Bluff Lake Nature Center

Bluff Lake is a hidden gem in the city. It’s hard to tell from the street/​parking lot but once you drop down into the trails around the lake it feels like you are miles away from the city and its not crowded with people. They also have great programs and events, like the Fireside Chat series at night, summer camps, a program for preschoolers, and seasonal events as well. Forget the complaints about not allowing bikes or dogs — the trade off is you actually will get to see an amazing array of birds, deer, and other wildlife. If you haven’t gone already, check it out!

I understand that Bluff Lake is an important community asset and is the only bit of nature that can be found in this neighborhood. I support the idea. However, upon visiting the park, I was disappointed and a little concerned. The park was covered in trash and smelled like the factories nearby. The only people we saw were three kids around the age of 12 that screamed obscenities at us as we were leaving. Overall, it isn’t worth the trip and I wish I had just walked around Washington Park instead.

Bluff Lake is really a special place in a very underserved part of the metro area. Unlike other parks in Denver, it isn’t overrun by dogs, bikes, and the like. Bluff Lake serves an important mission to protect wildlife and educate children.
The recent Colorado floods bring another very important purpose of Bluff Lake and wetlands to light. We’ve destroyed a huge number of our nation’s wetlands, making floods more severe. As we continue to urbanize our planet, areas like Bluff Lake become increasingly critical. Thank you all for the great work that you do.

My husband and I regularly trail run here. Its really beautiful, and in the evenings, the sunsets are incredible. The lake bed is dry and has been for a while, but its beautiful in its own way, and is still such a peaceful oasis in the city.
We’ve run into deer, large snakes, and a fox (not literally RUN into, thank god). Awesome! Where else in the city can you find all of those things while out on a run?
The path is always well maintained, and litter is scarce. There are nice mile markers as well. To the person complaining about not being allowed to have dogs or bikes, its a NATURE CENTER. You don’t take your dog to the zoo, do you? We have come within inches of stepping on a snake sunning itself in the path, twice. If we’d had our dogs with us, they would have found the snake first and it wouldn’t have been pretty. If we’d been on bikes, we probably wouldn’t have seen it in time. Dogs and bikes would also have scared away the deer. There are a plethora of other options as far as parks are concerned to take your dogs to or to bike around. The Bluff Lake Nature Center actually attracts… wait for it… NATURE! The no food is a no brainer. DON’T FEED THE ANIMALS! People can’t be trusted, with their food or their trash. Sad but true.
This is a great place, and we’ll continue to return to it several times a month. Thanks for keeping up a great space Bluff Lake!

No bikes? No on-​leash dogs? What’s next? No kids? No strollers? No people?
I suspect the only reason this place has a wheel-​chair accessible path at all is that they’re probably required to by federal law.
Yeah, yeah, I get it. You’ve probably got some sob story of an idiot letting their off-​leash dog run off or kill the wildlife, or a bicyclist running around off trail. Except, you know what? There are plenty of children, teens and adults that don’t fall into those categories that might STILL cause problems by not following your oppressive rules. Then what? Ban everyone?
Nature areas are meant to be enjoyed by everyone. I have a bad (bionic) hip. I cannot walk around this area without being in severe pain. I *CAN* bike it, however! (and guess what, I’ve NEVER gone off the trail!)
How about this for a novel idea? Why not hire ENFORCEMENT officers to keep the «jerks» in line while allowing the «good people» who follow the rules to actually ENJOY THE AREA?! Oh that’s right. You’re probably one of those organizations that feel like nature areas shouldn’t be enjoyed by anyone and that’s why you try very hard to keep out as many people as possible.
If I were elected to your board of directors, my first act would be to have the rest of you resign. (If anyone would like to nominate me, feel free! :)). My second act would be to make this area inclusive to ALL members of the community!
Thanks for wasting my time biking around the perimeter, looking for some legitimate way to enjoy your «exclusive» area!
PS: Thanks for the pavilion in the middle of a pretty area. It must be great to eat there and enjoy the nature around you. Oh that’s right. No food allowed either!

Two different directions on their website and on here, and both were not correct. We spent 30 minutes driving around trying to find this place, and it was absolutely impossible to find. We ended up not going, and I’m marking it down because their website was completely unhelpful. I am not a native Denverite, but I have lived here for the past year and know Aurora fairly well.
They are marked down for their unclear and unhelpful website, and for the poor directions.

First things first — the Bluff Lake Nature Center itself can be found just East of Martin Luther King & Havana; it’s their business office that is on 29^th Street. The refuge is due East of Stapleton. Martin Luther King Blvd. is now open and connects Quebec Street to Bluff Lake.
This place is one of Denver’s most wonderful secrets. It’s a 123-​acre wildlife refuge in East Denver, and it hosts one of the most amazing views of the front range I have ever seen. The walking path is nice and well preserved, and it’s never busy. Despite being so urban, once you’ve stepped down into it, the rest of the world just seems to disappear. This is a great spot to do some birding, get some exercise, meditate, or volunteer. Plus, the wildlife and nature photo ops are abundant.
It’s always free and it’s open from sun up to sun down everyday. They have an open parking lot and clean restroom facilities. There are picnic tables available and if I’m recalling correctly, there’s a soda machine, too.
My only advice is that if you opt to go anywhere between May and September, wear something to protect yourself from mosquitoes and/​or gnats. They can get rather aggressive.