Park Hill Walking Tours

A new seasonal walking column from avid walker and longtime resident, Brian Hyde.

And now for something new, a walking guide to celebrate spring in Park Hill. This column will appear again in the summer, fall and winter with routes designed by 32-year Park Hill resident Brian Hyde, who currently walks 20 miles per week in the area. They will also reflect the rich diversity available to pedestrians in Greater Park Hill: parkways, gardens, architecture, history, parks, eating, shopping, schools, churches and more. If you prefer bicycling to walking, go for it! If the entire route is too long for one walk, try out a part of the route at a time. Patronize businesses along the route. Take your family for a walk, or ask your neighbor to join you. See if you think we live in one of Denver’s finest walking neighborhoods.
Spring 2013 Walking Route
Start (and Finish) – City Floral 1440 Kearney Street
Kearney Street (3 blocks) The walk begins with 3 blocks to the north along Kearney Street, from 14th Avenue to 17th Avenue Parkway.
Spring is a season for gardens and all that they represent. Check out the offerings at City Floral before or after you walk. You will cross Colfax, with a “pedestrian median island” in the middle if traffic is at all heavy. On the north side of Colfax, you will see Ed Moore Florist, a great place for Valentine’s Day and your “sweetie’s” birthday. Continue north, across 16th Avenue to 17th Avenue Parkway. Several interesting houses will catch your eye.
17th Avenue Parkway (5 blocks instead of 6, because there is no Jersey Street north of Colfax) Turn west at 17th and walk 5 blocks to Hudson Street.
Admire the foresight of our predecessors who created the parkway “from scratch”. You can also admire the houses on both sides of the parkway. Look for gardens that are waking up.
Hudson Street (1 block) Turn south and walk from 17th Avenue Parkway to 16th Avenue.
A new friend lives on this block. I had never paid attention to it until I met her. What a treat to find out about it! Note how the houses complement each other to create a cohesive block.
16th Avenue (3 blocks) Turn west and walk from Hudson to Forest.
As you begin, you will note that 16th is a lot lower in elevation at Grape than it is at Hudson. You have just entered the area where flooding occurred on the Park Hill Branch of Montclair Creek on July 7, 2011 and on July 7, 2012. The Park Hill Branch flows through this portion of Park Hill, on its way to Ferril Lake in City Park.
Forest Street  and Forest Street Parkway (3 blocks) Turn north and walk from 16th Avenue to 17th Avenue Parkway. North of 17th Avenue Parkway, Forest Street and Fairfax Streets and the space between them have been combined to form the Forest Street Parkway. Walk on the parkway to Montview Boulevard.
To your west, as you climb up toward 17th Avenue, you will see Medhanealem Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.  On the north side of 17th Avenue Parkway, on the Forest Street Parkway, you will begin to see Park Hill United Methodist Church on the north side of Montview Boulevard.
Montview Boulevard (5 blocks) Turn west and walk from Forest Parkway to Dexter Street.
You will note that the north-south streets don’t line up between the north side of Montview and the south side, because Montview was the boundary between different historic subdivisions in this part of Park Hill. As you approach Elm Street, you will see two more of Park Hill’s major churches, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church and Montview Presbyterian Church. The three churches on Montview, and others in Park Hill, played a major role in civil rights efforts in the 60’s and 70’s, influencing events in Park Hill, in the greater Denver community, and in the country as a whole. On the north side of Montview and the east side of Dexter you will see the Park Hill Branch of the Denver Public Library.
Dexter Street (2 blocks) Turn north and walk from Montview Boulevard to 23rd Avenue.
Just north of 22nd on the west side of Dexter, you will see St. Thomas Episcopal Church. St. Thomas has played a significant role in the history of Park Hill. On the east side of Dexter, just south of 23rd, you will see “Turtle Park” a gathering spot for parents and small children. On the west side of Dexter, along both sides of 23rd are shops in the local business district.
23rd Avenue (1 block) Turn west and walk to Cherry.
On the north side of 23rd are two Park Hill landmarks, The Cherry Tomato restaurant and Spinelli’s Market. On the south side local businesses include Dancers Advantage the Arts, Adagio Bakery, Park Hill Dental Arts and the Park Hill Cooperative Book Store.
Cherry Street (9 blocks) Turn south and walk to 12th Avenue.
