Getting out on trails and enjoying the stress-relieving benefits of nature should be something everyone, of all abilities, can experience. Thanks to a growing number of wheelchair-accessible trails around the Denver area, it is. “There’s always a way to get out if you want to and there’s starting to be more and more opportunities,” says Topher Downham, outreach coordinator for the City of Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks office. “We’re always trying to make trails more accessible. I think it’s one of those things that we’ll work on for the rest of our lives.”
In 1995, at the age of 26, Downham broke his neck diving into a swimming pool and was diagnosed with quadriplegia. In 2016, he wrote and updated a trail guide to the Boulder area’s most accessible trails, which is available online and at the Chautauqua Ranger Cottage. These are some of his top picks for trails around Denver and beyond that are inclusive to people of all levels of abilities.