Broomfield
Where a lot of Boulder County goes to shop, skate and take the kids. One regional attraction worth the drive, a free museum that rarely makes the lists, and a famous venue that no longer exists.
Photo: Kpsudeep · CC BY-SA 4.0
Last checked: August 8, 2026
Twenty minutes from Boulder, and the reason most people make the drive is the Butterfly Pavilion, a conservatory you can spend a whole morning in. There's also a free railway depot museum that rarely makes anyone's list, and the mall this side of the metro actually uses. One thing to know before you plan around it, though.
The 1STBANK Center is closed, and demolished
Broomfield's arena went dark on November 30, 2023, after the city's urban renewal authority voted to end the operator agreement, and it was demolished the following year. Broomfield's own redevelopment page documents the whole thing, including the $34.2 million still owed on its construction bonds.
It opened in 2006 as the Broomfield Event Center, and was chronically underused. The land is now going through the Urban Transit Village redevelopment process. If a guide still lists it as a place to see a show, that guide hasn't been checked in three years.
The Butterfly Pavilion, which is the reason to come
A nonprofit invertebrate zoo with a walk-through tropical butterfly conservatory, plus tarantulas and stingrays. Nothing like it exists in Boulder, and it's a genuine regional draw rather than a local amenity.
- Adult, 13 to 64: $19.45
- Senior, 65 and over: $17.45
- Child, 2 to 12: $14.45. Under 2 free.
- $5 for up to four people if you hold a card for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) or Women, Infants and Children (WIC). A real and generous concession, and worth knowing about
Entry is timed, so buy for a date and time window rather than turning up and hoping. Parking is free. There's no live tarantula handling any more, and no flash photography, tripods or selfie sticks inside the exhibits.
⚠️ It's technically in Westminster, not Broomfield. Their own address is 6252 W 104th Avenue, Westminster. It sits right on the line, minutes from FlatIron Crossing, and everyone including Broomfield treats it as a Broomfield attraction. We're telling you because we would rather be accurate than tidy.
Rec centers, where you pay the visitor rate
The Paul Derda Recreation Center sits inside Broomfield County Commons Park. A resident ID card is free but requires proof of Broomfield residency, so as a Boulder reader you'll always pay the right-hand column.
| Daily drop-in | Resident | You |
|---|---|---|
| Adult, 18 to 59 | $5.00 | $7.75 |
| Senior, 60 and over | $4.00 | $6.25 |
| Youth, 4 to 17 | $3.50 | $6.25 |
The Bay Aquatic Park is a reserved-ticket seasonal water park: $5 for residents aged 4 and over, $9 for everyone else, with under-3s free alongside a paying adult. The indoor playground at the rec center is free under 3, then $3.50 for residents and $6.25 otherwise, up to age 7.
Honest framing: Boulder has its own comparable rec centers, so this is worth pairing with something else rather than driving over for on its own.
Free, and genuinely good
The Broomfield Depot Museum at 2201 W 10th Avenue is a restored 1909 Colorado and Southern Railway depot, moved to its current site in 1976, now a local history museum with the adjacent Crawford Honey House covering a historic beekeeping family. Free. One real constraint worth stating even though we don't publish hours: it opens Saturdays only, which decides whether you can go at all.
Broomfield County Commons Park is 300 acres with a dog park, athletic fields, a playground and picnic shelters, free to enter. FlatIron Crossing is free to browse with free parking, and is the dominant mall for this side of the metro with no equivalent closer to Boulder. Its own homepage currently advertises that it's "evolving", with redevelopment underway, so tenants may shift.
Golf
Eagle Trace Golf Club publishes its rates plainly: 18 holes is $40 on weekdays and $50 at weekends, with senior rates of $35 and $45 and juniors 15 and under at $27 and $30. Nine holes are $25 and $30.
⚠️ Their own site currently carries a drought notice saying the driving range is closed, with irrigation limited to greens and tees, and lists unusual closed days including Tuesdays. Check before booking rather than assuming normal service.
The Broadlands at 4380 W 144th Avenue is an 18-hole public par 71 that prices tee times dynamically, so there's no rate card to quote. Their driving range buckets are $6, $10 and $14. Aggregator sites quote green fee ranges; none of those come from the course, so book through them and see the real number.
What we couldn't confirm
Broomfield's splash pad locations, seasons and whether they charge, because the city page we tried returned unrelated content. Whether disc golf really runs at Interlocken East and Midway parks. Dog rules across the general trail system, which search results imply are on-leash everywhere but which we couldn't read from the rules page itself. Chipper's Lanes bowling and laser tag pricing. And exact months for most of the city's annual events beyond Broomfield Days, which is confirmed as the third Saturday in September at Midway Park with a parade, 300 vendor booths, a car show, a duck race and three stages.
One thing worth a look that we haven't fully checked: Wonderland Brewing advertises mini golf, pickleball and pinball alongside the beer, which puts it closer to a thing to do than a place to drink.
Know Broomfield better than we do? Tell us.