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While it's true Colorado has an abundance of natural beauty, its urban landscapes are sprayed colorful with seemingly endless murals. Discover northern Colorado’s best works and get to know the stories and people that inspired these designs. You'll start your road trip in Lafayette, then meander across the region.

Mural Marathoning in Northern Colorado & Beyond

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Street Wise Arts is a nonprofit located in Boulder that works to implement community art and mural projects. Through these initiatives, the organization seeks to empower youth, amplify cultural diversity and engage in social advocacy to increase dialogue within the community. You can support the organization by making a <a href="https://www.streetwiseboulder.com/donate">donation</a>, or by sharing any of their murals to social media to keep the conversation going.

Street Wise Arts

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Muralists Jaime Molina and Pedro Barrios are responsible for this remarkable piece, which celebrates and honors the diversity of community. The synergistic duo, who were only supposed to complete a one-time collab in 2012, have since formed a partnership and continue to work together on various projects. Their works can be seen from countless vantage points in the Denver-metro area and beyond.
Photo credit: Stacy B. and City of Lafayette

Colorful Community

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Before you go too far, see if you can spot another mural that resembles a shiny old photograph. If you’ve spotted it, then you’re looking at the town’s founder Mary Miller and her husband, Lafayette, the town’s namesake. This tile mosaic was installed by Barbara Jo Revelle back in 1997.

Wait! 

Post Brewing Company brews are delicious and purposefully designed to pair with our comfort food inspired menus. Featuring the best, buttermilk brined, all-natural fried chicken in town, The Post invites you to enjoy a family style meal just like Grandma used to make!

Post Brewing Co.

Head west from Lafayette to Boulder.

Hit the Road

Behind the Boulder Theatre lies an alley full of murals dedicated to pushing the conversation forward on social justice and cultural diversity. The three standout designs are: "Say Her Name," by Shanon Galpin; "Cuban Culture," by Gabriel Sanchez; and "MMIW2S," by Gregg Deal. All of these pieces were made during the ARTivism Mural Festival in 2020 and are just as beautiful as they are impactful. 
Photo credit: Peter Kowalchuk

Say Her Name, Cuban Culture and MMIW2S Murals

Frasca is the creation of Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey and Chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson. Their shared passion for Friuli-Venezia Giulian cuisine and fine wine is reflected in the exquisitely prepared fare and a comprehensive wine list boasting over 200 varieties.

Frasca Food & Wine

Most of Detour 303's pieces can't be met at face value - every figure he illustrates are real-life characters with stories waiting to be told. In this piece we have Penfield Tate II, Boulder's very first and only Black mayor. Tate was a remarkable member of his community because he was a political activist and lawyer who fought for civil rights, including LGBTQ rights, in the mid- to late 90s. 
Photo credit: Gwen Gray

Penfield Tate II by Detour 303

The Hilton Garden Inn located in the heart of Boulder is where adventure awaits.  
With trendy, vibrant guest rooms, corner suites and inclusive amenities. We're also just a short mile away from the University of Colorado Boulder and many tech campuses.

Hilton Garden Inn Boulder

Boxcar Coffee Roasters was established in 2010 in Boulder, Colorado by Vajra &amp; Cara Rich. Together with roaster Janos Porps and a highly skilled team of baristas and roastery staff they aim to bring Colorado the best and most exciting coffee possible.  Our first cafe opened in 2011 on the east end of Pearl Street in downtown Boulder followed by a second location in north Denver in 2013.  Boxcar has developed an altitude brewing method called the Boilermakr to help brew a great cup of coffee at Colorado's high elevation and low boiling temperature. Inspired by traditional "cowboy coffee" we immerse the grounds in boiling water to get the ideal extraction out of every cup.

Boxcar Coffee Roasters (Boulder)

Growing up, Adri Norris (Afro Triangle) didn't do well in history class. She couldn't find the relevance between her life and that of a historical figure or event. A recent hunger for knowledge has changed all of that, and she now recognizes the importance of the subject as well as the need to present it through other mediums. Women are front and center in most of her work, as she highlights those that have made their mark. 
Photo credit: Gwen Gray

Untitled by Afro Triangle

Santo is inspired by Chef Hosea Rosenberg's home Taos, New Mexico, and its Northern New Mexican cuisine.

Santo

We’re spilling the tea on one of Boulder’s best-kept secrets: the <a href="https://www.boulderteahouse.com/">Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse</a>. A celebrated landmark and colorful destination, this stunning Pearl Street tea house was shipped — yes, you read that right — from Tajikistan. Every element in the house was carved by hand and painted by a team of more than 40 artisans. This is a sight you don’t want to miss! After soaking it all in, make the drive to Longmont.

Tea Party

Located in the heart of downtown Longmont, this mural was produced by self-taught painter Bryce Widom. Specializing in oil and pastel mediums, this design was actually his first introduction to spray paint and it turned out to be one of the town's most celebrated works. In it, he was able to captivate the spirit of Colorado's plains, accurately portraying a running buffalo surrounded by native plants and animals. 
Photo credit: Bryce Widom

Spirit of the Plains by Bryce Widom

Now, drive from Longmont to Fort Collins for dinner.

