Explore Frederick: five places in walking order

Old-town Frederick is Fifth Street: six blocks running north from Crist Park at the highway end, with the cafe, the barbecue, the police station, the school and the rec center on it and Town Hall and Centennial Park a block to either side. Park once at the bottom and walk up. The lake and the brewery are a short drive at the end.

01 · Gabe’s Cafe

Gabe’s at 214 Fifth Street is a family-owned cafe, open since 2015, with breakfast and lunch all day. It opens at 6 am Monday and Wednesday to Friday and at 7 at the weekend, closing at 8 pm most days but at 2 pm on Tuesdays and Sundays; it now serves alcohol, has a happy-hour menu and takes pick-up orders.

Getting there: street parking on Fifth Street. Best for: an early start any day; lunch on a Monday, when stop 03 is closed.

02 · Crist Park and the Miners Memorial Museum

Back down the block, Crist Park at 105 Fifth Street is the park at the entrance to downtown: a playground, a gazebo, bocce courts, a sports field, the Memorial Wall and two public artworks, and a splash pad from early June to late August. In the park stands the Miners Memorial Museum, the original Frederick Town Hall moved here and a Colorado Historic Landmark since 2012, with a diorama of the first townsite, mining tools, a coal stove and the original mayor’s chair. It opens the first Friday of each month from 5 to 7 pm (November 6 and December 4 this year) and otherwise by tour through the Town Clerk’s office, 720-382-5581.

Getting there: on foot from the cafe. Best for: a first-Friday evening; the park any day.

03 · Georgia Boys BBQ Smokehouse

Lunch is at 141 Fifth Street, a few doors from the park. Georgia Boys smokes Georgia-style barbecue with scratch sides, a patio and a full bar of local beer: closed Mondays, 11 am to 8 pm Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday, 11 to 9 Friday and Saturday, with happy hour Tuesday to Friday from 2:30 to 5. Reservations are by phone only, for eight or more.

Getting there: on foot. Best for: lunch or an early dinner, any day but Monday.

04 · Up Fifth Street to the rec center and Centennial Park

Keep walking north. The Frederick Police Department is at 333; Thunder Valley K-8, the neighbourhood’s public school, at 600; and at 701 the Carbon Valley Recreation Center, the three towns’ rec center, with two pools, a gym and an elevated indoor track, open weekdays 5:30 am to 9 pm, Saturdays 7:30 to 5 and Sundays 10 to 5 (a visit is $8 for an adult from outside the district, $5.50 from inside it). A block west on Eighth Street, Centennial Park at 630 is the Town’s festival ground: an amphitheater, a playground, a bouldering area, a fitness loop, picnic shelters, restrooms and, the Town says, outstanding views of the Rockies. Town Hall is a block the other way at 401 Locust Street.

Getting there: six blocks on foot. Best for: the view from Centennial Park; a swim if you brought a suit.

05 · Milavec Lake and a brewery, by car

Drive to the Frederick Recreation Area at 8201 Colorado Boulevard, 129 acres around Milavec Lake: a 1.26-mile crusher-fine loop around the water and 1.7 miles of paved trail, fishing piers (a Colorado licence over 16; no ice fishing), an off-leash dog park, two playgrounds, a fitness court and, at the south-west corner, the skate park, open dawn to 10 pm. Bald and golden eagles winter here. Then end at Mirror Image Brewing, 5969 Iris Parkway off Colorado Boulevard, a small brewery with artisan pizza and a beer garden, open from 3 pm Monday to Thursday, from noon Friday and Saturday and from 11 on Sunday.

Getting there: a few minutes’ drive from Fifth Street; lot parking at both. Best for: the flat loop before dark; birds in winter; the end of the afternoon.

A simple first visit

1. Park on Fifth Street by Crist Park and have breakfast at Gabe’s.
2. Walk the park and, on a first Friday evening, the museum.
3. Lunch at Georgia Boys; on a Monday, eat at Gabe’s instead.
4. Walk up Fifth Street past the school to the rec center and over to Centennial Park.
5. Drive to Milavec Lake for the loop, then to Mirror Image for a beer.

Getting here

Drive times are estimates for normal conditions and vary with traffic, weather and construction; check a live routing service before you set out. The Town puts itself about 35 minutes from downtown Denver and 33 from Denver International Airport. From I-25 take Colorado 52 east to Colorado Boulevard and north; from Longmont, Colorado 119 to I-25 and south one exit. No bus serves Frederick directly: the Town’s transit study points residents to Way to Go carpools and vanpools, and its Via Mobility rides, weekdays 8 to 3, are for residents 60 and over and others who qualify. Posted signs override anything written here.

Accessibility: what we can confirm

The Town lists restrooms and parking at the Frederick Recreation Area and at Centennial Park, a crusher-fine loop around the lake with paved trails connecting to it, and a playground for ages 1 to 12 beside the main lot at the recreation area. Step-free entrances to the cafe, the smokehouse and the brewery, accessible restrooms at Crist Park and designated accessible parking on Fifth Street have not been confirmed on the ground and are not claimed here. Contact a business directly before relying on it. Corrections and additions to this section are welcome and published with their date.