As you cross the 17th Avenue Parkway, note that you are walking downhill. At 16th Avenue you will cross the low-point of the channel for the Park Hill Branch of Montclair Creek. Next you will cross Colfax Avenue and continue uphill toward the ridgeline that divides the Park Hill Branch of Montclair Creek from the Hale Parkway Branch.
On the northeast corner of 14th Avenue and Cherry you will see the Temple for the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The Temple also houses Govinda’s Vegetarian Buffet restaurant, which is open for lunch weekdays and dinner on weekends.
South of the Temple one more block is the basin divide (ridgeline), at 13th Avenue. On the north side, stormwater flows toward 16th Avenue. On the south side, stormwater flows toward Hale Parkway.
From that divide, you will walk downhill toward Linsley Park. Hale Parkway, at the far side of the park, is the low point of the channel for the Hale Parkway Branch of Monclair Creek.
12th Avenue (7 blocks) Turn east and walk to Glencoe Street.
Feel free to enjoy Linsley Park before you start walking to the east. As you are walking, enjoy this relatively quiet corner of the Montclair neighborhood.
Glencoe Street (1 block) Turn south and walk to 11th Avenue.
You are taking a short detour to admire a fine example of collaborative community gardening at Palmer Elementary School. The north end of the school building faces 11th Avenue between Glencoe and Grape Streets. The community garden is around the corner, along Grape Street.
11th Avenue (1 block) Turn east and walk to Grape Street.
You will be returning to eastbound 11th Avenue, but first it’s time to look at the community garden.
Grape Street (1 block) Turn south and walk along the east side (the front) of Palmer Elementary School; then turn back to the north and return to 11th Avenue.
At the south end of the school you will see a community garden that represents an impressive collaboration between Denver Public Schools, Denver Urban Gardens and numerous other partners.
11th Avenue (3 blocks, but after 2 blocks you will need to jog ½ block north along Holly Street to continue east on 11th) Turn east and walk 2 blocks to Holly Street. East of Holly, 11th Avenue is about ½ block north of 11th Avenue west of Holly. After that jog, continue to the east for 1 more block to Ivanhoe Street.
Because Holly Street is on a section line (exactly 1 mile east of Colorado Boulevard), the subdivisions on either side of Holly did not align.
Ivanhoe Street (1/2 block) Turn south and walk to the northwest corner of Mayfair Park.
This neighborhood park happens to sit on the Smoky Hill Trail, one of the wagon trails taken by settlers coming to Denver (or points farther west) from the southeast.
Smoky Hill Trail footpath in Mayfair Park (2 blocks) Turn east and walk on the footpath that follows the alignment of the historic Smoky Hill Trail along the northern end of the park.
As you walk, you will see signs telling the story of the trail.
Jersey Street (1 & ½ blocks) Turn north and walk to 11th Avenue, then continue 1 more block, to 12th Avenue.
Before you leave the vicinity of the park, you may want to take a look at some of the businesses on the east side of Jersey. They are south of 10th Avenue, readily accessible from the park. They include a dance studio, an ice cream store, and two restaurants.
12th Avenue (1 block) Turn east and walk to Jasmine Street.
Jasmine Street (2 blocks) Turn north and walk to 14th Avenue.
You will walk downhill as you approach the channel of the Park Hill Branch of Montclair Creek. From 13th Avenue to 14th Avenue you will be walking along the west side (back side) of King Soopers.
As you look to the east (toward the store), you will observe a flood hazard. From 13th and Leyden to 14th and Jasmine, stormwater in excess of the capacity of the underground storm sewers flows through the parking lots for the two supermarkets and in the adjacent streets during a flood event.
14th Avenue (1 block) Turn east and walk to Kearney.
You will be walking along the bottom of the channel of the Park Hill Branch of Montclair Creek. On July 7, 2011 and on July 7, 2012 cars were partially submerged at the intersection of Kearney Street and 14th Avenue. At this point the stream is trying, during a flood, to find its way to Jersey Street and Colfax Avenue, but there are clearly a lot of buildings in its way.
Kearney Street (1/2  block) Turn north and walk to your starting point, the entrance to City Floral.
Go buy some plants or vegetables, or perhaps some gardening supplies. Then go home and invite spring to your place.