Boulder, Colorado had been on my US travel list for quite some time before we finally made the trek. We’d likely never had made a specific trip to Boulder but ended up driving through after picking up a truck we had built in Michigan. While many people come to Colorado for extreme and outdoor sports, I was eight weeks pregnant and feeling like trash. Thus, I bring you a lazy guide to Boulder. Still a very enjoyable place to visit if you fancy mountains and sunshine.

Where to stay:

Boulder is not large. In fact I was surprised at how tiny it felt. I don’t think you’d feel out of the way no matter where you decide to lay your head at night. To us it felt very much so like a small mountain college town. Probably because it is.

Stay at Marriott or Renaissance Inn. Both are very central, and easy access whether driving or not. Having a gym was a plus even with the hiking or outdoor activities you might be doing.

Day 1:

Get an early breakfast burrito at Santo, then make a pit stop for a caffeinated beverage of choice at Alpine Modern before you begin your mini road trip.

Drive the peak to peak road via the 119. You can stop at Boulder falls if you like. Our first photo op was the frozen over Baker Reservoir. The lake is bordered by the small town of Nederland. You could stop for beers and food or keep driving up the 72. Which is precisely what we did.

Take a Left on the 7. This is where legit mountain view’s begin.

We drove to Estes Lake and headed back to Boulder but you can keep driving to bear lake if the road is open.

(We just had snack back at the hotel, but Snarfburger is a solid spot for lunch or dinner. The onion ring burger was delish).

Eat at Osaka’s for dinner. 

Day 2:

Wonderland Lake walk or Flagstaff mountain

I found this route from google. Seemed to be just fine!

Take Flagstaff road. Make your first stop for a mountain-scape view and photo about 10 minutes in on the right. To be frank, I always thought the mountains in Boulder were WAY bigger and much closer. So, manage your expectations. If you’ve ever been to Salt Lake City, Utah, don’t expect that in Boulder. They are not same. Salt Lake is far more mountainous and lovely in my opinion.

Once you reach gross reservoir, you can take pics if you like, we weren’t overly impressed (as stated). So continued up gross fam road – which was dirt and gravel at the time. May or may not have had “danger keep out construction” signs all over. We assumed that was OFF the road, and carried on. Worked out just fine.

Pop out at coal creek canyon rd (state HWY 72). Then take a L on the dirt road that is S beaver creek rd. No views here. Another L when it ends. And then a L on Gap Rd after the sign for Golden Gate Canyon State Park.

Surprise, it’s a dirt/gravel road. Eventually we made it to the 2207 Gap Rd we were looking for. The mountains were decent from here (see photos at the bottom), but still much further away than I expected. Again, clearly my personal expectations were off! I don’t know why. But figure it can’t hurt to pass that information along to you!

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