Thornton Outdoor Activities

Campus Cycles owners Mark Velat and Bobby Verenna grew up in the cycling world. Mark has been riding and racing for more than 30 years now, and Bobby broke into the retail end back in sixth grade. At their shop, patrons reap the rewards of their expertise when shopping from shelves of sturdy bikes and gear from brands such as Giant, Cannondale, and Electra, in addition to children's two-wheelers and tricycles. Their service department’s technicians recalibrate bikes with tune-ups, and fit specialists match individuals with the ideal cycle. Patrons can also visit on demo days when big-name manufacturers show off their latest products and let riders take them out for test-drives on nearby mountain trails or paved roads. Meanwhile, the store's Get to Know Your Bike classes give riders basic repair and maintenance skills so they can remedy minor damage incurred when tires pop on fiberglass banana peels littering the road.

In October 1995, the Colorado Rapids were introduced as one of Major League Soccer’s 10 charter teams. As one of the league's longest tenured members, the organization has brought a number of landmark moments to Denver, highlighted by a MLS Cup victory in 2010. Three years before their championship campaign, the Rapids became the centerpiece of Dick’s Sporting Goods Park—a sprawling complex that features a total of 24 fully lit sports fields. During Rapids matches, fans get swept up in the park’s lively atmosphere driven by Centennial 38, the team's official fan group. In their designated “Supporter’s Terrace”, fans lead raucous cheers, wave massive flags, and braid one-another's hair into beautiful scarves to inspire their side.

A plethora of mock-rock climbing challenges populates The Spot Bouldering Gym with 10,000 square feet of vertical obstacles. Rock climbers can spend all day scaling man-made mountains up to 18 feet high, gripping massive boulders made in the image of Hueco, Fontainebleau, and Abraham Lincoln's nose. Other trials include the gravity-fighting 25-foot roped wall, an assortment of muscle-mightying training equipment, and cushy flooring for seamless dismounts. No experience is necessary to tackle the upright obstacles at The Spot; the congenial crew eagerly shares climbing tips and creates encouraging victory pyramids.

Whether it’s the tiny town buildings, flowering gardens, or obstacle-like oddities that capture one's imagination, Putter's Pride evokes an ambiance of adventure as guests traverse its three 18-hole mini golf courses. From a toilet seat left ajar to a pink windmill and a purple dragon protruding from the turf, the unusual hole designs keep golfers guessing and scratching their heads with their clubs as they match putts with opponents during a round, which takes about 45 minutes. Around the greens’ edges, streams splash down tiered stone waterfalls, colorful blossoms overflow from wooden flowerboxes, and farm animals look out from the side of a pink barn to referee putter swordfights to determine the authenticity of an alleged hole-in-one.

The whimsical decor facilitates fun at birthday parties, where guests can chow down on their own snacks and cake around multicolored picnic tables before hitting the pintsize putting grounds.

Derby was reborn in the early 2000s as a ferociously fun sport. Nearly all modern leagues are composed of female, DIY-spirited bands of punky costumed, vicious-monikered rascals who shove each other on traditional quad roller skates. The Rocky Mountain Rollergirls, Denver's original all-women flat-track roller derby league, is operated by the more than 40 skaters who makeup its six teams: home teams Red Ridin' Hoods, Sugar Kill Gang, Dooms Daisies, Kill Scouts, and traveling teams, Fight Club and the Contenders. These fearless athletes leave bouts with sprained shoulders, bruises, and hematomas, which is nothing compared to the competitors' pain (the ladies took home second place in the 2009 Women’s Flat Track Derby Association regional tournament and fourth in the national tournament).

City of Denver Golf consists of seven distinct facilities that offer nine- and 18-hole courses and PGA pro–guided clinics set amid rustic, wooded landscapes with breathtaking views of the Denver skyline. Golfers can flaunt newly honed skills on the small, sloping greens and tight fairways of City Park, gaze upon Evergreen’s namesake trees, or tackle the Wellshire course, designed by Donald Ross in 1926 and speckled with winding, tree-lined fairways. Both the Harvard Gulch and Kennedy facilities contain nine-hole, par 3 courses, which accommodate novice golfers or advanced golfers whose drivers refuse to take off their velvet club head covers. Snow-capped mountains form the backdrop behind the tree-lines at Willis Case, and narrow, tree-lined, well-bunkered fairways await clubbers at Overland Golf Course.