About Denver's Sloans Lake

Dragon Boat Festival @ Sloan's Lake Denver this Weekend

Sloan's Lake is a great location nestled among trees and has the back drop of our Rocky Mountains and is the location of the Dragon Boat Festival.

11th Annual Colorado Dragon Boat Festival

10am-7pm Sat. July 30
10am-5pm Sun. July 31
Sloan's Lake Park,
Denver

Performances, Food, Gift Vendors & of course, the excitement of Dragon Boat Races!

Parking at INVESCO Field
FREE buses to the festival!

I attended this event last year, parked several blocks from Sloan's Lake, brought my bike, and rode around the lake. The races were fun to watch with the teams showing pride and camaraderie, and the vendors offered a variety of fun and wares from different parts of the world. It was a great way to spend an afternoon with Denver's nice weather!

The Edgewater neighborhood, located on the western edge of Sloan's Lake, is growing in popularity for young home buyers due to its accessibility to downtown Denver and affordable home pricing. Edgewater got its start as a cluster of fishing shacks in the early 1900's, but has since grown to a full town with its' own style and energy.

Edgewater Park, overlooking Sloan's Lake is a great place for kids to play and hang out, for adults to meet and greet each other, and for dogs to run (on leash of course) near the water's edge. Watch the video below for a quirky explanation of some of the park's unique features.

Project at Sloans Lake

The town's mayor, city council and business people feel that Edgewater's time has come to create a true neighborhood character. Based on the location of the park and lake, and the well-attended Dragon Boat Festival held each summer on the lake, the community is working toward becoming more kids and family oriented.

In a recent article published in the North Denver Tribune, Mayor Bonnie McNulty said she’s gratified that the commercial area is nearly full, and the city has a “positive energy” with young people purchasing property and moving in. “I live on 25th Avenue, and I see a lot of people walking by with their kids and dogs,” she said.

The center of business activity is located on 25th Avenue, with The Edgewater Coffee Company, US Thai, The Village Restaurant and Providence Tavern serving as anchoring shops for residents and tourists alike. A recent survey by CityData found that the median income of Edgewater residents was slightly lower than that of Denver ($40,321 vs. $46,410) and the average home price was also lower at $189,823 vs. $244,600. This means that first time homebuyers will have more buying power in Edgewater than in other Denver neighborhoods, but may not have all of the public amenities that larger cities have.

Believing in the future of Edgewater as a great neighborhood to raise your family may take a little vision, but might pay off in the future. With a full-time city manager now in place, and a business development plan supported by residents, Edgewater should increase its home values in the next five years.

Sloan's Lake Has Great Recreational Activities

Just 10 miles outside of downtown Denver, Sloan's Lake has a wealth of recreational activities. With great views of downtown from Sloan's Lake Park, you can feel as though you are in the country without ever leaving the city. Best of all, views of the mountains to the west are equally stunning! Sloan's Lake recreational activites include boating, tennis, running and just plain walking around the lake. The kids will enjoy the playgroud located at the lakefront, and in the summer, plenty of ice cream trucks make the rounds around the lake regularly.

Sloan's Lake is a great place for water skiing and wakeboarding and is one of the closest public water sports areas in Denver proper. The other two public lakes for boating are Berkeley Lake and Smith Lake in Washington Park. Sloan's Lake is designed for sailboats and motorboats over 12 feet in length, and up to 22 feet in length. Other boating on Sloan's Lake include canoeing, kayaking and rowing.

The neighborhood surrounding Sloan's Lake is eclectic, with classic historic Denver homes mixed in with contemporary, ultra-modern homes with fantastic lake views. St. Anthony's Central Hospital is located on the south side of the lake, bringing in many hospital workers to live in the neighborhood. However, the campus will be moving soon to Lakewood, leaving a large area on the south shore of the lake open for redevelopment. For more information on planning for that area, go to http://www.denvergov.org/Portals/78/documents/SATF%20Final%20Report%205-4-06%20Compact.pdf Average home prices in Sloan's Lake fall in the range of $150,000 to $400,000, but can range much higher for a home that has been remodeled or rebuilt. Currently, there are only 3 homes on the market in this terrific neighborhood.

If you are interested in learning more about the Sloan's Lake neighborhood and its' recreational activities, visit Denver Neighborhood Homes for maps, homes for sale and other information on real estate. Neighbors in the Sloan's Lake area can post their own activities at our Facebook page for Denver Neighborhood Homes. Join in the conversation!

Our team has been showing Sloans Lake Homes to a number of our clients this past month. The top question we receive over and over again is "Why are there no Bank Owned Sloans Lake Homes?"

The answer is simple: Foreclosed Sloans Lake Homes move very, very quickly. If you want to get a deal on a home in this great neighborhood, you have to be aware of the listing on the first day it comes on the market and then be ready to bid.

To help you out, you can see our Sloans Lake Homessite and sign up for an email alert. That way we'll notify you of any new listings that come on the market each day. If you are emailed a home you want to see, it's imperative that you contact us that day so we can show it to you right away. Most bank owned homes are getting multiple bids right now.

As always, if you have any questions, give us a call at 303-726-1874.

I love, love, love to rollerblade. I also love, love, love Sloan's Lake in Denver. Put the two together and you have a happy Jennifer.

Temps today in the 70's, amazingly blue, almost purple sky (at least thru my rose-colored glasses), light wind... ahhhhh... rollerblade bliss.

My poor blades have been packed away for nearly three years - Alabama is not rollerblade-friendly - so I was pleased that I could find them and that the wheels still turn relatively easily.

Sloan's Lake is a perfect rollerblade park. It's, I dunno, maybe three miles around on a wide, smooth path right next to the lake. As you're blading, you can watch the fish jump and the ducks herd their young, or focus inland to see young boys playing soccer or dog-owners playing catch. The lake itself has that lovely lake smell and in certain seasons, the linden trees are almost overpoweringly fragrant.

I love Sloan's Lake.

One minor gripe. Even though the park isn't terribly crowded, there are always one or two groups of people who insist on taking up the whole path. You know what I mean. The guy in the middle of his two leashed dogs or the four young mothers with their four strollers. What's the proper etiquette for a rollerblader? I find that shouting at people from behind simply startles them and more often than not, they jump right into my path. But when I just try to squeeze thru them, I hear their annoyance behind me. Sometimes I choose to express my annoyance by coming to a full stop and simply walking around them on the grass. This usually results in an apology, but that's not my goal. I just wanna share the path with walkers, riders and fellow bladers without having to shout, squeeze or elicit apologies.

But that's such a minor issue. I thoroughly enjoyed my first day back in the blades and am looking forward to dozens more as spring turns to summer in Charming Old Denver!