I’ve been a runner for as long as I can remember: from early childhood trying to keep up with my dad as he went for his daily jog, to this morning’s jaunt around Wonderland Lake pushing my daughter in the baby jogger. I have always loved running.
When I first moved to Colorado, one of the first things that struck me was how many runners called Boulder home. Within my first week I saw pro marathoners, Ironman Kona Qualifiers, ultra runners, dog runners, casual runners, folks trying to lose weight, and literally everything in between.
Wonderland Lake
In short, and from whatever pace you like, Boulder is a town on the run.
One of the first draws I felt toward selling Real Estate stemmed from those first runs I took through many of Boulder’s unique and varied neighborhoods. I got to see them from a speed and perspective that car driving and Google searching did not allow. I got to really experience the neighborhoods, to truly get a feel for the homes.
And many years later, as I continue to be a runner—one who is passionate about the community I live it—I continue to view and explore the neighborhoods, the homes in them, and the ever-changing landscape of Boulder.
It’s from this perspective that I have chosen to write a series of blogs about the running routes of Boulder County that most inspire me. And so I begin with this one, and with a route I’ve come to love: the Linden Loop.
Leaving the popular Lucky’s Market (after a stop for a top class coffee at Logan’s Espresso), the route crosses under Broadway and heads toward the foothills. Passing through fabulous Wonderland Hills—a neighborhood originally planned in the ‘70s as a high-end development—this run takes you on dirt trails eventually going north to the South Foothills Trailhead at Lee Hill.
Nearby new development Trail Crossing—a Koelbel/ Coburn collaboration—can be seen just to the East. These state-of-the-art homes are designed specifically for active lifestyles. Once onto Lee Hill, the run begins the gradual climb westward, and approximately a quarter mile later it turns left on Wagon Wheel Road and ventures further uphill toward the most stunning part of the route.
Lee Hill – Wagon Wheel
About a mile later, the run goes left on Bow Mountain, a dirt road that climbs up, up, and up, eventually landing at Pine Brook Hills—an unincorporated mountain community—atop Linden Avenue. These homes on the side of the mountain overlooking Boulder enable homeowners the chance to feel so far away, while being only five minutes from town.
This portion of the route will invoke feelings of running through a remote mountain town. Elite runner and Boulder native, Nell, was quoted as saying, “I felt like I was in an abandoned mining town…”
To finish the run, you must plunge back down the steep, paved grades of Linden, descending approximately 1000 vertical feet in about two miles, you’ll find yourself back at the converging edges where the Newlands meet the Wonderland Hills. Criss-crossing through some of Boulder’s splendid footpaths will bring you back to your starting point at Lucky’s, where a tasty treat from the Bakehouse awaits you.