Boulder

No place in Colorado better epitomizes the state's outdoor mania than Boulder, where sunny weather keeps locals busy through all seasons. There are nearly as many bicycles as cars in this uncommonly beautiful and beautifully uncommon city, and Boulder has more than 1,500 mi of trails for hiking, walking, jogging, and bicycling. One of Boulder's most uncommon features is its setting. In 1960 its citizens voted to buy the land surrounding the city to protect it from urban sprawl and preserve its historic and ecological resources. Boulder started taxing itself in 1967 in order to buy these greenbelts, and now can boast more than 43,000 acres of city-owned open space—more than 120,000 acres if you add lands owned by Boulder County—which means there's three times as much protected land surrounding the city as developed land. Even in winter, residents cycle to work and jog on the open-space paths. It's nearly a matter of civic pride to spend a lunch hour playing Frisbee, in-line skating, hiking with the family dog, and even rock climbing on the Flatirons.