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Explore Boulder Creek: Scott Carpenter Park

A dirt path along a creek.

All Through Boulder

You are just a few minutes away from Scott Carpenter Park, which is located on a pretty busy block in Boulder. This area is surrounded by 4 main roads – 28th, 30th, Arapahoe Avenue, and Colorado Avenue. Have you ever seen Boulder Creek while driving on these roads?

It can be easy to forget that there is a whole stream flowing through the city, but the Boulder Creek Path lets you follow it for miles, showing how the city has made space for nature. When the city adopted the Boulder Creek Plan in the 1980’s, one of their goals was to create a continuous bike path from Eben G Fine Park to 55th Street. This path allows thousands of people each day to walk and bike to work and school.

A map of the Boulder St. Vrain Watershed with numbers highlighted along Coal Creek. Text on this page describes what the numbers identify.

Where does Boulder Creek go?

Look west, towards the mountains. Boulder Creek starts up there where North Boulder Creek and Middle Boulder Creek join at Boulder Falls. What do you think the water is like up in the mountains?

It flows down through Boulder Canyon along the road and enters the city limits at Eben G Fine Park. From there, Boulder Creek sees the Farmer’s Market, Boulder High School, CU Boulder, until it flows by where you are now. It keeps going through the city until it passes the Water Resource Recovery Facility at Jay Rd. and 75th Street.

Water Resource Recovery Facility

Unlike stormwater, the wastewater from our homes, schools, and businesses travels through the city’s Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF).

The WRRF removes debris from the waste and uses microorganisms, UV light, and other treatments to clean the water as much as possible before the treated water reenters Boulder Creek.

Learn more about the water quality in Boulder Creek and how upgrades to the WRRF have improved stream health on our Boulder St. Vrain Watershed Water Quality Dashboard.

From Our Community to the Creek

Infographic with 4 steps showing how stormwater pollutants travel from our homes into local waterways through the stormwater system.

On the water’s journey through the city, how do you think it is changing? Think about where you have been walking – how are the apartments, roads, and people using the sidewalks impacting the creek?

Did you notice any pipes draining into the creek? These pipes are stormwater outfalls, and they are part of the stormwater system. The storm drains in our community lead directly to these outfalls – there is no treatment or cleaning along the way. Rain and sprinkler runoff will pick up pet waste, oil from cars, trash, and lawn chemicals and carry them down the street and into the nearest storm drain.