Broomfield

Broomfield is its own city and county on the north side of the metro, midway between Denver and Boulder along US 36 and US 287. It's Colorado's 64th county and its smallest by area, about 33.5 square miles, with Boulder County to the northwest, Weld to the northeast, Adams to the southeast and Jefferson to the southwest.

Zang's Spur, the turnpike and a dog named Shep

In 1885 brewer Adolph Zang bought land near 120th Avenue and Old Wadsworth Boulevard for his Elmwood Stock Farm, which grew to 4,000 acres, and the train stop there was called Zang's Spur. The name Broomfield probably comes from broomcorn, a sorghum whose stalks were made into brooms.

The Denver-Boulder Turnpike turned the farms into neighborhoods. It opened in 1952 with a tollbooth at Broomfield, and a stray dog named Shep adopted it during construction. He's buried on the grounds of the Broomfield Depot Museum. The road went free in 1967 and became part of US 36.

The city incorporated in 1961, then kept annexing land until it lay in parts of four counties. A 1998 constitutional amendment fixed the tangle, and the City and County of Broomfield took effect in 2001. Schools never consolidated, though: six districts serve different parts of Broomfield, so look up which one covers any address you're considering.

Broomfield Heights and the ranches off 120th

The first big subdivision started in 1955, when K.C. Ensor and his partners in the Turnpike Land Company bought the old Zang ranch and pitched Broomfield Heights as a model city of 6,000 homes with its own water system and fire department. The First Filing, north of 120th Avenue between Main Street and US 287, went in first, and the houses were ranches. A shopping center followed near US 287 and Midway Boulevard, built where a lake used to be. If you want a one-story mid-century ranch, these are the streets where the city began.

Arista, Baseline and the newer ground

Arista, a 215-acre mixed development on the US 36 corridor, is set up as a metropolitan district. Its arena, the 1stBank Center, closed in 2023 and was torn down, and as of May 2025 the site was a dirt lot with no redevelopment bids.

Baseline, the former North Park subdivision southwest of I-25 and Highway 7, is planned for about 9,000 homes over the next 20 to 40 years. Council approved the first pieces of its Center Street District in early 2026, including room for restaurants and a grocery store. On any newer house, ask whether it sits in a metro district, since that adds its own line to the property tax bill.

County Commons and 377 miles of trail

As of July 2026 the city counts 8,713 acres of open lands, about 36.5% of its planning area, including 5,467 acres of open space and 377 miles of trails, 125 of them multi-use path. Broomfield County Commons, a 300-acre site at 13200 Sheridan Blvd., holds the Paul Derda Recreation Center, about 237 acres of open space, a dog park and 15 playing fields.

The old depot and a brewery by the airport

The Broomfield Depot Museum, at 2201 W. 10th Ave., is the 1909 Colorado & Southern station, moved from 120th and Wadsworth to Zang Spur Park in 1976, and it's free on Saturdays from 11 to 4. 4 Noses Brewing pours from an industrial park near Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, with a shaded patio and food trucks. It split The Colorado Sun's 2018 brewery of the year honors and is on 5280's list of the best breweries in Denver's suburbs.

US 36 and the Flatiron Flyer

US 36 still follows the old turnpike, and I-25, US 287 and the Northwest Parkway also pass through. RTD's Flatiron Flyer stops at US 36•Broomfield on Transit Way and US 36•Flatiron, near the FlatIron Crossing mall. The FF1 runs between Boulder and Union Station, every 15 minutes from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.