8.3 out of 10

Cheesman Park

Ranked 7th best neighborhood in Denver
39.7341331589057 -104.966086837651
Great for
  • Parks & Recreation
  • Clean & Green
  • Resale or Rental Value
  • Internet Access
  • Gym & Fitness
Not great for
  • Childcare
  • Schools
  • Cost of Living
  • Parking
  •  
Who lives here?
  • Retirees
  • Professionals
  • Singles
  • Families with kids
  • LGBT+

Reviews

5/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 5/5
  • Safe & Sound 3/5
  • Clean & Green 4/5
  • Peace & Quiet 3/5
  • Eating Out 4/5
  • Nightlife 3/5
  • Parks & Recreation 5/5
  • Shopping Options 2/5
  • Internet Access 5/5
  • Lack of Traffic 2/5
  • Parking 2/5
  • Cost of Living 4/5
  • Resale or Rental Value 4/5
  • Public Transport 4/5
2yrs+
Editors Choice

"The best of city living and green spaces"

Cheesman Park has everything to offer residents. Call it "Capitol Hill lite". I lived close to here for years (in Capitol Hill), and my grandmother has lived in this neighborhood for a long time, walking in Cheesman Park every nice morning of the year. If you like Capitol Hill, but it's a bit too hipster/crowded/noisy for you, then look into this neighborhood.

Cheesman Park has a great diversity of housing and residents. Around the park and the Botanic Gardens there are very upscale and beautiful old brick homes. There are also some newer, high-priced condos. To the west of the park is a very nice residential neighborhood with detached single-family homes. It's not cheap, but it's a great place for families. Other areas, particularly the strip north of the park between 13th and Colfax, have much more affordable rentals. There are some senior living buildings here as well as other apartments.

Cheesman Park has been a gay hangout for decades, and the neighborhood is still very LGBT friendly. Like Capitol Hill, there is such a great mix of people that absolutely everyone is accepted in this gorgeous neighborhood. There is plenty to do, as well. There's the retail strip of Colfax, and it is just minutes from Capitol Hill and downtown. The Botanic Gardens has always been gorgeous, and renovations have recently been completed there. And the Park itself is a wonderful old green space, with plenty of history. It's a popular place to work out and hang out.
Pros
  • Close to dining, nightlife, downtown
  • Diverse Community
  • Dog Friendly
  • Excellent green space
Cons
  • Not a lot of parking
Recommended for
  • Professionals
  • Singles
  • Families with kids
  • Retirees
  • LGBT+
  • Hipsters
  • Students
  • Trendy & Stylish
4/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 3/5
  • Safe & Sound 3/5
  • Clean & Green 4/5
  • Pest Free 4/5
  • Peace & Quiet 3/5
  • Eating Out 4/5
  • Nightlife 3/5
  • Parks & Recreation 5/5
  • Shopping Options 3/5
  • Gym & Fitness 4/5
  • Internet Access 4/5
  • Lack of Traffic 3/5
  • Parking 4/5
  • Cost of Living 3/5
  • Resale or Rental Value 4/5
  • Public Transport 4/5
  • Medical Facilities 4/5
  • Schools 3/5
  • Childcare 3/5
2yrs+

"Get out and about in Cheesman Park"

Cheesman Park is one of Denver's best known neighborhoods and it's easy to see why. Originally platted in 1868, close to Cap Hill but a little quieter in my opinion. Be sure to take a stroll through the tree lined streets. You will hear birds chirping, and the wind rustling the leaves. Cheesman is also one of my favorite places to ride my bike all around the streets and walkways. The beautiful Denver Botanical Gardens is another must see right next to the park.
Pros
  • Close to dining, nightlife, downtown
  • Diverse Community
  • Excellent green space
Ryan
Ryan The first Sunday of every month is Auto Free Day in the park. It makes it even better for biking or rollerblading :)
2yrs+
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5/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 4/5
  • Safe & Sound 4/5
  • Clean & Green 4/5
  • Pest Free 2/5
  • Peace & Quiet 3/5
  • Eating Out 4/5
  • Nightlife 4/5
  • Parks & Recreation 5/5
  • Shopping Options 4/5
  • Gym & Fitness 5/5
  • Internet Access 5/5
  • Lack of Traffic 3/5
  • Parking 2/5
  • Cost of Living 2/5
  • Resale or Rental Value 5/5
  • Public Transport 3/5
  • Medical Facilities 5/5
2yrs+

