This Colorado trail was ranked among the best in the nation. Do you agree?
Shared public spaces can be places for making connections to a community. They can also be sources of pride when they stand out among the best in the U.S.
USA TODAY 10BEST had a panel of experts nominate community places that make cities feel like home in several categories, including the best city parks and recreational trails. Readers then made their choices for the best of the bunch, including tapping the South Platte River Trail in Julesburg as the No. 7 recreational trail. It was one of only three trails in the continental U.S. west of the Mississippi River to make the list.
Here's a look at the latest Colorado place to be recognized in the USA TODAY 10BEST Reader's Choice Awards.
The 19-mile loop – the shortest byway in Colorado – was recognized by USA TODAY 10BEST as being 'ideal for history buffs.'
The site highlighted the Fort Sedgwick Museum, which focuses on a fort built in 1864 to protect telegram lines and early settlers of the western U.S.
It also gave a nod to the Hippodrome Arts Centre, a theatre that opened more than a century ago and still shows movies in addition to hosting community groups and providing arts access.
In addition to those points, the South Platte River Trail connects to the Lincoln Highway – the nation's first coast-to-coast car route – and Colorado's only Pony Express Station.
More: This Colorado small town was named one of the best in the US. Here's why you should visit
USA TODAY 10BEST readers ranked these as the best public trails in the country:
Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama
Withlacoochee State Trail, Inverness, Florida
Spokane River Centennial State Park Trail, Spokane Valley, Washington
Katy Trail, Missouri
Chessie Trail, Lexington, Virginia
Capital City State Trail, Madison, Wisconsin
South Platte River Trail, Julesburg, Colorado
Ke Ala Hele Makalae, Kauai, Hawaii
Silver Comet Trail, Georgia
Great Allegheny Passage, Maryland and Pennsylvania
Readers honored several community spaces across the country in different categories. Here's who they chose:
Best Boardwalk: Wildwoods Boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey
Best City Park: Bonnet Springs Park in Lakeland, Florida
Best Main Street: Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Best Public Playground: The Nest at Downtown Cary Park in Cary, North Carolina
Best Public Square: Campus Martius Park in Detroit, Michigan
Best Recreational Trail: Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama
Best Riverwalk: Waterfront Park in Louisville, Kentucky
USA TODAY 10BEST says a panel of experts nominated public places in each award category, with the final nominees selected via editorial review by its editors. Once the nominees in an award category were announced, the public had four weeks to vote online for their favorites. People could vote for one nominee in each category each calendar day.
Nate Trela covers trending news in Colorado and Utah for the USA TODAY Network.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: South Platte River Trail in Colorado named one of the best trails
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