The Old West Boulder neighborhood is a wonderful mix of historic homes, businesses, restored multi-family residential buildings, and nature.

Once upon a time, Arapaho Avenue continued west all the way into Boulder canyon. While you can still get there from ‘here’, it’s a bit safer now, and most folks simply take Canyon Blvd.

The confluence of all this activity is Eben G. Fine park, and to the north, Settler’s Park. I love the way they’re connected via a pedestrian tunnel.

Whether you walk, or bike up the Boulder Creek path, or find your way along Pearl, Walnut or Spruce streets westward from downtown, the Old West Boulder neighborhood is a destination worth exploring.

Many people have found that this part of town is just the place for them because they have easy access to downtown, Pearl Street Mall, the shops and restaurants on Pearl, west of 9th, which has really been booming since the 1990′s, and of course, the parks and trails along the foothills and Boulder Mountain Parks attract many people also.

There are several neighborhoods along the western edge of Boulder including Boulder Heights, Pine Brook Hills, and Seven Hills (just up Sunshine Canyon / Mapleton).

Knollwood is a small neighborhood right at the mouth of Sunshine Canyon which many people miss. It has fairly large lots (around 3/4 acre), sits down just below the hog back, and is just a short walk through Mapleton Hill neighborhood, or Old West Boulder to downtown.

This end of town continues to feel like a complete community. There are businesses like the old-school Vanatta Electric (nope you can’t buy a floor lamp here, but you can get your car’s starter rebuilt), Independent Motors, Spruce Confections, a great garden boutique, and a couple of key restaurant locations on west Walnut that seem to continue to change names and styles of food every few years.

The residential features of this part of town include cozy (yep that often means small) bungalows, classic apartment buildings which have been turned into Condos years ago, an updated condo building remodeled by VaST Architecture at about 5th and Pearl.

There are also turn of the century Victorian homes, smaller homes ripe and ready for remodeling, and stately mansions; and as property values continue to remain strong, we see lots of remodeling and rebuilding happening here.

The once-famous Next West House is here in this neighborhood, as well as the new high-end Park Gables development at the end of Arapaho.

Whether heading up the canyon for exercise, walking downtown to have dinner on Pearl Street, or a short stroll over to the Boulder Library, the convenience and solitude of Old West Boulder attracts many different people who are often looking for very different lifestyle opportunities.

Thinking about buying a new home, or getting ready to sell?

Call, Text, or Email me. I will listen to you.

You may also find my neighborhood profiles, and Boulder business profiles informative and useful. They’re both great ways to learn more about what’s going on in Boulder. Call, Text, or Email me today!

-Zachary Epps, GRI, ABR, REALTOR®, full-time RE/MAX professional, and author of the Boulder Real Estate and Neighborhood Guide.

Also, I’m never too busy for your referrals. As a real estate professional intent on giving back to the community, my relationship-based approach is exactly what you’ve been looking for in a helpful RE/MAX Professional.