29 Best Sights in Boulder and North Central Colorado, Colorado

For some of Boulder's prettiest views, follow Baseline Road west from Broadway to Chautauqua Park, nestled at the base of the Flatirons. Grab a picnic or ice cream cone at the General Store and relax on the lawn, or use the park as a launching point to 40 miles of hiking trails. Historic Chautauqua is also home to a tasty restaurant, the historic Chautauqua Dining Hall, open year-round for brunch and dinner. Or attend a lecture, silent film, or concert at the auditorium, which hosts the Colorado Music Festival and internationally renowned concerts every year. For a bird's-eye view of Boulder, keep going west on Baseline (which turns into Flagstaff Road) 1 mile to Panorama Point, and then 3½ miles to Realization Point.

The late-19th- and early-20th-century commercial structures of the Downtown Boulder Historic District once housed mercantile stores and saloons, but today the stores here cater to modern tastes, with fair-trade coffees and Tibetan prayer flags. The period architecture—including Queen Anne, Italianate, and Romanesque styles in stone or brick—has been preserved.

This dome on the University of Colorado campus puts on planetarium shows and star talks, as well as laser shows choreographed to music by the likes of Pink Floyd, Bob Marley, and Queen. Showtimes vary somewhat, but generally laser shows take place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night, and star shows are sprinkled throughout the week, including some family matinees. The planetarium hosts live talks on Thursday evening. The Sommers–Bausch Observatory is open for free public viewing every Friday, weather permitting, when CU classes are in session.

Between 8th and 20th Streets in the downtown area, Pearl Street is the city's hub, an eclectic collection of boutiques, bookstores, art galleries, cafés, bars, and restaurants. From 11th and 15th Streets is a pedestrian mall, with plenty of good people-watching and some of the most outrageous street performers you'll ever see. Regulars may include fire-eating contortionists, a man who plays the piano while hanging from his feet in a tree, and steampunk-style street bands.

With more than 5 million objects, this museum is home to the largest natural history collection in the Rocky Mountain region. There are five galleries and a discovery corner for kids. Permanent and changing exhibits feature CU research, fossils, archaeological finds, dinosaur relics, plants, and invertebrates. Depending on your level of interest, you could spend anywhere from an hour to all day here.

The stately sandstone Avery House was built in 1879 by Franklin Avery, who set the tone for Old Town's broad streets when he surveyed the city in 1873. You can tour the inside on weekends. The Avery House is just one of 36 sites on the Poudre Landmark Foundation's historic walking-tour map, which includes several self-guided options.

The Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest and Pawnee National Grassland, an enormous area that encompasses 1.5 million acres, has fishing, sailing, canoeing, and waterskiing, as well as hiking, mountain biking, birding, and camping. Contained within the Arapaho National Forest is the Arapaho National Recreation Area (ANRA), a 35,000-acre expanse adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park that contains Lake Granby, Shadow Mountain Lake, Monarch Lake, and Willow Creek and Meadow Creek reservoirs. Toss in neighboring Grand Lake and you have what's known as Colorado's Great Lakes.

View local and worldwide contemporary art exhibits and performance art at this innovative museum with frequently changing exhibitions. Admission is free on Saturday, and the museum stays open late on Wednesday during the summer when the farmers' market is in season.

No visit to Nederland is complete without a spin on the nonprofit Carousel of Happiness, a restored 1910 carousel featuring 57 hand-carved, hand-painted animals running around to the sounds of a 1913 Wurlitzer band organ. The complex includes a gift shop and a puppet theater.

Whether you're staying in Grand Lake or merely stopping on your way to another destination, the 80-mile (one way) Colorado River Headwaters Scenic and Historic Byway between Grand Lake and State Bridge is worth a side trip. The route takes you along the Colorado River, past hot springs, ranches, and reservoirs, through wide spaces with views of mountains, along deep canyons, and through a seemingly incongruous sage-covered desert. Along the turnouts within Gore Canyon, you can get a good look at the roaring Colorado River and train tracks below. Stop by the viewing platform at the Gore Canyon Whitewater Park at Pumphouse to see paddlers and boarders playing in the waves.

Seven galleries of campus history sweep you into exploring the past, present, and future of university achievements and traditions. Warp into space with the University of Colorado's astronauts, and see an Apollo 15 moon rock; strut to the tunes of master swing conductor Glenn Miller; challenge yourself to building a 1.5-million-LEGO-brick model of the Boulder campus; and see if you can name the school's latest Olympians.

With steep canyon walls, a rushing creek, verdant pine forests, 10 picnic sites with multiple tables, and 12 miles of trails, this park attracts thrill-seekers and nature lovers alike. Rock climbers scale the sandstone walls, kayakers charge the rapids of South Boulder Creek (if stream flow allows), and anglers cast lines for brown and rainbow trout. The Streamside Trail parallels South Boulder Creek for ½ mile (wheelchair accessible for 300 feet). The 1-mile (one-way) Fowler Trail is wheelchair accessible, with interpretive signs and great views for climbers. For Continental Divide views, take the 3½-mile (round-trip) Rattlesnake Gulch Trail, which climbs 800 feet. Snowshoeing is popular here in winter. Mountain bikers crank on Rattlesnake Gulch Trail and the Walker Ranch Loop (accessed from the Crescent Meadows trailhead off Gross Dam Road). Hikers can climb the 3½-mile (one-way) Eldorado Canyon Trail to Crescent Meadows. The park is frequently at capacity on weekends and holidays, so weekday and evening visits are recommended.

