Dry Storage: Amazing coffee and creative pastries and sandwiches. We eat "breakfast treats" from this place maybe a little too often. Le French Cafe: Super cute spot for delicious croissants, crepes, and baguette sandwiches. Family-run by a French couple who lives here in Boulder. Rosenberg's Bagels: Best bagels in Colorado! Cured: Delicious cheeses/charcuterie, fancy sandwiches, and cookies. Eat here or take your selection to a park for a little picnic-ing.
Audrey Jane's Pizza Garage: Crazy good pizza! Try the hot honey disco pie :) Mostly to-go, but they do have a little bit of seating and a small outdoor patio. Rayback Collective: A great relaxed beer-and-food-trucks spot with tons of indoor and outdoor seating. Their food trucks rotate and they always have a good selection.
Basta: We love this little Italian place. Everything is cooked in a wood-fired oven. Black Cat/Bramble & Hare: Local farm-to-table family of restaurants. They also host dinners at the farm in the summer, one of our favorite dates!
Farmer's market: The Boulder Farmer's Market runs on 13th street on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings. A pavilion halfway through the market hosts live music and great food trucks. We love biking along the Boulder Creek Path and stopping at the farmer's market on a summer weekend :) Boulder Creek Path: This paved path runs through the heart of Boulder, with lots of opportunities to hop off the trail onto grassy lawns or busier streets, stop to dip your feet in the water, or pause on a bridge to try spotting some trout. BMOCA: The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art is a great little art gallery with rotating exhibits, often featuring local artists. Pearl Street: A classic college town pedestrian street. Perfect for shopping, people-watching, and ice cream-eating!
Mt. Sanitas: A short (~3 miles) but somewhat challenging hike up a pretty ridgeline with great views looking back over the city. Multiple trails connect in this area, so you can shorten or lengthen your hike to your heart's content. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/mount-sanitas-and-sanitas-valley-loop-trail Flatirons Vista Trail: The Flatirons are so beautiful that we really prefer walking *near* them instead of *climbing* them, so you can look at them the whole time! This is a relatively flat, easy 3ish mile loop with great views of the Flatirons the whole way. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/flatirons-vista-trail
Lake Isabelle: We love taking visitors to this gorgeous alpine lake trail in the Brainard Lake Recreation Area. At 5.5 miles and not a ton of elevation gain, this is a great way for you to max out your views-to-effort ratio. Brainard Lake Rec Area is about an hour's drive from Boulder. Requires a reservation to park in the summertime, but worth the advance planning. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/lake-isabelle
Devil's Thumb Lake: A classic Colorado alpine hike. 12 miles of fresh air and awesome views :) https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/devil-s-thumb-lake-trail Any trail leading from the 4th of July Trailhead is a winner! The area gets pretty packed in the summer, so arrive waaaaaay early in the morning to get a great parking spot, or plan to take a shuttle up from Nederland. This link will take you to a trail description for Lake Dorothy, but you can't lose with any of the hikes in the area, which range from 5 to 10 miles or more and guarantee beautiful views: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/arapahoe-pass-and-lake-dorothy-trail
In Boulder, we love to drive down CO-93 a little bit and enjoy beautiful views of the Flatirons. Try picking up a sandwich or pizza to-go in Boulder, then drive to this spot to enjoy a beautiful sunset: https://goo.gl/maps/j1FYJru1xwZpVBx66 Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park is a can't-miss scenic drive. Stunningly gorgeous mountain vistas around every turn, plus lots of opportunities to spot elk! Sunrise and sunset are especially spectacular, but every time of day is beautiful: https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/trail_ridge_road.htm
* exploring Denver (the Denver Botanic Gardens, brewery-hopping in the RiNo neighborhood, or catching a Rockies game are all fun summertime activities). * going whitewater rafting near Salida/Buena Vista. *flyfishing! Try a local guide shop for info (we like Rocky Mountain Anglers in Boulder) or just give Joey a call :) *visiting one of the farther-flung national parks -- Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Great Sand Dunes are both spectacular.