Best Return to Nature 2010 | Westerly Creek Trail | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Return to Nature

Westerly Creek Trail

When Stapleton International Airport was retired, most of its concrete runways were crushed and reused (as an aggregate) in constructing nearby warehouses. But the more incredible runway-return-to-nature vision lies along Westerly Creek Trail, hidden beneath the MLK Boulevard bridge. Here, large concrete chunks were used like stones to line the hike and bike trails and retain the soil of low rolling slopes around the bridge. The concrete slabs look amazingly "natural" — almost like stone rockfalls — in a park that was landscaped with native plants. The beauty of the Westerly Creek Trail makes it a local favorite and proves that if we unbuild it, they will still come.

  • E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Denver, 80238 Map

Best Mountain-Bike Park

SolVista Bike Park

The SolVista Bike Park at Granby Ranch will host USA Cycling's 2010 Mountain Bike National Championships July 15-18, bringing the event back for the second year in a row. Ride up the Quick Draw Express lift and pick your poison: The park now boasts more than a dozen trails with green, blue and double-black diamond ratings, including a beginner-friendly pump track and dual slalom track. The gnarliest offering is Buck Nasty, a steep, expert-only downhill trail opened in 2009 that features gap jumps, rock gardens and other obstacles to put your helmet to the test.

Best Birthday Party

Mary Jane Birthday Bash

The town of Winter Park throws the weirdest, most wonderful birthday party each January for Mary Jane, the gnarlier half of the resort. And while there is a nudge-nudge, wink-wink element to MJ, the Mary Jane Birthday Bash doesn't come off half-baked. In fact, it's remarkable in its ability to appeal to freaks and families more or less equally. Packed into three days are a parade, free music and food aplenty, ski lessons, snow golf, a snow-sculpture contest, a Mary Jane look-alike contest — last year's winner snagged a season lift ticket and $250 — and, of course, birthday cake.

Best Shred Heads

Boulder Snowboarding Group

Adam Schmidt's snowboard group on Meetup.com is fast approaching 1,500 members, a critical mass that has helped the Boulder Snowboarding Group organize competitions (this year they threw down at Loveland, Vail and Echo Mountain), host demo days with big-name sponsors, take over local bars with party-night "meetups," and wrangle group deals on avalanche safety classes, lodging, lift tickets, and transportation to resorts across Colorado and around the country. The best BSG events are the most informal: Backcountry kicker sessions, moonlight rides on Loveland Pass and "Wax Your Junk" tutorials at local shops help keep the ragtag crew together.

Best Place to Chase Your Olympic Dreams

Denver Curling Club

The Denver Curling Club's rookie league welcomed 280 new recruits in the weeks after Canada swept the men's curling competition at the Olympics. First established in 1965, the DCC now has three games a week on Thursday and Saturday nights at the Ice Ranch in Littleton and offers learn-to-curl classes that are almost always full. The game is harder than it looks, but an intro session and a few seasons of shoving stones around in league play should shape up your sweeping game in time for the trip to Sochi in 2014. We're coming for you, Canada.

Best Mammoth

Jamie Shewchuk

It's hard to find much to praise about a Mammoth team that's racked up the worst record in the National Lacrosse League and still hasn't managed a win on their Pepsi Center home field. But wiry forward Jamie Shewchuk has been a ray of light in the Mammoth's dark season, both as a scorer and a distributor. His sixteen goals are a team high, and he's added nineteen assists to lead the team in points — so at least there's one lacrosse-related reason to show up at the Pepsi Center this year. Shewchuk and beer: What else do you need?

Best Sports Team General Manager

Mark Warkentien

When we gave this award to Mark Warkentien last year, the Nuggets GM had just pulled off a magical trade for Chauncey Billups, ridding the team of the tumorous Allen Iverson and positioning it to make a run for the conference finals. Since then? He's orchestrated a Draft Day steal for Ty Lawson, acquired back-court depth in the form of Arron Afflalo, and kept the Nuggets in a position to repeat — or even exceed — last year's run. He is, Melo aside, the team's most valuable asset.

Best Cheap Gym Membership

Planet Fitness

In an age of unprecedented narcissism among Americans, the slickest fitness companies are able to slim down your love handles and your bank account. Planet Fitness breaks the mold. The nationwide company's ongoing special is a $10-a-month membership with a $1 start-up fee. That's $121 a year for unlimited access to the gym, with absolutely no contract. How do they do it? Well, their amenities are admittedly thin — there's no pool or basketball court. What they do offer is a line of top-notch weights, treadmills, ellipticals and the like. It isn't a 24-hour joint, either, but this deal is good for your fiscal health. Plus, if the big, expensive, meathead gyms scare you, you'll appreciate the "judgment-free zone" of Planet Fitness.

Best and Only Free Part of the Denver Aquarium

Sharkey Fun Zone

The Denver Aquarium is loads of fun, what with sunken temples, re-created flash floods and piranha tanks, but it's also pricey. Between parking fees, multiple gift shops and added activity charges on top of already steep admission costs, a visit there can waterlog your credit card. Luckily, there's Sharkey Fun Zone, a nearly hidden indoor play area at the back of the complex (accessible via a door near the restaurant entrance) packed with giant-sized whales, sharks, octopi and other sea creatures that your kids can romp on for as long as they'd like — for free!

Best BMX Racing

Pikes Peak BMX

BMX Supercross made its debut as an Olympic medal sport in Beijing in 2008, with American Mike Day grabbing gold and Donny Robinson and Jill Kintner each bringing home bronze medals. All three trained on the ABA-sanctioned track at Pikes Peak BMX, which boasts a replica of the Beijing Olympic track. To start training for London 2012 — or to watch the thrills and spills from the stands — check out the weekly races featuring everything from first-timer's races for kids to serious amateur and pro showdowns.

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