The best part of traveling out to the western suburbs are the views of the mountains on the drive. I remember moving here over 5 years ago and driving north to Ft. Collins the first week we lived here…I was in awe of the beauty of the mountain range and still am today. It also shows that you don’t have to leave the metro area to get some amazing views of the beautiful nature and foothills that surround Denver.
Arvada
The Arvada Center has lots of shows, classes and exhibits for adults, but also had a few great kids performances this past year. I have taken Cassidy to see Charlotte’s Web here and a few other preschool matinees. It is a much easier place to park and catch a show than in downtown Denver and the quality of the performers are just as good. The Arvada Center is a great supporter of the arts, humanities, education and entertainment by providing theater shows, art classes and free admission to three galleries on display. Since performance is at Arvada’s core, it’s not surprising that the Colorado Music Festival is held here each summer in July or August.
If the arts are not your thing, visit the Cussler Museum instead to see a collection of over 100 vintage cars created by the best selling author and adventurer Clive Cussler. Olde Town Arvada is the historic part of the city, where most of its events and festivals take place. This downtown district has a turn-of-the-century Main Street Americana feel and is the heart and soul of this Denver Suburb. Olde Town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It may have been born out of the gold rush, but today both locals and visitors are attracted to the shops, galleries, boutiques, restaurants, wineries & breweries.
Westminster
During my time in Denver, when I hear someone refer to the suburb of Westminster I immediately think of the Butterfly Pavilion. I’m not sure if that is just because I haven’t spent much time in this town or because the pavilion is the biggest gig in town. It is a wonderful location to learn more about all types of insects, hold a tarantula and experience 11 acres of beautiful butterflies in a warm, tropical environment to protect them from Colorado’s harsh temperatures. The Butterfly Pavilion claims it wants to educate by “transforming the way people think about invertebrates. These small but mighty animals that surround us are so much more than people think. They are everywhere, because everything depends on them. They are the hidden heroes of the animal kingdom and we stand on the backs of these tiny giants.” I’m not sure I’m into all invertebrates, I’m terribly afraid of spiders, so I will not be lining up to hold the tarantula any time soon.
After exploring in the room with terrariums of insects and spiders, we moved into the under the sea exhibit. There is a small touch tank for children to get up close with the creatures and a few tanks of beautiful tropical fish to watch in their coral rich environment. Once you head outside into the pavilion, be very careful where you and your children are stepping and how quickly they are moving, so as not to touch or kill a butterfly. There are a few pathways to walk around and see all the beautiful butterflies. Some are hanging out on trees and flowers, others are drinking nectar from the sponges in the feeders and others are just flying around. This is such a special experience for people who enjoy butterflies. Not everybody does, and there are some people who get tripped out with bugs flying around their heads and quickly end the experience. Others will find a bench and hang out there all day. Between the entrance and exit, there are cases of butterflies that are in different stages of metamorphosis. This is a perfect spot to show the full life cycle of the caterpillar into a butterfly with complete visual detail. When you leave the pavilion, you need to step into a screened area with a mirror and check yourself, clothes and hair to make sure the butterflies aren’t leaving the exhibit on you. There is a gift shop that has lots of great butterfly and insect books, toys, science projects, jewelry, etc. in a combination of educational and marketing marvels. You can even buy the butterfly kit to watch your own butterflies develop and then release them to pollinate your neighborhood. Other places to visit in Westminster are
- The Armed Forces Tribute Garden
- Stanley Lake Region Park
- Westminster History Center
- Adventure Golf & Raceway
Longmont & Lafayette
Wow, World of Wonder Children’s Museum was our first stop for fun in Lafayette and I wished I’d brought Cassidy here when she was younger. This is a great spot for children from birth to 9 or 10, which is how old my daughter is now. We had a similar Children’s Museum in Florida that she loved as a little girl and even had her birthday party there one year. The children’s museum is more of a great space for an epic playdate, than a museum. The space is small, basically two large rooms of activities with a few smaller rooms around the perimeter and a garden green space outside.