"A Beautiful Central Denver Neighborhood - With a Ghoulish Past"

In the minds of most locals, the Cheesman Park neighborhood is the eastern swath of Capitol Hill, where the apartment buildings mix with elegant single-family homes and the hubbub of young revelers is muffled a little by the rustling of the leaves. The neighborhood offers a few bars and eateries on 13th Avenue (such as the venerable Gabor’s bar and Liks ice cream), but, in between Capitol Hill with its myriad of offerings to the west, and the more sedate stretch of cafes along 12th Avenue in Congress Park to the east, residents aren’t hurting for choice in terms of dining, activities, or nightlife.

The closer you get to Cheesman Park itself, the higher housing costs go, until on the streets immediately surrounding it, you’ll find flat-out mansions as well as luxury high-rise towers. What that gets you is a beautiful neighborhood of old trees and historic houses right next to one of Denver’s best green spaces.

Cheesman Park is picturesque, with its gently rising hill topped with a stately, white-columned neoclassical pavilion. At pretty much any time of day, any time of year, runners and bikers use the 1.8 mile jogging and biking trail that circumnavigates the park, passing by the back of the Botanic Gardens and under colonnades of deciduous trees. In the summer, people use the grassy open spaces to throw tennis balls to their dogs, play Frisbee, and lie on blankets in the sun.

What the joggers and sunbathers probably aren’t thinking about are the bodies, as many as 4,000 of them, that are buried under Cheesman Park. In Denver’s early years, the area that is now Cheesman Park, as well as the Botanic Gardens to the east, were all Mount Prospect cemetery – and before that, an Arapahoe Indian burial ground. By the 1890s, the cemetery was no longer used, and had become decrepit and overgrown. The city was growing up around it quickly, and decided that it needed the land for homes and a park. Some of the dead were relocated by their families, but many – young men who moved to Denver in the Wild West days and died in gunfights and accidents – were left behind. The Cheesman Park neighborhood is a great place to live, but in addition to being one of the most central and most historic neighborhoods in Denver, buyer beware – it may also be one of the most haunted!
Pros
  • Close to dining, nightlife, downtown
  • Excellent green space
  • Quieter than Capitol Hill
Cons
  • Not a lot of parking
  • Rent/homeownership costs are high closer to the park
Recommended for
  • Professionals
  • Singles
  • Families with kids
  • Retirees
  • LGBT+
  • Hipsters
  • Students
  • Trendy & Stylish
4/5 rating details
  • Neighborly Spirit 4/5
  • Safe & Sound 4/5
  • Clean & Green 5/5
  • Pest Free 4/5
  • Peace & Quiet 4/5
  • Eating Out 4/5
  • Nightlife 3/5
  • Parks & Recreation 5/5
  • Shopping Options 3/5
  • Gym & Fitness 4/5
  • Internet Access 4/5
  • Lack of Traffic 4/5
  • Parking 3/5
  • Cost of Living 2/5
  • Resale or Rental Value 4/5
  • Public Transport 5/5
  • Medical Facilities 4/5
2yrs+

"A great neighborhood - Just far enough removed"

The Cheesman Park neighborhood is a great place to call home. Having lived in the neighborhood for 6 years, I wouldn't choose another in Denver.

Cheesman Park is frequented by joggers and dog walkers and is host to several civic events from the Denver AIDS Walk, Symphony Concerts, Opera, Movie under the Stars, to the setup for the Pride Parade.
Pros
  • Quiet
  • Diverse Community
  • Dog Friendly
Recommended for
  • Professionals
  • Singles
  • Retirees
  • LGBT+
  • Trendy & Stylish

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Unranked Streets in Cheesman Park

Gilpin St

2.5/5
"Quiet, low traffic, nice"
39.7360348321879 -104.967228146109

Humboldt St

4.5/5
"From turn of the century mansions to high rise condos"
39.7339213460867 -104.969502860762

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