Exploring Boulder, CO
May 29, 2022
Recently I had a chance to meet up with a high school friend in downtown Boulder, Colorado and really enjoyed exploring the city. The only thing I really knew about the town was that it was home to the University of Colorado Boulder, but it offers so much more.
I met my friend at Chautauqua Park and we hiked the Chautauqua Loop Trail. It has gorgeous views of the Flatirons (which I would love to hike one day when I have more time) and was a fairly easy hike. l loved that the hike went through the meadows, had some rocky portions and some easy gravel areas- a great combination of terrains. It’s a very popular spot amongst both locals and visitors, so parking is tough in the parking lots. I ended up finding a spot on the street in the adjoining neighborhood, which worked out great (follow the street signs and be sure to pay to park if needed).
We worked up an appetite after our hike so we headed downtown to grab a bite to eat. Pearl Street is the town’s “main street” and has all different types of shops and restaurants- I couldn’t wait to explore it all. We headed to Avanti F&B which is a really nice food hall, so we could each grab a meal of our choice. It’s a really cool concept and has many great options.
Avanti F&B, Boulder, Colorado
After lunch, my friend had to head on home so I was on my own for exploring the remainder of the day. My first order of business was to check out Pearl Street. There were so many cool stores to explore- everything from clothing stores to home goods and art galleries. Pearl Street has also been voted one of the “best foodie streets in America” and I can see why- there were so many different types restaurants and all of them looked so good.
Later in the afternoon, I ventured away from Pearl Street and took a self-guided tour around the University of Colorado’s campus. I’ve always loved to see how different each college campus can be and this one was so picturesque, tucked in the mountains. Be sure to take some time to just sit on one of the lawns on campus and enjoy that fresh mountain air.
University of Colorado Boulder Campus
After walking around campus for a bit, I headed back to Pearl Street for happy hour. I went to the rooftop of the Avanti Food Hall so I could check out the views of downtown Boulder and they did not disappoint! The bar at the top of Avanti was filled with people who had the same idea as me.
As I was trying to figure out where to eat dinner, I realized that Pearl Street was getting extra crowded with people and then I saw that there was a pep rally going on for the UC Boulder football game the next day. This ended up being a pleasant surprise and I really enjoyed watching the pep rally and listening to the band (yes, I was in high school band and sometimes I missing playing haha).
Because all of the restaurants were so packed after the pep rally was over, I decided to go to a different part of town to eat and headed to Santo, in Old North Boulder. I’m a huge Top Chef fan and Santo is a restaurant from one of the former contestants on Top Chef- Hosea Rosenberg. I got my normal seat at the bar (what I do every time I solo travel) and really enjoyed my meal- it was also good to get away from downtown and explore another part of Boulder.
There’s so much more to do in Boulder but I only had one day to pack as many things as possible. I’d love to go back and explore the outdoors, see a show at the Boulder Theatre and check out restaurants and breweries…hopefully that happens sooner rather than later.