The first room that caught Cassidy’s eye was the sensory room, which was dark with different light and sound activities to interact with and ignite your senses. Then Cassidy got involved in flying a hot air balloon and learning the science behind the hot and cold air directing the balloon’s flight path. The art area was small, but that would not be my only criticism. They really did not have the supplies readily available for children to draw and create and staff was not refreshing them during our few hours visiting. Simple things like providing a pencil sharpener so pencils can continue to be used would make the experience better. My daughter is an artist and can make anything work so she created an amazing drawing despite the conditions. But after having been to the Denver Children’s Museum recently, where their art room was about ten times this size with every supply from paint, clay, pottery glazing, easels, sensory art exhibit was in abundance and in a beautiful, well lit space. Let’s just say we won’t be back for this creative space in the future.
There was a large pirate ship playscape for kids to investigate, hide, raise the sails and use the periscope. This was a tough location to follow the no running rule, but some kids tried harder than others. In the opposite corner there was a chair lever to demonstrate how the use of simple machines allows a heavy load (yourself) to be raised with a pulley. Cassidy was nervous about this one at first, but in the end loved it and tried all 3 different chair and pulley combinations.
The second room housed a town square area with a clinic, bank, market, workshop, etc. in the middle with smaller rooms to play with foam blocks and obstacle course area on the perimeter. This allows for games to be played with a small group of 4-10 instead of the whole museum. There was a workshop area with real tools and wood that was closed by a garage door at the time and a toddler area that was enclosed while parents supervised older kids in the town square. Behind the toddler area was a dedicated area to consume snacks and a vending machine with actual “healthy” kids snacks. Snacks could also be consumed outside in the garden area with lots of flexible seating. This museum thought of everything, even a yucky bin where parents can leave items that have become yucky and help prevent spread of germs. The only negative of this small children’s museum was bad parking, with less than 20 spaces in the lot. On this particular day, the lots was full and there was not much street parking either, so we had to park up in a public lot in old town Lafayette. This parking location does serve as a good midway if you are planning to have lunch or poke around the shops on main street Lafayette.
I heard about a jumping place called Bounce Empire and figured I’d bring Cassidy to see if she liked it as much as Urban Air. She’s into trampoline parks and even got an annual pass to the one in our town. So I asked her to rate this place in comparison, but I was not prepared for what we entered at Bounce Empire! This place is described as a bounce amusement park and that is still a slight understatement. The main warehouse of the building powers giant bounce houses, trampolines, games & activities of similar style. However, it was so much more because of their technology and food & drink services. When we first arrived, I signed the typical kids waiver, but then they attached my phone number to the waiver and gave me a wristband, so that I could go anywhere in the park (including the adults only bar upstairs) and I could always be paged if Cassidy needed me. The wristband also locked and unlocked a free shoe locker in the clean and efficient locker room area where participants changed from their shoes into socks. A few minutes later Cassidy was off and running into her first bounce house and I headed upstairs.
There was a kiosk off to the side where you could order food and sit in a picnic area to eat as a family. I was more interested in checking out the areas upstairs. The ledges are open to see the action below and have lots of bar seating along the perimeter. At the top of the stairs there is a 21+ bar and lounge and behind it is a large deck with lots of seating and a good view of the mountains. Down the hall is a large relaxation area with tons of black lounge chairs to relax in, a sports game on a projection screen and some high top tables in the back where there were a few people working on laptops (myself included). There are also a few party rooms and camp areas up on the 2nd level as well. In the end, an injury on a bounce activity took us out of the game early. I hadn’t even had time to have a drink at the bar before I heard my name being called over the pager system! Bounce Empire recently changed their purchase plans from hourly to a day or night rate (weekends are open very late for adult fun). I think they should have both available and family deals as well, just to give customers more flexibility. Otherwise, we had a great time and will definitely be back in the future, maybe as a whole family since this is one of those rare activities that appeal to kids and teenagers too.
