Gunbarrel is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by

Boulder County Boulder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado of the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 330,758. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is Boulder. Boulder County comprises th ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

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. The CDP is a part of the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of the Gunbarrel CDP was 9,554 at the

United States Census 2020 The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, this was the ...

. The

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

( Zip Code 80301) and

Longmont The City of Longmont is a home rule municipality located in Boulder and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. Longmont is located northeast of the county seat of Boulder and north-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. Longmont's ...

( Zip Code 80503)

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

s serve the area.

Geography

Gunbarrel is northeast of the city of Boulder proper, separated by a buffer area of private agricultural lands and publicly owned open space. The buffer areas provide over two miles (3 km) of separation over changing elevations. This reduces the impact of th
Boulder Municipal Airport
and th
Boulder County Sheriff's Department
facilities (including the county jail), which are located on the southern side of the buffer. Two reservoirs operated by the Boulder and Left Hand Irrigation Company are located in central Gunbarrel. Irrigation ditches and canals, including the Boulder and Whiterock Ditch, pass through this primarily residential area. Th

, a large park which includes the two reservoirs and extends west along the ditch, is operated by th

. The park brings protected wetlands, jogging trails and green spaces directly into the urban area. The City of Boulder operates Eaton Park, adjacent to the west lake. Eaton Park includes picnic facilities,

BMX BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

jumps and additional protected wetland. Flood control facilities are integral to the reservoir and canal systems, but they do not eliminate the flood risk to adjacent development. The Gunbarrel CDP has an area of , including of water.

Natural hazards

The principal natural hazard in Gunbarrel is

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

ing. The county Transportation Department provides floodplain information through a
online request page
, free of charge for property owners in the unincorporated areas of the county, including Gunbarrel. Boulder County participates in th
National Flood Insurance Program
which allows some reduction in the cost of

flood insurance Flood insurance is the specific insurance coverage issued against property loss from flooding. To determine risk factors for specific properties, insurers will often refer to topographical maps that denote lowlands, floodplains and other areas tha ...

for residents.

Climate

Demographics

The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

initially defined the for the

Government

Th
Gunbarrel Public Improvement District (GPID)
formerly the Gunbarrel General Improvement District, was formed by residents of Gunbarrel in 1993. At the time, county residents were concerned about the negative effects of development in the adjacent neighborhoods of the city of Boulder.GPID History and Current Status
, Gunbarrel Community Association website, accessed 19 June 2007 They felt they needed to counterbalance the city's annexation and development powers and better manage the traffic city development was creating. The GPID is administered by the Boulder County commissioners. The GPID is a 'special district' under Colorado law, with the ability to levy taxes and incur debt. GPID uses this money to purchase open space and improve roads in the unincorporated subdivisions, consistent with their primary mission of maintaining quality of life and property values in unincorporated Gunbarrel. GPID open space lands are managed b

.
map of GPID lands
can be found at th
Gunbarrel Community Association website
This map also depicts the boundaries of the District's taxation area.

Transportation

The 205 bus of the RTD bus system gives service throughout Gunbarrel and into Boulder. Roads and streets in Gunbarrel are maintained by Boulder County. The RTD regional route J also provides a peak hours connection to the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

and

. It is intended that, once built to its planned full extent, the RTD B Line will have a station in Gunbarrel.

References

External links

Gunbarrel @ YourBoulder.comGreater GunbarrelTwin Lakes Action GroupBoulder County website
{{authority control Census-designated places in Boulder County, Colorado Census-designated places in Colorado 1965 establishments in Colorado