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Best Bathrooms in a Park

Commons Park

When you gotta go, you gotta go -- and there's no better place in Denver to let loose than the bathrooms at Commons Park. But then, they should look good: Like the park itself, these privies cost plenty. Made of stone, they fit nicely into the Commons' urban setting, with the Platte River in the backdrop and pricey loft project after pricey loft project in the foreground. And unlike many public facilities, these are usually open. Now if only the city could get that year-round water fountain flowing year-round...

Best Bathrooms in a Park

Commons Park

When you gotta go, you gotta go -- and there's no better place in Denver to let loose than the bathrooms at Commons Park. But then, they should look good: Like the park itself, these privies cost plenty. Made of stone, they fit nicely into the Commons' urban setting, with the Platte River in the backdrop and pricey loft project after pricey loft project in the foreground. And unlike many public facilities, these are usually open. Now if only the city could get that year-round water fountain flowing year-round...

Best Tribute to Hair Care

C.J. Walker Park

Many public parks are named after people whom time has forgotten, but the namesake of C.J. Walker Park, at East 30th Avenue and High Street, is certainly worth remembering. As related in On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker, a book penned by A'Lelia Bundles, Walker's great-great granddaughter, Madam Walker was born into humble circumstances in 1867. After founding a business that sold hair-care products to African-American women in northeast Denver, however, she began accruing a fortune that eventually made her the first female self-made millionaire in U.S. history. Hers is a tale few Denverites know -- but thanks to C.J. Walker Park, which was given its current moniker last May, more will discover it.

Best Tribute to Hair Care

C.J. Walker Park

Many public parks are named after people whom time has forgotten, but the namesake of C.J. Walker Park, at East 30th Avenue and High Street, is certainly worth remembering. As related in On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker, a book penned by A'Lelia Bundles, Walker's great-great granddaughter, Madam Walker was born into humble circumstances in 1867. After founding a business that sold hair-care products to African-American women in northeast Denver, however, she began accruing a fortune that eventually made her the first female self-made millionaire in U.S. history. Hers is a tale few Denverites know -- but thanks to C.J. Walker Park, which was given its current moniker last May, more will discover it.

Best Avian Hotline

Colorado Rare Bird Alert Hotline

So you're tooling along through a field, and suddenly you realize there's a pair of Eurasian wigeons right there in front of you. Who ya gonna call? The Rare Bird Alert Hotline, of course. The alert system, sponsored by the Denver Field Ornithologists and Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, has been taking calls from rare-bird spotters since the mid-1980s. Spring migration brings hundreds of calls from amateur ornithologists, who are encouraged to leave precise directions to the location of the sighting so others can share and verify the report. Volunteers then compile the tips into a regularly updated recorded message of who's winging where.

Best Avian Hotline

Colorado Rare Bird Alert Hotline

So you're tooling along through a field, and suddenly you realize there's a pair of Eurasian wigeons right there in front of you. Who ya gonna call? The Rare Bird Alert Hotline, of course. The alert system, sponsored by the Denver Field Ornithologists and Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory, has been taking calls from rare-bird spotters since the mid-1980s. Spring migration brings hundreds of calls from amateur ornithologists, who are encouraged to leave precise directions to the location of the sighting so others can share and verify the report. Volunteers then compile the tips into a regularly updated recorded message of who's winging where.

Best Exploration of the Natural World

Nature Conservancy Naturalist Workshops
Medano-Zapata Ranch

When the sandhill cranes come back to the San Luis Valley, it's time for naturalist workshops at the 100,000-acre Medano-Zapata Ranch, a Nature Conservancy preserve four hours southwest of Denver. Throughout the spring, summer and early fall, three-day weekend workshops explore everything from the geology of the nearby Great Sand Dunes to the birds of the San Luis Valley. There are also weekend getaways for families, nature photography, sketching and writing seminars, and two astronomy field trips far from urban light pollution in the company of a large telescope named Hagrid. With meals, lodging with private baths, and ranch-to-field transportation provided for $450 per person ($550 for special four-day sessions), these workshops are a bargain - and they fill up quickly.

Best Exploration of the Natural World

Nature Conservancy Naturalist Workshops
Medano-Zapata Ranch

When the sandhill cranes come back to the San Luis Valley, it's time for naturalist workshops at the 100,000-acre Medano-Zapata Ranch, a Nature Conservancy preserve four hours southwest of Denver. Throughout the spring, summer and early fall, three-day weekend workshops explore everything from the geology of the nearby Great Sand Dunes to the birds of the San Luis Valley. There are also weekend getaways for families, nature photography, sketching and writing seminars, and two astronomy field trips far from urban light pollution in the company of a large telescope named Hagrid. With meals, lodging with private baths, and ranch-to-field transportation provided for $450 per person ($550 for special four-day sessions), these workshops are a bargain - and they fill up quickly.

Best Place for Geocachers

Mapsco

Your Global Positioning Satellite unit told you the treasure you were diligently seeking was only three miles away. But it failed to mention that your raison d'être was three miles uphill. Straight uphill. The friendly staff at Mapsco is more than willing to commiserate with you about your unexpected adventure -- and they suggest that on your next geocaching adventure, you also take along a topographical map. Besides stocking lots and lots of maps, this longtime Denver standby carries anything and everything on paper that geocachers need to help them find their way.

Best Place for Geocachers

Mapsco

Your Global Positioning Satellite unit told you the treasure you were diligently seeking was only three miles away. But it failed to mention that your raison d'être was three miles uphill. Straight uphill. The friendly staff at Mapsco is more than willing to commiserate with you about your unexpected adventure -- and they suggest that on your next geocaching adventure, you also take along a topographical map. Besides stocking lots and lots of maps, this longtime Denver standby carries anything and everything on paper that geocachers need to help them find their way.

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