No excuses, pal. Time to ditch that Flip or Flop marathon and check out these hour-long strolls with real physicians, offered at area parks on a monthly basis (and sometimes more frequently). Rain or shine, the walks are great cardio and open to everybody, with free blood-pressure screenings, free refreshments, and wide-ranging medical advice on everything from anxiety disorders to bowel health.
303-398-1355
nationaljewish.org/walkwithadoc
If you're like most dog people, you work hard to keep your pooches in chew toys and don't always have time to lead the pack on a proper workout. No mere dog-walking service, Hike Doggie offers a range of excursions in the Jefferson County Open Space system for canines of varying activity levels, from a casual stroll-and-sniff to a serious energy burn, on an individual basis or with a team of like-minded leg-lifters. Clients are transported to the trails in a comfy "Zen Den," receive a post-hike wash and towel-dry, and are then returned to their owners — dog-tired, perhaps, but eager for their next encounter with the great outdoors.
hikedoggie.com
With its 420 acres of trails, dog swimming ponds and panoramic views of the Front Range and Standley Lake, Westminster Hills Dog Park is popular with pooches and peeps alike. From the wide-open dirt entrance that's perfect for pups who want to play ball and socialize to the miles of winding, singletrack-style paths and wider, gravel-lined Jeep roads, the partially fenced park also features a dog drinking fountain and shaded benches for tuckered-out owners, who can walk, run or bicycle alongside their canines. Periodic volunteer days keep the park clean, and trash cans and bags are conveniently posted near the entrance.
Readers' Choice: Cherry Creek State Park
Landlocked Colorado may lack an ocean, but it still has a surprising number of beaches. Not only can you boat, fish, water-ski and jet-ski at Chatfield State Park, but you can also just soak up the rays on the sweet swim beach, a half-mile stretch of soft sand sloping into the reservoir. The area, which is open Memorial Day to Labor Day, also has restrooms, a concession stand and a first-aid station — amenities you won't always find on either coast. The day-pass fee is just $8 per vehicle; pack a cooler and don't forget the sunscreen.
Readers' Choice: Bear Creek Lake Park
Necessity is the mother of all invention, and nowhere is that truer than at Arapahoe County's South Platte River Run Park. When the cities of Littleton, Englewood and Sheridan needed flood mitigation and drainage-fixing, they dreamed up the $15 million park, a mile stretch of outdoor fun along the Platte in Arapahoe County that will solve their water woes — and treats residents to splash-tastic fun. Although the entire park won't be finished until 2018, one of its more unique amenities opened last year: man-made waves on the Platte for surfers. The finished park will include a playground and protected habitat for wildlife, so you can hang ten in a totally environmentally chill way, brah.
Thanks to its location in the center of the city and its huge variety of recreational options, Washington Park is one of Denver's favorite places to gather — and people-watching can be even better from the water. Wheel Fun Rentals, the park's nautical concessionaire, provides plenty of ways to float, including kayaks, double kayaks, canoes and even stand-up paddle boards. But our favorites are the pedal boats, available at reasonable hourly rates in both two- and four-seat models. They're easy to maneuver even for landlubbers, and give peddlers a great angle on Denver at play. Explore the possibilities at wheelfunrentals.com.
Weir Gulch takes the urban wanderer on a trek encompassing many gorgeous west Denver working-class 'hoods, including Westwood, Barnum, Barnum West, Villa Park and Sun Valley. Sections of the trail are secluded thanks to mature trees and tall grass, while other parts of the hike include crossing busy streets aboveground as water travels below street level in concrete pipes. Catch views of the mountains to the west as the pathway ambles through tracts of low-slung homes, or take in the cityscape as seen at the crest of Barnum Park, where Federal Boulevard and Sixth Avenue cut up the green space. The route is dotted with playgrounds and basketball courts, shaded areas for resting and a handful of public restrooms. This unique combination of wooded expanses, lush greenbelts and metropolitan elements makes Weir Gulch the perfect trail for understanding and enjoying Denver's mountains-meets-rural-meets-urban geographical personality.
West Center Drive and South Sheridan Boulevard to the Platte River
denvergov.org
It's hikers-only on the Mount Galbraith Loop near Golden, a moderately strenuous, 4.9-mile lollipop trek that gains about 1,100 feet in elevation and features fab views of Denver, Golden, the Front Range, Golden Gate Canyon and Clear Creek Canyon. Start out on the Cedar Gulch trail, and on hot days head for shade right away by turning right onto the Mount Galbraith Loop; the trail is lined with ponderosa pines and spruce. Climbs in and out of several ravines and rocky sections make it a little more challenging. Dogs on a leash are allowed, and they can be helpful in alerting you to the bighorn sheep clambering around the canyons.
Readers' Choice: Red Rocks Trail
Everyone knows about the Maroon Bells — most photographed, most famous, most iconic, etc. — but not everyone has successfully climbed them. Many try, but because of the peaks' location next to Aspen, in the heart of Colorado tourist country, most of the attempts are by beginners who have never been on a Fourteener in their lives. That's what makes this an ideal trek for that hotshot know-it-all relative who succeeds at everything. Maybe he'll make it, maybe he won't, but if he does, he'll talk about it for a year, and if he doesn't, it's likely to be a very public humiliation. Of the two summits, Maroon Peak (Class 3; 14,156 feet) is a little easier than its sister less than half a mile away, North Maroon Peak (Class 4; 14,014 feet), so the chances for making it are better. The views from both are spectacular.
Readers' Choice: Longs Peak
In 2008, Vail closed Minnie's Lift, which had been getting skiers and snowboarders to the Back Bowls since 1972, including the advanced terrain in Sun Up Bowl, as well as the China Bowl complex and Blue Sky Basin. Now that lift is back and better than ever: Renamed the Sun Up Express (#9), this Leitner-Poma lift is a high-speed quad, replacing Minnie's triple chair, and has reopened access to 1,285 acres of skiable terrain. Vail estimates that the ride to the top of Sun Up Bowl now takes less than four minutes, which is plenty of time to scout your lines.
vail.com
Readers' Choice: Keystone gondola
