the famous Flatirons, numbered and distinctive sandstone rock formations on the mountain’s eastern flank.