Delight in fresh, local and seasonal ingredients at this Fort Collins restaurant with delicious steaks and an extensive in-house wine list.

Rare Italian

When J.C. Milner was creating the concept for this project, he knew he wanted to showcase something that artists had in common with everyone: tools. The design took about a week's time to complete and was a collaboration between Mountain View High School students and Milner. The result was a whimsical piece that now livens up what used to be a forgotten alleyway. 
Photo credit: J.C. Milner

Art Tools Mural by J.C. Milner

Ideally located among Loveland CO hotels, the brand new TownePlace Suites by Marriott Loveland is in the heart of downtown Loveland close to the Outlets at Loveland and The Promenade Shops at Centerra.

TownePlace Suites by Marriott Loveland Fort Collins

Enjoy sweets or a savory meal made with fresh, local ingredients from Taste Local's from-scratch-focused kitchen.

Taste Local

Head from Loveland to Fort Collins.

Wanting to tell the story and challenges many indigenous communities face, a local nonprofit enlisted the help of Armando Silva to bring a 40-foot wall to life. If you look closely, every inch of this design is filled with symbolism and showcases the root issues that force people to move across borders: climate change and food insecurity. Both the nonprofit and Silva hope to increase understanding and empathy through this piece. 
Photo credit: Fort Collins Creative District

Colores de la Comunidad by Armando Silva

Located in Old Town Fort Collins, The Exchange is more than just a creative, family restaurant; it's a community hub that offers events and live music.

The Exchange

Another dynamic duo that you'll find throughout Colorado is KoCo Collab, made up of artists Aiko Szymczak and Corinne Trujillo. Their mission is to portray the female essence through the use of bold coloring and ambiguous portraiture. You'll find the pair's travels, heritage and personal stories woven through every stroke of the brush. 
Photo credit: Peggy Lyle and Downtown Fort Collins Creative District

Horizon Line by KoCo Collab

It's time to motor on over to Greeley for dinner!

Open for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner, Meeker's is a favorite locals spot for good eats, artisanal cocktails and ice-cold beer.

Meeker's, A Colorado Kitchen & Bar

Now, pop in your car for a quick trip to Wellington.

While he was home from college for the summer, artist Joe Hamman brought life into what used to be just a deserted lot. This refreshing design is an acrylic-latex painting that depicts an old truck against the backdrop of a Rocky Mountain sunset and a bed of Colorado flowers. His piece has a unique story of community pride, as his father is the mayor of the town and his family has lived in the area for more than four generations. 
Photo credit: Brian Graves, Graven Images

Reclaimed by Nature by Joe Hamman

Head back to Fort Collins for the night.

The Elizabeth Hotel is where Fort Collins comes together. Situated in the center of Old Town, the cornerstone of Firehouse Alley, our Fort Collins hotel is the beat of the city's heart. Thoughtful amenities and vibrant spaces cultivate human interaction and discovery, because we believe that experiences are better shared with each other.

The Elizabeth Hotel

We see each day as an opportunity to share our passion for good food and drink with our community. Upon stepping through our doors you will be greeted by the sounds and smells of freshly baked pastries being pulled from the oven, fine crafted coffee and tea drinks being prepared, and the welcoming hum of conversation amongst friends. We bake everything in house, from scratch, each day. We believe that food is meant to nourish the body as well as the soul and we believe you are what you eat. For this reason we are committed to using only pure, natural, seasonally inspired ingredients in our food.

Little Bird Bakeshop

After breakfast, noodle on over to Greeley.

Artist Frank Garza's murals are known for their strong use of symbolism and distinct style of realism. In this piece, he fused vintage photographs with comic-book perspectives and created a historical mural that captures audiences of all ages. The design sits on the side of the Greeley History Museum and includes over 500 square feet of paintings, which are separated into 18 distinct pieces.

A Visual Resonance by Frank Garza

Quality and freshness are the pillars of what makes Luna's Greeley's favorite place for tacos &amp; tequila.

Luna's Tacos & Tequila

When you look at this mural, you're looking at Greeley's 16th Street neighborhood through artist Betony Coons' eyes. Her art is heavily influenced by her upbringing in the Midwest, which she describes as a "whirlwind of living and breathing art and creation." This whimsical design graces the side of John Galt Coffee. Visit for a nice dose of creativity with a morning cup of joe.

World and Whale by Betony Coons

This collab between mural artists Armando Silva and Wes Sam-Bruce was the first time the two worked together. At the time the pair started to concept the design, Wes had been exploring courage in his work and Silva was diving into the symbolism of the heart. After digging deeper, they found that those two things actually have a common root and allowed their piece to reflect and grow from this realization.

Courage

Our DoubleTree by Hilton Greeley at Lincoln Park hotel is located next to the Union Colony Civic Center. With amenities designed for the savvy business traveler, we are the premier location for meetings and events in Northern Colorado.