There’s no denying it, Boulder is a beautiful place to live and work. The Flatirons are visible from just about every vantage point in the city and the aromas wafting from the plethora of gourmet restaurants around town add a mouth-watering flavor to the city.
But between paying your rent/mortgage, your weekly Whole Foods grocery bills, and all the other costs that come along with a Boulder address, who has time to splurge on much?
Luckily, Boulder has a TON of free stuff to do around town (beside going for a hike), so you can pay your bills and have a little fun.
Stroll Through the Market and Check Out Some Art
The Boulder Farmers’ Market was recently ranked the best in the nation by USA today, so why not head down to the farmers’ market, try some free samples, and check out some live music. While you’re there on Saturday during the day or Wednesday evening, be sure to swing in to the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, which has free admission during the farmers’ market hours.
Check Out Some High-Quality Atmosphere
The National Center for Atmospheric Research has quite possibly one of the most gorgeous campuses known to mankind. However, it’s more than just a pretty face, within the walls of this building, there’s a wealth of knowledge about the Earth’s atmosphere and the weather around us. There are free noon tours around the campus every day and tablet tours available weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Their Visitor Center is chock full of interactive displays for kids of all ages (even adult kids). Oh, and there’s hiking trails too. You know, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Find Your Ohm
There are so, so, so many free yoga classes around Boulder each week that you could go several times a day every day without paying a cent. The Unlimited Yoga page for Boulder is a wealth of information with an up-to-date calendar and weekly emailed updates. With this site at your fingertips, the only excuse you have for not going to yoga classes is that you just really don’t like yoga.
Tour Some Tea
OK, I’ll admit it. I’ve never done the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory tour and I’m quite ashamed about it. This 45-minute free tour is supposed to be a complete blast. Guides will show you around the factory and they explain the process for making their tea. There’s also an infamous “Mint Room” that’s such an intense smell that some people can’t handle it. If you’re not in the mood for tea, you could always tour one of the many, many breweries and distilleries in Boulder. These breweries all offer regularly scheduled tours: Avery Brewing Company, Boulder Beer Company, FATE Brewing Company, Redstone Meadery, Settembre Cellars, Upslope Brewing Company, Vapor Distillery.
These places offer tours upon request: Altitude Spirits, Asher Brewing Company, BookCliff Vineyards, BRU Handbuilt Ales & Eats, Finkel & Garf Brewing Company, Geek Spirits, J&L Distillery, J Wells Brewery, Mountain Sun Pub & Brewery, New Planet Brewery, Redstone Meadery, Sanitas Brewing, Shine Brewing Company, Southern Sun Pub & Brewery, Walnut Brewery, West Flanders Brewing Company, Decadent Saint, Vapor Distillery, Vindication Brewing Company, Vision Quest Brewery.
Yowza! Just make sure you have the money for an Uber after those tours. That’s one thing worth paying for.
