Twin Lakes
Park
84 acres2.7 mi of trail
Twin Lakes EastTwin Lakes TrailTwin Lakes Off-Leash TrailWillows Trail
Dogs on leash
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Martha Weiser House · Photo: Davidmendosa · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Gunbarrel
More than half of Gunbarrel’s land is conserved: 56%
56% of Gunbarrel’s land is conserved, about 2,220 acres. Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 15 miles of mapped trail cross Gunbarrel, 2.4 per square mile of land.
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #1 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it
Conserved land
56%
2,220 acres · of 6.2 sq mi of land
Trails
15 mi
2.4 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,618 ac
161 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
15 mi
4.2 mi lanes · 6.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
2
What kind of outdoors town is Gunbarrel?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Gunbarrel have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Gunbarrel is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #1 of 159 in Colorado. All four inputs put Gunbarrel near the top nationally; conserved land ranks highest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Gunbarrel’s overall grade.
Conserved land56% of the land · typical CO town 7% · U.S. 4%A+Trails2.4 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (15 mi) · CO 1.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land161 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,618 acres) · CO 14 · U.S. 13AParks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · CO 97% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)#1 of 159
Colorado towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Gunbarrel’s 56% is ahead of 100% of Colorado towns, while its trails per square mile lead 76% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Twin Lakes, with 2.7 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 7 parks & preserves
Twin Lakes84 acres · 2.7 mi of trail
Meadow Creek Apartment5 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsFountain Greens Park6 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsGunbarrel Estates Park5 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsHeatherwood Park5 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · City of Boulder
DirectionsGunbarrel Commons Park9 acres
Parker Park2 acres
Who protects it
2,220 conserved acres
56% of Gunbarrel’s land. Who manages Gunbarrel’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city1,914 ac
County701 ac
Private owners2 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 2,058 acUnknown Easement · 383 acLocal Conservation Area · 155 acLocal Park · 21 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 143 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 8 of 48 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gunbarrel Ranch Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 310 | Open |
| Ertl II Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 253 | Open |
| Marble Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 240 | Open |
| ERTL III - White Rocks Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 185 | Unknown |
| Cosslett Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 161 | Open |
| Knaus Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 159 | Open |
| Richardson II Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 118 | Open |
| Culver - Open Space Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 106 | Open |
| Haley Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 79 | Open |
| Jenik Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 78 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
13 places to go in Gunbarrel
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Gunbarrel
Gunbarrel Commons PlaygroundIn Gunbarrel Commons Park
DirectionsPlus 8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Gunbarrel
2 dog parks without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Gunbarrel
Gun Barrel Hill
DirectionsGunbarrel Henge
DirectionsTrails & water
8 named trails and 2 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Open to bikes · 6.7 miHorses · 1.7 miUnpaved · 9.7 mi
Vesper Trail1.5 mi
Willows Trail0.9 mi
Twin Lakes East0.6 mi
Twin Lakes Trail0.6 mi
Twin Lakes Off-Leash Trail0.6 mi
East Boulder Trail0.5 mi
Gunbarrel Open Space Trail0.3 mi
Longmont-to-Boulder (LOBO) Regional Trail0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
15 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
4.2 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
6.6 mi
off-road bike paths
3.7 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Longmont-to-Boulder (LOBO) Regional TrailBike route
1.3 miCourts & fields
9Tennis
4Pickleball
4Basketball
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
Martha Weiser HouseBuilding · listed 2013
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Gunbarrel: April and June
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.0 | 14.7 | 13.7 | 12.4 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 46 | 48 | 56 | 63 | 72 | 83 | 89 | 87 | 79 | 66 | 54 | 46 |
| Rain (in) | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.6 |
December is the driest month (0.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 2.9 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Gunbarrel →
Next door
Gunbarrel and its neighbors
Gunbarrel has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gunbarrel | 56% | 2.4 | 161 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Boulder | 28% | 3.4 | 40 | 99%+ | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Gunbarrel
Where can I hike in Gunbarrel?
The longest trail networks: Twin Lakes, 2.7 miles; Meadow Creek Apartment, 0.4 miles; Fountain Greens Park, 0.3 miles; Gunbarrel Estates Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Gunbarrel is conserved land?
56% of its land, against a typical 7% for a Colorado town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Gunbarrel’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Twin Lakes (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Gunbarrel?
15 miles of bike routes are on the map: 4.2 of painted or protected lanes, 6.6 of off-road paths and 3.7 of shoulders and shared lanes. Named routes: Longmont-to-Boulder (LOBO) Regional Trail.
Is there public land near Gunbarrel?
60,464 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Gunbarrel or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,618 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Gunbarrel have?
Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #1 of 159 in Colorado. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Gunbarrel neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →