Ten Adult Adventures at Denver Parks This Summer

Don't make the mistake of thinking that the parks in metro Denver are just for kids. Sure, the little ones will appreciate an impressive play structure like the one at Paco Sanchez Park, or giant climbing sculptures  like the big cement frog at Rocky Mountain Lake Park. Or the Seussian visuals at Central Park, in the eponymous neighborhood where nearly everything is about kids.

But grownups like parks, too, and not just because they're great places to take pictures of their kids. In fact, at most area parks on the weekends, adults (and their beer coolers) far outnumber children.

That said, it's not all drinking and Jarts (or whatever assumedly safer park pastime you indulge in near a picnic blanket) at local parks. There are lots of places where action is the name of the game, and plenty of innovative outdoor activities.

So you don't need to head for the hills (or sit in traffic on Interstate 70) to enjoy the great outdoors. Here are ten cool things to do at metro Denver parks:
Kayaking: Clear Creek Whitewater Park
1201 10th Street, Golden
Running right through the heart of Golden is Clear Creek, and it's near and dear to the hearts of kayakers, too. The City of Golden advertises it as "one quarter of a mile of adventurous, splashing fun!" on the same web page where it specifies that it supplies no equipment (in all caps and bold, no less), insists that whatever you do on the water is at your own risk, and supplies a link to all the rules for recreating on Clear Creek. It's adventurous, splashing fun within stated limitations and limited liability! But despite the legalese, this is a beautiful place for kayak action. Check out the map for parking and where the creek flows here, and be aware: Water is very high right now, so there is no tubing or swimming.
Pedal Boats: Wheel Fun Rentals in City Park
2001 Steele Street
Yes, other parks with small bodies of water around the city have pedal boats, but these are swans — and you're pedaling them around City Park, one of the jewels of Denver in too many ways to count. Make sure to try these at night: The pedal boats light up, and you can rent them until 9:30 p.m. from June 10 through August 20. The cost is $11 per adult and $6 per child under eighteen, and no reservations are required. Even the NBA knows that this is pure Denver—they used the shot above as a bumper during the May 19 finals game.
River Surfing: River Run Park
2301 West Oxford Avenue, Sheridan
River surfing is hot around the country. And yes, you can hang ten on the South Platte — at least in those spots where it's been designed specifically for you to do so. There are difficulty levels, too: The Chiclets area is for beginners, while the Benihana is designed to challenge even advanced surfers. There was a time when someone asking if you wanted to go surfing in Colorado was some sort of joke. But River Run Park is proving them all wrong.
Bouldering: Westlands Park
5701 South Quebec Street, Greenwood Village
There used to be a pretty good bouldering setup in Central Park (if you didn't mind doing some technical climbing with children all over the place), but it's been "temporarily closed" for a while now. Granted, there will be kids loitering in Westlands Park, too — though perhaps to a lesser degree. But if you're working on your finger strength, body positioning and general facility with surface work, this Greenwood Village spot is a nearby boon for anyone in training, as well as experienced climbers looking to keep their skills sharp without devoting a whole day to it.
Frolf: Camenisch Park
8801 Pecos Street, Federal Heights
Call it whatever you want: frolf, the more "official" disc golf, or the (we think) original name, Frisbee golf. It's all more or less the same thing: golf with a Wham-O-like object that you throw into little cylindrical cages on a course laid out much like the game of golf. The main differences between golf and frolf are cost (even a competition-grade disc is cheaper than a half-decent driver) and dress code. No one's going to question a frolfer if they aren't wearing a collared shirt — sort of the opposite, really. Where's the best place to get your low-cost, T-shirted game on? Federal Heights' Camenisch Park has one of the most highly rated disc golf courses in the area, boasting 36 total holes over two 18-hole courses laid out over rolling hills.
Canoeing/Paddleboarding: Sloan’s Lake
1700 Sheridan Boulevard
Northwest Denver's Sloan's Lake used to carry a more sarcastic moniker: Sloan's Leak. The area in which the lake now sits used to be part of a road connecting Denver to Golden, and Thomas Sloan farmed it. Sometime in the 1860s, he started digging a well on his property and unintentionally tapped an underground aquifer. One uncontrollable flood later, voilà: new lake. It became an attraction, and by the 1880s, an amusement park called Manhattan Beach operated on its shores, lasting until 1908. After that, it was a destination for water sports of all sorts, right up until 2021, when powerboats and waterskiing were prohibited. It was a loss for some, but a bonus for fans of non-motorized watercraft like canoes and paddleboards. These days, the lake's surface is placid and welcoming, with fantastic views in all directions.
Biking: Grant-Frontier Park
2190 South Platte River Drive
Not far from the light-rail stop at West Evans Avenue is Grant-Frontier Park, which is part of the larger Platte River Trail. Grant-Frontier makes a great central stop whether you're heading north or south. It marks the Montana City settlement, the first in what would later become the Denver metropolis. Appropriately, the park offers some historic sights as well as markers that tell the story of the land through the years — but it's that trail along the Platte that brings cyclists back. (By the way, Grant-Frontier ranked as Best Skinny Dipping back in the Best of Denver 2010...).

Bocce Ball: César Chávez Park
4131 Tennyson Street
This relatively small park nestled smack in the middle of the Tennyson corridor used to be called Alcott Park, named originally for the Alcott School that sat there for eighty-some years before it was destroyed in a fire in 1976. In 2005, the park was renamed in honor of labor leader and civil rights activist César Chávez. As Tennyson Street has become almost unrecognizable over the years, César Chávez Park has focused on serving the locals with its improvements — not only pitches for top-notch bocce (or boulodromes for petanque, if you prefer), but also concrete tables set up for ping-pong and more. At just under three acres of land, it's probably the smallest park on this list, but also the homiest.
Enjoying a Romantic Sunset: Inspiration Point Park
4901 Sheridan Boulevard
It's almost a cliché now, perhaps created by the old sitcom Happy Days: If you want room for romance, you go to Inspiration Point. At least in Milwaukee in the fictive 1950s. Here in modern-day Denver, Inspiration Point is more about the majestic views that originally gave the park its name, the elevation above the city proper that gives a gorgeous view of the urban skyline in one direction and the mountains in another. Don't miss the bluff overlooking the Clear Creek Valley for one of the most amazing sunsets in the area. Whether you're just taking a walk and enjoying the view, or taking a cue from the Fonz and impressing a paramour, north Denver has you covered.
Pretty Much Everything Else: Clement Park
7306 West Bowles Avenue, Littleton
Jefferson County's Clement Park boasts an embarrassment of riches. It's the park in Denver that also hosts the Columbine Memorial, and works to be the antithesis of that tragedy, celebrating life and joy in as many inclusive community forms as possible. From tennis to pickleball, horseshoes to softball, skating to splashing, volleyball to lawn concerts, it's all waiting for you down south. Or anywhere in Denver, really. If this list doesn't inspire you, then you weren't meant to be outdoors.