Half of Colorado land is dedicated to public recreation. Colorado has two national parks, six national monuments, 11 national forests, three national recreation areas and 30 state parks. In Denver you will find the largest city park system in the nation: 205 parks within the city limits and 20,000 acres of parks in the nearby mountains. The mountainous area of Colorado is six times the size of Switzerland and contains 9,600 miles (15,449 km) of fishing streams, 2,850 lakes, and more than 1,000 peaks that reach two miles (3,218 km) high.
With Denver's year-round mild weather, Denverites lead healthier lifestyles and participate in many outdoor sports and activities. Denver residents are the thinnest of any U.S. city. You can be active in any of the city's hundreds of parks, pools, ball fields, skateboard parks, tennis courts, and more than 70 golf courses
The nearby foothills and citywide parks offer some of the finest mountain biking anywhere, and those outside the Denver area are accessible within 1-2 hours by car. Many ski resorts convert operations in the summer months to take mountain bikers up ski lifts so the can ride down the miles of trails.