Superior

Superior is its own town, almost entirely in Boulder County, with a thin uninhabited strip that dips into Jefferson County. It covers about 4 square miles on the south side of US 36 between Denver and Boulder. Louisville sits across the highway to the northeast, Broomfield wraps the east and south, the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge is to the south, and Boulder County open space runs along the west. The 2020 census counted 13,094 people.

A coal camp on Coal Creek

William and Emmeline Hake settled along Coal Creek in 1860, and a flood in 1864 washed open a coal seam on their homestead. The Industrial Mine was running by 1895, the town was founded in 1896, and Superior incorporated in 1904. The name reportedly came from the quality of the coal. When the mine closed in 1945, people drifted away and the place went back to ranching and farming, with the population hovering near 250 until the 1990s.

You can still see that era. Grasso Park, at 100 E. William St. behind Town Hall, keeps the 1895 Hake Homestead House, the 1904 Grasso Bungalow, a barn and a root cellar along the creek. South of Original Town, across Coal Creek and the railroad tracks, the Industrial Mine's concrete foundations and mine dumps sit in county open space.

Rock Creek Ranch and the 1990s boom

Most of what you'll drive past went up after 1990. Rock Creek Ranch, the town's largest residential development, and Sagamore were built that decade, and the town had 9,011 people by 2000.

Rock Creek's single-family streets follow a tight rulebook: 20-foot front setbacks, 5 feet to the side lot line, a 35-foot height cap and two off-street parking spaces per lot. Accessory dwelling units aren't allowed, so if you were counting on a backyard rental cottage, look elsewhere. Exterior projects can also need HOA approval on top of the town's, so plan for that review before a new deck or paint color.

Original Town and Sagamore after the fire

The Marshall Fire on December 30, 2021 destroyed 398 structures in Superior, 393 of them homes. Sagamore was almost entirely lost, and only seven historic houses survived in Original Town. All 398 lots have since been cleared, and the town has issued 338 building permits and 324 residential certificates of occupancy.

That means whole blocks here are newly built. Owners of single-family homes lost in the fire could rebuild under the 2018 codes and opt out of the residential sprinkler requirement, so ask which code a rebuilt house was permitted under.

Downtown Superior and the Marketplace

Downtown Superior is the town's new Main Street. The Civic Space at 2250 Main opened in June 2025, and summer concerts play at the Superior Commons Amphitheater. Alta Flatirons (251 homes with commercial space on Main Street) and a 114-room Hyatt Studios hotel are both under construction and slated for spring 2027, with a two-story food hall proposed. Expect construction around Main Street into 2027.

Superior Marketplace on Center Drive is the big errand stop, anchored by SuperTarget, Costco and Whole Foods. Tucked into it, Wayne's Smoke Shack was Westword's best barbecue restaurant in 2015. Smoke from the fire forced a gut renovation, and now it serves Friday and Saturday lunch until the meat runs out. Misaki, a sushi spot at 402 Marshall Road, is rated 4.8 out of 5 stars☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★ on Restaurantji.

Open space, and the airport next door

The town counts about 630 acres of parks and open space and 35 miles of trails.

Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport, in Jefferson County, is close by. Superior sued over airport noise, and the suit was dismissed in March 2025. Jefferson County has warned that new homes near the airport could see repeated noise and vibration. If that matters to you, spend a weekday afternoon at the house before you write an offer.

Getting to Denver

US 36 runs along the northeast edge and Highway 128 along the south. RTD's Flatiron Flyer, open since January 3, 2016, runs 18 miles between downtown Denver and Boulder on US 36. Its US 36 and McCaslin station has a pedestrian bridge over the highway.