The museum showcases Ute and pioneer artifacts, displays on the founding of Rocky Mountain National Park, and changing exhibits. It also publishes a self-guided walking tour of historic sites, which are mostly clustered along Elkhorn Avenue downtown.

The museum entertains and informs visitors of all ages with interactive science, history, music, and natural history exhibits. The OtterBox Digital Dome Theater screens a mix of planetarium space shows and captivating educational films on its 35-foot dome screen. Also, meet the two resident black-footed ferrets. This is the only museum in the world to host these endangered animals.

The largest and deepest natural lake in Colorado, Grand Lake offers calm waters for boating, fishing, and kayaking. It also feeds into two much larger man-made reservoirs, Lake Granby and Shadow Mountain Lake. These three bodies of water, along with Monarch Lake and Willow Creek and Meadow Creek reservoirs, are called the "Great Lakes of Colorado."

At Hot Sulphur Springs Resort and Spa, 15 open-air pools are sprinkled up the hillside, with temperatures ranging from 98°F to 112°F, and a day pass grants access to all of them. The seasonal swimming pool is just right for recreation, at a comparatively frigid 80°F, and the resort also has four private, indoor pools (two reserved for spa treatments). Bring sandals if you have them, especially during snowy months when rock salt is used on icy walkways.

You wouldn't expect such a pinball extravaganza in tiny Lyons, but there it is, behind the Oskar Blues brewpub, with more than 50 classic pinball games. The change machines (and fellow gamers) make it a simple and fun evening stop.

This working ranch, homesteaded in 1873, is on the National Register of Historic Places and provides a well-preserved record of typical ranch life. Take a guided tour of the 1896 ranch house, then explore the outbuildings and machinery on your own as you take in views of the Twin Owls and Longs Peak.

Three blocks north of Pearl Street and west of Broadway, this neighborhood of turn-of-the-20th-century homes is shaded by old maple and cottonwood trees. It makes for a scenic walk near downtown but away from the busy mall.

This museum captures and tells the stories of Boulder's intriguing history and people. Inspiration abounds, from the rotating exhibits to dynamic guest speakers. The permanent Boulder Experience gallery showcases Boulder's past, and the ever-changing exhibits feature different treasures from the museum's collection of more than 44,000 historical artifacts that are preserved in a private warehouse off-site. Beyond history and art, the Museum of Boulder is also home to the kid-friendly Playzeum and the techy Google Garage, where children can create and experiment.

Talking about the weather is not boring at this center, where the hands-on exhibits and tours fire up kids' and adults' enthusiasm for what happens in the sky. If you can't make the free, guided one-hour noon tours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, take a self-guided tour or a mobile app tour (available on the Apple and Google app stores). The distinctive blocky-looking buildings, designed by architect I. M. Pei, stand on a mesa at the base of the mountains, where you can see wildlife. Follow the short, wheelchair-accessible, interpretive NCAR Weather Trail to learn more about how weather affects the local environment.

A National Historic District, Fort Collins's Old Town was the inspiration for Disneyland’s Main Street USA, and Old Town Square is a bustling pedestrian zone with sculptures, fountains, a fire pit, and historic buildings that house shops, galleries, bars, and, of course, breweries. Restaurants and cafés here have plenty of shaded outdoor seating. Musicians perform during the summer on a stage, and in the winter, the square is home to Santa's Workshop and an ice-skating rink.

The byway (Routes 119, 72, and 7), a 55-mile stretch that winds from Central City north through Nederland to Estes Park, is not the quickest route to the eastern gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, but it's certainly the most scenic. You'll pass through the old mining towns of Ward and Allenspark and enjoy spectacular mountain vistas. Mt. Meeker and Longs Peak rise magnificently behind every bend in the road. The descent into Estes Park provides grand vistas of snow-covered mountains and green valleys.

The old Hot Sulphur Schoolhouse—built in 1924—houses the Pioneer Village Museum. Artifacts depict Grand County history dating back 8,500 years, including tools, clothing, a railroad snowplow, and the old Winter Park Ski Train caboose.

Rugged peaks, thick forests, and burbling streams make up this 71,000-acre park nestled in the Medicine Bow Mountains with views of the Never Summer Range. Fish for trout, ride horseback, hike or mountain bike, explore four-wheel-drive roads, or ski, snowmobile, or snowshoe along miles of trails. Boating is allowed in the central reservoir only. Camping, cabins, and backcountry yurts are available year-round.

Across Broadway from the University of Colorado campus is the Hill, a favorite student hangout. The neighborhood is home to restaurants, music venues, bars, coffeehouses, head shops, and boutiques.

The campus of the University of Colorado Boulder began in 1876 with the construction of Old Main, which borders the Norlin Quadrangle, now on the National Register of Historic Places, a broad lawn where students hang out or play Frisbee between classes. The university’s red sandstone buildings with tile roofs, built in the “Rural Italian” architectural style that Charles Z. Klauder created in the early 1920s, complement the campus’s green lawns and small ponds. You can take a walking tour (reservations required) of the campus year-round.