“Colorado’s Hidden Gems” is a column exploring places around town that are little-known to CU students.
Gateway Park Fun Center is the perfect place to escape the Boulder norm. It offers a low-commitment retreat for few hours and is the perfect place to bring parents, friends or that special someone, if you really want to make an impression.
Located in North Boulder at 4800 28th Street, Gateway Park is only a ten minute drive from almost anywhere in Boulder. It has two different 18-hole mini-golf courses, a driving range, a go-kart track, a human maze, batting cages, an arcade and a snack bar.
These activities are nothing special, but with a run-down feel and the cheesy themes, this place has you feeling like Jesse Eisenberg’s character from “Adventureland.” The mini-golf courses are no joke, with plenty of obstructions, rivers and sand pits. You are not guaranteed a care-free round, especially if there is money on the line.
The batting cages and go-karts are fairly basic, but are still better than watching Netflix in your bed next to an empty box of pizza. Plus, you can tell your friends you went go-karting, which is probably cooler than anything they did that day.
One of the most underrated activities of Gateway Park Fun Center is the arcade, which beats any Dave & Busters I have ever been to. There isn’t a single classic arcade game that isn’t there. From Ski Ball to Fruit Ninja, they have it all.
But the real beauty of Gateway Park: it’s cheap. Gateway has what they call a “you pick two package,” which involves choosing two activities and receiving 10 arcade coins for $13.50.
The next time you’re sitting around and wondering what you should do with your day, consider Gateway Park. It’s a spot offering the kind of fun you never grow too old for.
Contact CU Independent staff writer Wyatt Carlson at Wyatt.Carlson@colorado.edu.
