Outside has named Boulder one of the five best trail towns in the United States, placing it alongside Bend, Chattanooga, Marquette, and Mill Valley.
The magazine’s new list celebrates places where people can reach legitimate trails without spending the day driving between town and distant trailheads. In Boulder, that connection between city streets and mountain terrain has shaped daily life for generations.
The Flatirons rise directly from the city’s western edge, while Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks system manages approximately 46,000 acres of protected land and about 155 miles of developed and maintained trails. Downtown Boulder sits at roughly 5,300 feet, with much higher terrain only a few miles away…