There is a trampoline park called Get Air in Longmont, just about 15 minutes away from Lafayette if you are looking for a more traditional experience. If you travel out to Longmont, I highly encourage you to try Goodfellas diner for breakfast, lunch or dinner. I love diners, probably because they remind me of growing up in Philadelphia. Goodfellas closes at 8:00pm, so not open the full 24 hours like most of the diners I’m used to from up north, but still serves all three meals daily. Cassidy and I both ordered our typical diner favorites just to test it out. I had an eggs benedict and the chicken finger queen had to sample their version of the famous kids meal. We were happy with both and Cassidy was even happier when she got to finish her meal with a vanilla milkshake (a diner classic). Another quick stop to make in Longmont is at Kanemoto Park to visit the Tower of Compassion. We felt like we were transported to Japan for a moment at this amazing sight. There isn’t much else to this park, a bridge, creek and small playground, but worth the stop if only to see the Tower of Compassion, a sight that isn’t popular in Western history and architecture.
Boulder
You’ll most likely take highway 93 away from the city and toward Boulder. This is another incredible, scenic drive, but with a different feel. There is one area well known for paragliders who use the cliffs to take off and land in an open field on the side of the highway. Don’t get too distracted, most of this drive is one lane each way with passing areas for faster traffic to try to get ahead of slow trucks. Another distraction is a modern art installation of dinosaurs just sitting on the side of the highway. This family of triceratops is the creation of local artist Pat Madison. What started out as one baby triceratops, turned into a creative outlet during the pandemic and now a whole family of dinosaurs looks over the highway. Visit the Flatirons Vista Trailhead to take a hike with this special formation of flat rocks that are synonymous with Boulder. There are also hogbacks, which are smaller boulders that look like dinosaur back shaped rocks to explore as well. There will be wind turbines in the distance to support this eco-friendly town.
When you first come into the city of Boulder you will be greeted by the University of Colorado campus and its beautiful brick facades. The school is a public university (although an expensive college) that was the first university in the Colorado system when it became a state in 1876. The CU buffalo is a popular logo across Colorado and especially popular with student athletes. Behind the campus is Boulder Creek with a pathway and park beside it. In the summer, the farmers market opens in the park and creates a lovely backdrop for the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse. This traditional tea house is a Persian-style chikhana that was made in Tajikistan and built in Boulder’s sister city of Dushanbe as a gift. It looks out of place in the mountain backdrop, yet a beautiful building of culture.
Pearl Street is the pedestrian gathering place that is marked by a brick paved street, off limits to cars. When we first visited Boulder we found an amazing pizza place that reminded me of pizza in the Northeast. Pizza Colore is filled with a bunch of hard working guys who are polite and appreciative of your business and their pizza is a thousand times better than any other “mountain pizza” you’ll find out west. Boulder is both a coffee and tea mecca. They are rated just behind Seattle for the number of coffee shops per capita, showing they mean business in caffeine. This hipster area is also proud of their tea selections as well. In addition to the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse, Celestial Seasoning hosts tours of their production and sample tea flavors in the famous mint room. Pearl street is also full of tea stores that represent local teas all the way to the famous tea from Asia.
Two more places to visit that will have you out of town and back into nature are Boulder Falls and Chautauqua Park. Just west of Boulder is Boulder falls, a large waterfall that is popular to park and visit, even when it is frozen and all you can see are icicles. Driving back to the metro area, you can see Denver in the distance and see how it is set deep into a bowl, which we have learned keeps smoggy and polluted air trapped. During wildfire season the air quality only gets worse, which was a surprise to us. Moving so quickly we thought about how great the “fresh mountain air” would be for the kids…surprise! The last spot to get a hike in the Flatirons is North Table Mountain Trailhead, but be prepared for a steep climb. There is a whole different type of topography in this part of the front range.
Even though northwestern Denver is not my normal stomping grounds, it certainly has wonderful views of the front range and foothills. The homes are a bit older and smaller, but all of the restaurants, shopping and chain stores that the metro area has, this area has as well, plus a few great activities for kids.
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