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Best Missing Link

Sand Creek Regional Greenway

When this thirteen-mile stretch of urban trail opened to the public last summer -- amid cheers from outdoor enthusiasts -- it marked the completion of a fifty-mile loop in the northeast metro area by connecting the Highline Canal in Aurora to the Platte River Greenway in Commerce City. Now you can take the grand tour: Open to anyone or anything without a motor, the spanking new trail hightails it through the old Stapleton Airport; the lazy cottonwood groves and wetlands along its stretch provide homes to all manner of wildlife, such as mule deer, foxes and waterfowl, not to mention a fine swath of good old peace and quiet. Future trail development includes plans for parks, preserved wildlife habitats, interpretive markers and other backcountry amenities. What a way to go.

Best Spot on the Cherry Creek Bike Path

Confluence Park

Heading northwest on the Cherry Creek Bike Path out of the Denver Country Club area, you'll dodge bums, baby strollers and bicyclists, then tackle the impressive rise leading to Confluence Park. Take a moment to catch your breath and enjoy the view -- which often includes several neophyte kayakers rolling over onto their heads in the South Platte, as well as all the mind-blowing construction in the Platte Valley. Now head across the bridge and over to the Starbucks at REI: You've earned your latte grande.

Best Spot on the Cherry Creek Bike Path

Confluence Park

Heading northwest on the Cherry Creek Bike Path out of the Denver Country Club area, you'll dodge bums, baby strollers and bicyclists, then tackle the impressive rise leading to Confluence Park. Take a moment to catch your breath and enjoy the view -- which often includes several neophyte kayakers rolling over onto their heads in the South Platte, as well as all the mind-blowing construction in the Platte Valley. Now head across the bridge and over to the Starbucks at REI: You've earned your latte grande.

Best View From a Park

Inspiration Point Park

From Inspiration Point, at 50th Ave. and Sheridan Blvd. in northwest Denver -- which also happens to be one of the town's best makeout locations, if you still go for that sort of thing -- you can take in the entire Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, without many of those nasty man-made obstacles to mar the view. The sight of all those purple mountain majesties is positively swoon-worthy. Excuse us while we kiss the sky.
  • 17th Ave. and Colorado Blvd., Denver, 80206 Map

Best View From a Park

Inspiration Point Park

From Inspiration Point, at 50th Ave. and Sheridan Blvd. in northwest Denver -- which also happens to be one of the town's best makeout locations, if you still go for that sort of thing -- you can take in the entire Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, without many of those nasty man-made obstacles to mar the view. The sight of all those purple mountain majesties is positively swoon-worthy. Excuse us while we kiss the sky.

Best Endangered View From a Park

Cramner Park

You don't need to look at the sundial that's the centerpiece of Cramner Park to know that time's almost up for this great view. Looking west, you see some of Denver's most elegant homes -- but beyond those homes is a hodgepodge of new construction that threatens to block much of the mountain backdrop.

Best Endangered View From a Park

Cramner Park

You don't need to look at the sundial that's the centerpiece of Cramner Park to know that time's almost up for this great view. Looking west, you see some of Denver's most elegant homes -- but beyond those homes is a hodgepodge of new construction that threatens to block much of the mountain backdrop.

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.

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