Carbon Valley with kids: a lazy river, two splash pads, a foam pit and a speedway with a family section

The three towns share one recreation district and one library, so the big indoor things are in the same few places for everyone: the rec center on Fifth Street in Frederick, the district’s gymnastics center, also in Frederick, and the regional library in Firestone. Outside, each town has its own splash pad, playgrounds and wheels. This is where to go, with the rules worth knowing before you get there.

The rec center pools

The Carbon Valley Recreation Center at 701 Fifth Street has two pools. The lap pool has a diving board and a 16.5-foot climbing wall. The activity pool, kept at 85 to 88 degrees, has a lazy river, a play structure with a slide, floating lily pads and a two-story water slide for riders 48 inches and taller. Life jackets and puddle jumpers are free to borrow.

The supervision rules are strict. Children 7 and under, and anyone who cannot swim, must stay within arm’s reach of someone 14 or older. Children 8 and 9 must be actively watched in the pool area, and 10 to 13-year-olds need someone 14 or older in the building. Under-14s take a swim test before the deep end. No children 8 or under in the hot tub, and none 10 or under in the sauna.

Open swim to 3 January 2027:

Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 1 to 8:30 pm.
Tuesday and Thursday: 1 to 4:15 pm.
Saturday: 11 am to 4:30 pm.
Sunday: 10 am to 4:30 pm. The first hour is Sensory Swim, a quieter session open to anyone who wants it.

On the no-school days left this year (16 and 19 October, 23 to 27 November and 21 to 31 December) open swim starts at 11 and the slide opens at 1. Under-5s are free. Youth 5 to 17 pay $4 a visit if you live in the district and $6 if not; adults pay $5.50 and $8. There is no family day rate, only quarterly and annual family passes. Not every address in the three towns is in the district: look for “Carbon Valley Rec” under Tax Authorities on the Weld County property portal.

Swim lessons follow the Starfish Aquatic Institute curriculum from six months old. District residents get two days’ head start on registration. A pool party for up to 25 people is $95 for an hour and a half in the district.

Kid Zone, gymnastics and the leagues

Kid Zone at the rec center takes children from 6 months to 9 years while a parent uses the center. It runs Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 1 pm and Monday to Thursday evenings from 4 to 8, at $4 an hour in the district. There is a two-hour limit, and the parent stays in the building.

The district’s Gymnastics Center at 6615 Frederick Way has a 40-foot trampoline track that ends in a foam pit. Open Gym ($5 in the district) is by reservation in age slots: 4 and under, 7 and under, and 14 and under on Friday mornings, plus 14 and under at midday on Saturdays. Classes start with Parent Tot for ages 2 to 4.

Leagues cover basketball from preschool to eighth grade, soccer from preschool to sixth grade, baseball for ages 4 to 12, softball for 6 to 14 and volleyball for grades 1 to 8, with SuperTots for ages 2 to 4. Jerseys are included. For school holidays, No School Day camps take ages 5 to 12. Camp Gobble Gobble runs 23 to 25 November, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, and Camp Frost 28 to 30 December, each at $180 for district residents.

The library

The Carbon Valley Regional Library at 7 Park Avenue in Firestone is open seven days and runs the valley’s storytimes. The fall session starts the week of 19 October:

Twinkle Babies is for birth to about 18 months, Wednesdays at 10:30 and Thursdays at 9:30. Register for the full eight weeks.
Tales for Tots is for 18 months to 3 years, Mondays at 9:30 and Thursdays at 10:30.
Music and Movement is for ages 3 to 5, Mondays at 10:30 and Tuesdays at 9:30.
Family Storytime is for ages 2 to 5, Tuesdays at 10:30 and Wednesdays at 9:30.

Once a month there is a yoga storytime on a Tuesday evening for ages 3 to 6; October’s already has a waiting list. There is also Paws to Read, where readers 5 and up read to a therapy dog for about ten minutes, and a LEGO Club for builders aged 6 to 13. Teens get a Teen Advisory Board, a chess club, a sketch club and the one-off nights on the events page, such as Teen Dungeons & Dragons.

A child’s library card needs the parent and the child there together. There are no late fines on most items.

Splash pads and playgrounds

Crist Park on Fifth Street in Frederick has a splash pad from early June to late August. Step on the yellow dome at the edge to start the water. There is also a playground, and the Miners Memorial Museum is in the same park.
Clem DuFour Park in Dacono has the splash pad the City calls its biggest hit, with pop-up fountains and jets, open 9 am to 8 pm from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Centennial Park on Eighth Street in Frederick has a playground and a bouldering area.
The Frederick Recreation Area has a playground for ages 1 to 12 behind the restrooms by the main parking lot.
Firestone’s neighborhood parks have their own. Harney Park has a climbing rock and a wavy walk, and Settlers Park has a playground beside its courts.

Wheels

The skate park at the Frederick Recreation Area is 30,000 square feet of poured-in-place terrain for beginners to pros. It is open from dawn to 10 pm and unsupervised, and the lights run on push buttons you press again every hour.
Mountain Shadows Bike Park and Pump Track in Firestone opened in 2023 for bikes, skateboards and scooters at every level.
The Dacono BMX track at Clem DuFour Park has been a USA BMX track since 2001, run by BMX of the Rockies, a volunteer nonprofit. First-timers can ride a free one-day trial with a loaner bike and pads (City page).
IMI Motorsports on Summit Boulevard in Dacono rents race karts daily from 10 am to dusk, at $50 for one 15-minute session. It also has a quarter-midget track it bills for younger racers. It publishes no age or height rules, so call 303-833-4949 first.
Colorado National Speedway in Dacono races on Saturday nights from spring to fall. It has a no-smoking, no-alcohol family section at the finish line, and children sometimes help hand out trophies. Youth 5 to 12 pay $8 for a regular event, and under-5s get in free with a hot-dog ticket. Children 13 and under must stay with an adult.

Outdoors

St. Vrain State Park in Firestone is open 5 am to 10 pm. A day pass is $10 to $12 for a Colorado car. Trout fishing is best from fall to spring, with accessible fishing piers on Pelican and Sandpiper ponds. Children 15 and under fish free in Colorado, and the Muskrat Run nature trail is an accessible mile. Swimmers under 13 need an adult, and there are no lifeguards.

Milavec Lake at the Frederick Recreation Area has a 1.26-mile loop, with fishing piers and boating without a permit for anything non-motorized. Nobody under 16 needs a license.

The Firestone Trail follows the old coal railroad bed across town for a longer ride.

The calendar

October: Frights on Fifth, trick-or-treating downtown in Frederick on 17 October, with a pet costume contest. Firestone’s Halloween Safe Night on 23 October has trunk-or-treating, inflatables and a trackless train. The library’s Halloween Dance Party on the morning of 30 October has a costume parade through the library. On 16 October, a teacher workshop day, Firestone’s School’s OUT-Standing series has children painting the snowplows at Mountain Shadows Park. Check the Town’s page for the time.
15 November: the Harvest & Holly Market at the rec center has a kids’ corner.
5 December: the Carbon Valley Holiday Festival is in all three towns on the same Saturday. Firestone’s runs from noon to 4 at Miners Park, with free crafts. Dacono’s runs from 4 to 6 at City Hall, with Santa, goody bags and carriage rides. Frederick’s Festival of Lights is at Crist Park.
Summer: Firestone’s Carbon Valley Kids Day in June has a market of booths run by young entrepreneurs. At Frederick in Flight, at the end of June, the balloons lift around 6 am, and the free tethered rides on Saturday have no age limit.