CU South

CU south is a wonderful outdoorsy destination. But if I hadn’t been told to come here, I would have been clueless to its existence because it’s basically in the middle of no where, but somehow also in the middle of Boulder? I guess, it’s because it’s surrounded by ample open space. It’s lovely because, since it’s separated from busy area filled with buildings and businesses, you get a clear and unobstructed, breathtaking view of the mountains. The perfect backdrop for a nice stroll across the trails. I’ve seen a good number of people with their dogs or families jogging around and they all seem very content.
However, my visit to CU south was to visit the tennis court facilities. Very pristine courts. There are eight, spanning the area, fully equipped with benches and overhead umbrellas for between points. An appreciated touch is that the courts are divided by fences, which I adore because nothing’s worse for a tennis player (besides a bad tennis game, I guess) is having to chase after balls that rolled onto another court or having to be interrupted by the neighboring players’ out balls.

I would give it 5 stars for the ski experience if we had more snow in town and more even temps, but neither of those can be controlled!
This piece of property is open land near US 36 and Table Mesa Dr. It is owned by CU though it is not contiguous to the Boulder Campus and is only used for athletic practice. There is a tennis training facility and a series of trails used by the cross country teams for their practice.
The Boulder Nordic Club, a volunteer organization, has started grooming the running trails for xc skiing when there is adequate snow in town. For many years they were permitted by the city to groom North Boulder Park, but because of sprinkler and other park upgrades, they have not been able to work there for 2 years but are hoping to return. I had skied there many times in the past and really enjoyed it. As did many, many others.
Now that they are using the CU land, there is much more terrain to groom and ski. But because it is rough gravel and not a grassy park, it takes much more snow to be successful. These groomers often go out to groom at 6 or 8 am if there is decent overnight snow, before heading off to their «real» jobs. I have met some of the regular skiers out there and even one of the groomers on a later run (no– I don’t go very early) and they have all been friendly and helpful as I am a novice at skate skiing.
It’s a fun place with great views of the Flatirons, though the background noise is of US36. But thank you, Boulder Nordic Club for your hard work for the community and thanks to CU for making their land available.