Your Spring Bucket List in Boulder

✓ See the Tulips on Pearl Street

Downtown Boulder’s brick-paved Pearl Street Mall is filled with flowerbeds that bloom with upwards of 15,000 tulips in springtime. The timing of the buds’ opening is, of course, up to Mother Nature, but you will often see the tulips begin to pop up in early April, with the blossoms peaking in mid to late April. Bring a camera and make a day of it with Pearl Street’s amazing shopping and dining. Boulder's Tulip Fairy and Elf Festival is an excellent time to come admire the flowers. Little ones dress up like fairies and elves and parade around Pearl Street "waking up the tulips." There's also live music, arts and crafts projects, games and activities. In 2023, the festival will be held on April 23 (rain date: April 30). 

✓ Hike a Wildflower Trail

Boulder's trailside blooms start to come up in earnest in early to mid-April. Head out on one of Boulder's best wildflower hikes and see how many you can identify using our wildflower identification guide.  

 

 

 

 

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✓ Go Fly a Kite

Catch the breezes that blow down off the Rockies and experience the childlike joy of flying a kite in a scenic spot like Scott Carpenter Park, North Boulder Park or Wonderland Lake Park, with views of the Flatirons make it all the more joyful. Treat yourself to a shiny new kite at Into the Wind, Boulder's go-to kite source since 1980.

 

 

 

 

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✓ Freshen Up Your Wardrobe

Spring’s the perfect time to purge your closet of pilled sweaters and, eh-hem, maybe some too-tight pants. As a reward for your efforts, treat yourself to a spring romper from Mabel and Moss, a brightly colored mini skirt from Beatrice the Divine, a chic spring jacket from Back Country or a new floral dress from Miriam's. 

 

 

 

 

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✓ Find the Best Spring Salad

Farm-fresh spring greens, artichokes, chives and peas will be popping onto plates around town with the arrival of spring. You'll find many green-forward places around health-focused Boulder. We like the famous kale and apple salad at Oak at Fourteenth, the wedge salad at Jax Boulder or the MC Green Salad from Thrive — and too many more to list here.

 

 

 

 

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✓ Shop in the Fresh Air at the Farmers Market

Blue hens' eggs, yellow daffodil bouquets, purple-tasseled chives, tender green asparagus, crusty golden loaves of bread...invite these fresh flavors and colors home with you when you visit the Boulder Farmers Market. It runs every Saturday 8am-2pm (April-November) and Wednesdays 4-8pm (May-October).    

 

 

 

 

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✓ Spot Migrating Birds

The return of sweet birdsong to the air is a springtime joy to relish. Now's a great time to catch sight of some migrating birds as they pass through Boulder this time of year. Read our bird-watching guide for where to go.

 

 

 

 

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✓ Have an Afternoon Tea Party

White linens, tiered trays of sweets, finger sandwiches and a swirling selection of teas...it's an experience fit for royalty at Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse — and a fitting way to celebrate spring.

 

 

 

 

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✓ Sip a Spring Cocktail

Cheers to making it through winter and all the joys of spring with the passionfruit-spiked Piñata cocktail from Corrida, the nonalcoholic berry honey lemonade from Corner Bar, or the raspberry-tinted Rose Garden from Japango.

 

 

 

 

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✓ Meet Some Cute Baby Animals

Boulder is surrounded by farmland, and spring is a great time to visit to meet...ADORABLE BABY ANIMALS! At Growing Gardens, a community garden project and farm located in the heart of town, you can book a private tour and goat bottle feeding with their cutest kids for up to 10 people. And Sunflower Farm has a few new fuzzy little lambs to greet, too. You'll need to make a reservation online for Farmfest Public Hours, which will grant you direct contact with your favorite farm animals. Enjoy the huge shade trees with incredible tire swings, sit on a tractor, and discover an old airplane, sandboxes, bicycles, hammocks, and free-roaming chickens, among many other things to explore. 

✓ Stay the Night Somewhere Special

From hotels with year-round pools to those with swanky lounges with roaring fireplaces, each of Boulder's hotels offers a mini escape to look forward to. See all of Boulder's hotels and find a place that calls to you.

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