Washington Park

I've been driving by Wash Park for years and once attended a symphony there, but have never taken the time to walk around and see what the park has to offer. Oh my gosh, it's beautiful! There's a little ice cream stand near the boathouse where you can rent paddle boats and bike car thingies... What would you call those?

It's neat that you can go to different areas of the park and it's like being in a completely different place. The north end has a lily pond where children 4 and under can learn to fish. There were baby ducks! So cute.

Also, it's a beautiful spot for a wedding or event. The Smith Lake Boathouse is a beautiful, open air covered venue.

The flower gardens are spectacular and apparently it's also the land of volleyball. There were nets everywhere!

I posted a couple of videos at the park in the gallery. They don't show it off as well as I would have liked, so you really should stop by and see it for yourself.

I have several friends that live in the Washington Park area and it has became my favorite neighborhood in Denver (that I have spent a lot of time in). It seems like a good neighborhood to check out to live in if someone was moving to Denver. I think it is more expensive then say Aurora but its proximity to downtown and its character make it worth it.

I like how the neighborhood is centered around a park that has two lake and lots of walking trails and open spaces collectively known as Washington Park. On the weekend there are literally hundreds of joggers, parents with strollers, speed walkers and couples strolling along with dogs. But the park is pretty big and I like how you can enter it from all sides going into neighborhoods with different kinds of houses and lots of different people.

Downtown is a couple dozen blocks away to the north and there are lots of little streets along the way with restaurants, cafes and little shops. But you do have to cross the busy Speer Avenue area around central Denver so it is not just "a walk in the park" away from downtown. I like how Wash Park feels like you are still in the city but far from the tall buildings of downtown. When you are in the neighborhood it really does feel like a park, open air and spacious. Interstate 25 is literally only 5 blocks from the southern edge of the park but for some reason you just don't feel it when you are there.

There is a mix of old and new housing, renters and owners, students and retirees as well as families. Wash Park is a cool place to live in Denver.

Just about every Colorado resident knows about Washington Park. With over 160 acres of paved trails in the park itself, there are cyclists, runners, roller bladers, and other fitness enthusiasts out almost every day. There are tennis courts and on warm weekends you can see hundreds of volleyball nets set up. Since Denver boasts over 300 days of sunshine a year, there are ample opportunities in this area to be active. The park also has tall, beautiful trees, great landscaping and a pond that always seems to be full of ducks. There are other various types of wildlife around as well. This park is one where you see all types of people: young and old, single and families, individuals and teams.

Washington Park is the home to many races and on any given weekend there may be hundreds of runners. The weekends are one of the only drawbacks to this great park. It can be crowded even though it is so large and on race days parking can be difficult at best. There are areas like the local high school where you can usually park and walk just a block or so to get where you are going. Again, this can even be difficult on race days. Otherwise, parking is on the street and parallel parking can be frustrating when you know there is traffic waiting behind you on the somewhat narrow streets.

The homes themselves are all nice and have well manicured lawns. This is an area where the prices are higher, but if you enjoy city living with the comforts of a nice neighborhood and being close to public transportation, this may be the place for you. Both RTD and the light rail are nearby for those who don't want to fight traffic or are 'green' conscious.

I would highly recommend this neighborhood for it's safely, the friendly nature of people who come to visit and live here, and the pretty surroundings, especially the park itself. It is also close to downtown, but far enough away to feel like you're nowhere near it.