Hi all- i'm contemplating moving from NM to Boulder for a job... i hear horror stories of closed trails, and "no trails close to town". How true is this? For a variety of reasons, we'll probably live right in town as opposed to outside of town.
Not necessarily so. There are hundreds of miles of trail around Boulder but only something like 3% (I made that up but it is a ridiculously low number) of it is open to bikes. Boulder city council doesn't like mountain bikes because they think we spoil the view of their foothills homes. :madmax:thanks - I should be more clear. I meant "closed trails" a la Marin County, where all but a few miles of singletrack are off limits to bikes. Doesn't sound like that's the case in Boulder!
Sadly, 93 will make sure that doesn't happen.Perhaps if one was taking a job in Boulder, one could live in Golden and enjoy a much more MTB friendly atmosphere without having too bad of a commute.
And the Marshal Mesa trail system.The only trails you can realistically ride to from town are Walker Ranch (would involve pretty serious climbing to get to the TH) and Betasso Preserve (an easy 20-30 min spin up the canyon). There are tons of other trails within a 10-15 minute drive in virtually all directions.
As has been noted, there are a ridiculous number of hiking trails that start right in Boulder, but they're not open to bikes and haven't been in 30 years. But there's still a small handful, and the number of trails has slowly but surely risen over the years. Boulder is not a mt bike mecca, but it has something to offer, more than many places (and less than others).thanks - I should be more clear. I meant "closed trails" a la Marin County, where all but a few miles of singletrack are off limits to bikes. Doesn't sound like that's the case in Boulder!
One person's "close" is another's "way too far".Hi all- i'm contemplating moving from NM to Boulder for a job... i hear horror stories of closed trails, and "no trails close to town". How true is this? For a variety of reasons, we'll probably live right in town as opposed to outside of town.
Well, there's not much near Broomfield that has character, though living near there will cost a lot less than Boulder or its environs. Anything in the Boulder Valley School district will be good as far as schools, which includes Louisville and Superior, somewhat closer options to Broomfield (and closer to that southern trail system). One trail system not mentioned yet is West Mag, about 25-35 minutes west of Boulder, depending on where you start from. Good riding up there, and what's more, not crowded at all. But it becomes less and less accessible the further away from Boulder you live (which is why it isn't crowded, it's too far for most of the Denver crowd).well, the job is actually broomfield. so maybe it does make sense to live elsewhere? Good public schools are a must, and it would be nice to have some character (not only subdivisions)
What is your price range? Golden is way better than Broomfield for riding and parts have character. The commute is 20-30 minutes, depending on exactly where you are in each town. Broomfield is something like 11 miles end to end and Golden is 5 or 6. There are back ways between Golden and Broomfield that aren't terrible. The schools in BVSD in Broomfield are arguably better than Golden though. A weird thing about schools here - some towns are in multiple school districts, so kids from one part of Broomfield are in Boulder Valley Schools and other parts are in Adams 12.well, the job is actually broomfield. so maybe it does make sense to live elsewhere? Good public schools are a must, and it would be nice to have some character (not only subdivisions)
The schools in Jeffco (Arvada/Golden/Lakewood, etc.) used to be pretty awesome. Unfortunately, school funding in CO has taken a nosedive in the past few years, and I think the sheer size of the district (80,000 or so students) seems to have weighed on Jeffco more than Boulder. Then, to add salt to the wounds, the school board was taken over by some fundamentalist whackjobs hellbent on creating a voucher system to allow private schools to get public funds. They also want to bust the teacher's union, which means teachers will be leaving in droves soon, just like they have in Douglas Country, where the same nutcases took over the district a few years ago.Thanks. Haven't been hearing great things about golden schools (we have 3 kids who will be in public schools). A few mentioned superior and and louisville?