Things to Do in the Boulder, CO Area
- Happy Nomads
- Sep 15, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 17, 2024
Green Mountain trail in the Boulder Open Space area.
We recently spent a month in Colorado and one of our favorite towns was Boulder. Today, I wanted to share a few must-dos for your next trip to the Boulder area!
The first thing we noticed about Boulder was the limited number of RV parks, campgrounds, and potential boondocking spots. And also, how fast park reservations fill up in Colorado in general?? Super weird. But we managed to spend a month here with ZERO reservations, haha, and we did just fine.
So, we decided to stay at the Boulder Fairgrounds campground which is–surprise!–in Longmont. So we were ~20 minutes from downtown Boulder but it was a really cool spot and I’m glad we got to explore the surrounding areas because that’s where we would have to live if we decided to move to Boulder ($$$).
The Fairgrounds were great because you can pay for the services you need each day. We paid for electricity and water at $20/day–which is pretty sweet, especially considering the area. But you could pay for just a parking spot, electricity, or the dump station. The Fairgrounds were also really close to some nice walking trails–great for the doggy–and had a Farmer’s Market that we got to attend twice! We even saw a rodeo! The trail that takes off from the Fairgrounds and goes around TinkerMill Lake has educational signs, tons of Canada geese, and a nesting post for an Osprey pair.
Our campsite at the Fairgrounds, Boulder Farmer's Market, and the items we brought home!
Our first stop was the University area. Austin’s mom went to UC Boulder so it was really cool for us to walk around and recreate some of his mom’s old college photos!
Austin sitting on the steps of the house his mom lived in the basement apartment of her sophomore year of college.
Original image of his mom taken in 1992.
Which brings us to our first few must-dos: You must walk around the campus area (“The Hill”) and eat at The Sink. This restaurant has been featured on “Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives” and even Obama came to eat here in 2012. Pretty cool!
The Sink. We had the sliders, a Caesar salad, and the buffalo mac & cheese. Yum!
Next up is the Pearl Street Mall. You must walk around, even if you don’t want to shop! We really enjoyed the old-style architecture, art installations, and gelato of course.
Pearl Street Mall & Gelato Boy
For outdoor activities, we really enjoyed the Green Mountain trail in the Boulder Open Space area (dog friendly!), the Boulder Reservoir swim beach, and Chautauqua Park where we got to enjoy a spectacular view of the Flat Irons. We also took at least one day trip to Rocky Mountain National Park–which is one of our all-time favorites. Of these, I would say Chautauqua Park is the must-do but the others are great too if you have time!
Now, what everyone’s been waiting for… drumroll breweries! We love breweries! If you follow us on social media, you’ve probably already noticed that good beers make it into our posts & recommendations quite often. During our time in the Boulder area, we visited Upslope, Wild Provisions, Left Hand Brewing, and Avery.
Of the breweries, Upslope was our favorite! We got to attend their Upslope Get Down event. It was really fun and we got to try their many beers and seltzers! They had vendors selling food & merchandise and live music! Which, as Austinites, we love.
Austin sporting a giant Deuter backpack at the Upslope Get Down event.
When we are in cities, we prioritize visiting creative spots and museums. In the Boulder area, we visited the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, The Dushanbe Teahouse (food & drink too), and the First Friday Art Market in the NoBo District. We would highly recommend the Teahouse and the museum next door!
The gardens and dining room of The Dushanbe Teahouse. A Tracking Time piece by artist Noelle Phares at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art.
Hotel Boulderado is a must-see as well. They often have live music playing in their lobby. This is a really cool historical site that I would highly recommend. Downstairs, below the hotel, is License No. 1 where you can grab a great cocktail and enjoy a dark, ambient setting. We got to see a comedy show here that made us laugh so hard. Great experience!
License No. 1 bar & comedy show
Overall, we really enjoyed the Boulder area, and we look forward to visiting again. We try not to go out to eat much ($$$ haha) but we would recommend Rosetta Hall, the Dushanbe Teahouse, and the many dining halls around the city. In Austin, we have food trucks so we really love the idea of a bunch of food places in one area where we can hang out and try different things. It’s fun!
View from rooftop of Rosetta Hall.
Please let us know what questions you have or if there’s anything you’d add to this list.
Happy travels <3
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