Glenmere Walking Tour

Tour Directions:

4.17 miles

This neighborhood has few sidewalks so you will be sharing the road with vehicles, bicyclists, skateboarders, and other walkers. The traffic volume is not very high but it is wise to be alert as you walk throughout the area.

1. Start at Immanuel Lutheran Church (14th Avenue at Lakeside Drive) and walk west. You are on a short street that ends in a cul-de-sac with a large, colorful metal art tree sculpture at its turnaround point. You can park on this street without a time limit or permit required.

* Judith P. Meyers, with Liza Meyers Siegel of Greeley, CO. Feathered Friends. Metal, Auto Paint, Sculpture. Glenmere Park, 14th Avenue and Glenmere Road, South side.

2. Walk westerly on the meandering park sidewalk. You will see a lovely small pond area with a bridge that crosses to a picnic table and park bench area. Don’t head that way yet (you’ll see it on the way back!)

3. Staying on the sidewalk, glance over to a tree with a “waterfall” type of branch canopy. Near that spot you will see a bronze plaque that denotes a 4th place Better Homes and Gardens national recognition bestowed upon the Park in 1932 for its landscape work.

4. To your left you should come face to face with a bronze statue of a boy holding a large fish that one would suspect he just caught. As you pass the boy, glance further to your left and you will see a stone bench and another bronze sculpture of an angelic woman on a wheel.

* Kurt Jungblut of Golden, CO. The Prize Catch. Bronze, Sculpture. Glenmere Park, 14th Avenue and Glenmere Road, South side.

* Russell Whiting of Breaux Bridge, LA. Angel on Wheel. Steel, Sculpture, Carved. Glenmere Park, 1600 Glenmere Boulevard, South side.

5. To your right you will spot the large Park Gazebo; take the path that leads to the gazebo and make a loop around it; head up its steps to get a lovely view of the larger, main lake with its center island of trees to the west of this shelter. Look closely at the trees where you may see perched birds of significant size. Geese, ducks, cormorants, pelicans, and heron are often in the water around the lake.

6. Underneath the gazebo are public restrooms, usually open from spring to fall.

7. As you head north on the park path, you will intersect with the sidewalk that runs alongside the north edge of the park. Turn left and head west to the park’s edge on 17th Avenue. Along the sidewalk are benches and picnic tables, trash receptacles, pedestrian lighting and pooch waste bags if you brought Fido with you. Dogs are allowed on the sidewalks if on a leash, and you’ll usually see plenty of friendly neighbors and their best friends out for their daily stroll.

8. Continue on the park sidewalk past the playground and around the south edge of the park. When you are not admiring the variety of interesting homes in the area or greeting neighborhood walkers, glance over to the island where you may spy turtles sunning on the tree logs extending into the water.

9. As you head back east toward the gazebo, you will notice an interpretive sign on your left that offers a bit of history about the park as well as an impressive image of fish caught there.

10. Walking east from the sign, you will pass through a colonnade of pear trees that offer beautiful and fragrant white blooms each Spring. When you reach the gazebo again, take the mid-park sidewalk north and back to Glenmere Boulevard. When you get to the street, this time turn to the right where you will pass a small pond as well as a metal, stone and glass public art sculpture. In summer, it is common to be serenaded by bullfrogs who live among the cattails and lily pads in the pond. By the way, this park stroll is a must on Christmas Eve when neighbors line the park sidewalks with holiday luminarias glowing after dusk.

* Brian Schader of Fountain Hills, AZ. Sentinels. Steel, Stone, Glass, Scupture. Glenmere Park, near 15th Avenue and Glenmere Boulevard.

11. When you reach 14th Avenue, walk north all the way to 16th Street where you will see historic Greeley Central High School, designed noted architect William N. Bowman, who also designed the Weld County Courthouse. Cross the street to get a full view of the “castle,” and turn west at the end of the block onto 15th Street. Walk along the north edge of the school property until you reach 16th Avenue Court. Turn south here and return to 16th Street. Then turn west and walk along the front of Banner Health hospital (North Colorado Medical Center).

12. Keep walking west on 16th Street to the traffic light at 21st Avenue, which is next to First Congregational Church and a stone’s throw from Heath Middle School. Press the pedestrian traffic button for a light change, and cross 16th Street heading south.

13. Walk south on 21st Avenue. You will pass Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and see a parking lot and playground on the church’s south grounds. Cut through the parking lot to reach 20th Avenue. Turn right until you reach the intersection of Montview Boulevard. Congratulations! You have now safely passed Witches Alley!

14. Head left or east on Montview Boulevard until you reach 18th Avenue, and then turn right or south on that street. You will experience a gentle climb here. After you pass a short one-way street on your right, you will see an impressive two-story white masonry and wood frame home that is set way back from the road. Located at the highest point in the area, it is often referred to as the mansion on the hill. Constructed in 1940, this home at 1811 Glenmere Boulevard was owned by Frank M. Weller, a prominent Greeley lumber dealer and businessman who moved to Greeley in 1919 from Ord, Nebraska where he ran a lumber yard. He also developed the Fairacres Subdivision you just passed through.

15. When you reach Glenmere Boulevard, continue south on 18th Avenue. Large trees, mature vegetation and an astonishing variety of homes are found on virtually every block in this core area of the Glenmere neighborhood.

16. When you reach 17th Avenue Court, turn left for that short block where you will intersect with 17th Avenue and the Wildlife Sanctuary. Walk to the end of the natural area, turning left at 19th Avenue.

17. Take 19th Avenue south until you reach 22nd Street where you will again turn left. Staying on 22nd Street, you will then reach Reservoir Road.

18. Turn left on Reservoir Road until you reach 17th Avenue and the west edge of the UNC campus. Beth Israel Synagogue is on your left.

19. If you would like to take a little side trip, you can cross Reservoir Road at 17th Avenue when there is a break in the traffic or at the 14th Avenue traffic light. Just northwest of UNC’s Nottingham Field is a small Xeric Park that has a short walking path encircling it. Within the Xeric Park you will see large rectangular and circular stones at random locations. These are from the original UNC Cranford Hall that was “deconstructed” in 1973. A small community garden borders the Xeric Park next to the UNC parking lot.*

* If you have taken a walk in the Xeric Park, you can either cross Reservoir Road at 17th and continue until you reach Elbow Lane on your left, OR you can walk from the Xeric Park across the UNC Parking lot to reach the 14th Avenue entry to campus. Once across Reservoir Road, take a left and walk a few short blocks along the north side of Reservoir Road to reach Elbow Lane. It feels like you are entering a private driveway but, following the fence line, you will soon see this short street.

20. Head north on Elbow Lane until you reach 19th Street. You will see that this is another short street that dead ends into the park on your left. Turn right and walk back to 14th Avenue. Turn left and a short few steps will take you back to your starting point.