The area is recognized nationwide as a Mecca for outdoor recreation for good reason. The city of Boulder was one of the first in the country to establish an open space program, and citizens throughout the county have since taxed themselves again and again to buy land for preservation and recreation. Dozens of outdoor recreation publications, including Rock and Ice, Trail Runner, and Ski magazines, and Velo News are based here, as are hundreds of outdoor recreation-oriented businesses. World-class athletes, such as Olympic marathon winner Frank Shorter, champion cyclist Davis Phinney, and mountaineers Pete Athans and Jon Krakauer make their homes here as well.
Thousands more come to train or play here every year.
Most of the land lies west of the city where towering sandstone rock formations, such as Boulder's trademark Flatirons, draw climbers, and more than 50 miles of trails make for some of the best hiking in the area. Mountain bikes are not allowed on Mountain Parks trails. Today, it consists of 30,000 acres of land with more than 78 miles of trail. Because much of it lies on the plains, the hiking here is significantly less strenuous than that on Boulder Mountain Parks. Thirty-eight miles of trail are open to bikes.