Surf’s up? In Colorado? Sure! Soak up sometime in the water with these five escapes
You can’t miss Colorado’s mountains— they’re the compass that tells us which way is west and the tempting sirens that call us when fresh powder drops. But bodies of water in our fine state? Well, it’s a little tougher to scout out great splash pads and, i
Boogie board and surf atwater World 8801 Pecos St. Federal Heights, 303-427-7873, waterworldcolorado.com
If it’s been a while since you’ve visitedwaterworld, we’ll get you caught up to speed: The ice cream cookie sandwiches are still humongous, and so are the waves that roll through Thunder Bay, the pool in the heart of the 70-acre water park. But the secondary wave pool that greets you near the entrance has been reimagined, ...
sectioned off into a kid’s play area on one side and “Cowabunga Beach” on the other, where you’ll be handed a body board before launching from a platform into perfectly engineered waves. The timing of your launch is key because you’ll want to ride that boogie board all the way to shore, errr, land.
Once you’ve graduated from boogie boarding, try out “Thewave,” a surf simulator across from Thunder Bay. But beware: Surfers who seemingly got lost in Colorado (or maybe never retreated back to the ocean after ski season?) congregate here and will make it look easy-peasy. If you’re a novice, cue “Wipeout” … you might get thrashed around in the waves for a little bit before gaining solid footing.
Open swim at Chatfield State Park
11500 N. Roxborough Park Road, Littleton, 303-791-7275, cpw.state.co.us/ placestogo/parks/chatfield
• Colorado Masters Swimming Association: comsa.org
Swimming at your gym’s pool can feel like bumper cars (with the added risk of an unsupervised kid cannonballing on top of you). You’re better off escaping the lap lanes this summer and logging a good swim workout in the outdoors.
The gravel pond at Chatfield State Park is a gem for outdoor swimming— even if the name doesn’t do a stellar job selling it. But thewater glistenswhen the sun hits it just right and, when you pop your head up during your breaststroke sequences, you’ll get a panoramic glimpse ofwatertoncanyon.
Consider joining the Chatfield Gravel Pond Swimmers, a workout group that’s organized by the Colorado Masters Swimming Association and U.S. Masters Swimming, but whose swims are run by a team or workout group. (Joining the group is a great way to train for the swim portion of an upcoming triathlon or simply just get that total body workout).
Not a competitive swimmer? You can still come to the gravel pond to paddleboard and even let your reservoir dog hop on the board, too. Just be sure to ask the rental pros for a dogfriendly board, because your pup’s nails can scratch the surface, and the companies would rather you take out older boards that are no longer in mint condition.