Great mid-sized towns in the Mountain West for water enthusiasts
For those of you who own boats and other watercraft, access to water is a given need. Many people just like having water resources nearby. Rivers, lakes, the beach – any of these can make for a fun and relaxing day for the family. It’s pretty easy to pull up Google maps and see what kind of water sources are available near a city, but searching for a city based on water proximity isn’t easy.
At NextDiggs, we have done exactly that. We have profiled over 5000 cities across the country in many different ways, including a city’s access to rivers, lakes, and beaches. We looked at mid-sized cities (population 10,000 to 74,999) in the Mountain states (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming). In order to make the list, a city must have public access to a lake and a river, the bigger and more numerous the better. Public access is key, there must be a way for residents to access the water for it to count. Having a big lake or river that only residents living along it can access doesn’t count. Here are three cities with great water access.
Our Top 3
Littleton, CO – Population 47,734. Littleton, Colorado is located in the far south reach of the Denver metropolitan area. It tops our list because of the variety of water available to the public. There are 2 reservoirs with public access, a small lake, a canal, and a river with several parks and boat access points. In addition, the Chatfield State Park with the huge Chatfield Reservoir is adjacent to Littleton, giving residents plenty of options to when the need to get wet arises.
Brighton, CO – Population 40,562. On the opposite side of Denver, just outside the Denver metropolitan area is Brighton, Colorado. Brighton features several parks that run along the South Praire River and Brighton is adjacent to Barr Lake State Park, which has multiple access points for visitors.
Coeur d’Alene, ID – Population 50,665. Coeur d’Alene is unique on this list in that not only does it have rivers and lakes, but it also has beaches, not something you find much of in the Mountain West. Lake Coeur d’Alene is multiple beach parks along the lake. The Spokane River which feeds into the lake has two parks including a large island park. Fernan Lake is also on the east side of the city with a boat launch.
Finding your best place to live
It can be difficult to figure out where to live in the US. Everyone has a different idea of what the best means. Someone in their 30s with a young family might have different needs than a recent college grad. Someone who owns a boat wants something different than someone who likes to shop.
Maybe you think that none of these cities sound just right, or maybe that river access shouldn’t be the only thing you base a move on. That’s why we created the NextDiggs quiz so that you can decide what features are “the best” for you. We profiled every city in America with 5000 or more residents with 61 criteria. You can choose to answer all the questions, or only the ones pertaining to criteria that are important to you. So go ahead and take the quiz and find your own “top 3”.
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