You can reference the accompanying CU Main Campus map online. Beginning with the letter A, follow the route as it loops through the alphabet, continuing through 38 markers to AL.
Begin and finish in Lot 440 on Regent Drive between the CU Events Center and the parking garage to the north.
In the northwest corner of Lot 440, cross Regent Drive and walk west along the north edge of the Business Field on the left. Beyond to the southwest is an unobstructed view of the iconic Boulder Flatirons.
To the right is the Rustandy Building, home of the Chemical Engineering department and the Engineering Innovation Hub. In front of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, both schools are high-performing academic settings that include a 200-seat auditorium, an innovation and entrepreneurship hub, a 175-seat active-learning classroom and new faculty offices.
Ahead at the west end of the Business Field is Koelbel Hall and Leeds School of Business, created in 1906 as the eighth oldest business school in the United States. The school was named in 2001 through a sustaining philanthropic gift from the Leeds family that established social responsibility and ethics in the curriculum.
Continuing, enter grassy Engebretson’s Quad to the left, which is southwest, and proceed along the center path between Crosman Hall and Reed Hall. Casually known as the West Quad of the Leeds School of Business, the bordered area is named in honor of Leeds School donors Dick and Jean Engebretson.
After passing between the dorms, immediately ahead is Farrand Hall and Farrand Market. Surrounded by green space, the dorm and grocery store are known for their central, convenient location on campus. The building and adjacent field were named in honor of Livingston Farrand, the fourth university president. Farrand Hall is the oldest campus building not remodeled. For the guided version of this walk, Farrand Market will have fresh coffee ready for the winter group.
Use the southwest diagonal to Wardenburg Drive and move along the south side of Farrand Field. The field has a clear view of the Boulder Flatirons and is a popular area for shows, volleyball, frisbee and studying.
The west end of Farrand Field passes in front of the CU Presents/Imig Music Building. The best quality free entertainment in Boulder – classical and jazz concerts are offered weekly to the public. Faculty Tuesday is an ongoing program featuring CU’s music professors. Students can be heard throughout the day practicing their craft. CU Presents brings world-class performances to campus, including visiting artist series, CU Opera, and CU Theatre and Dance productions.
Just before turning the corner at the north end of the Imig Music Building, JILA is directly ahead. The Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics is a collaboration between CU Boulder and NIST. Moving west towards 18th Street, pass between Imig and Environmental Design (ENVD).
Cross 18th Street. The building to the left, or south, at the corner of Euclid Avenue and 18th Street is the CU Boulder Center for Academic Success and Engagement (CASE). Various student programs are in CASE, including Admissions Campus Visits, Veterans Affairs, and Pre-College Outreach.
Proceed to the west through the open courtyard and the facing, large building is the multi-level University Memorial Center, home to multiple food service options and conferences, including the annual Conference on World Affairs.
Turn to the north and proceed between the CU Art Museum on the right and the Department of Art and Art History on the left. The Art Museum hosts exhibitions, gallery talks, lectures and workshops.
The Visual Arts Complex, Department of Art and Art History is the CU academic art department.
Continuing north, the campus stroll comes upon Ketchum Arts and Sciences. The historic Tuscan Vernacular building has been renovated with state-of-the-art classrooms.
Turn to the left and proceed west under the connection between CIRES – Environmental Science on the left (to the south) and Ekeley Science on the right, to the north. The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences is a research institute sponsored jointly by the University of Colorado and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.
The Ekeley Science building has been updated periodically since 1896 and is home to the Ekeley Chemistry Labs.
Continuing west is the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theatre on the left, to the south, home of the annual Colorado Shakespeare Festival under the stars. For nearly 60 years, CU has been home to the festival, which runs from early June to mid-August. The theatre is currently being remodeled and is due to host live performances again in 2026. Mary Rippon, buried in Columbia Cemetery on University Hill, was the first female professor at the University of Colorado.
In front of the Mary Rippon Outdoor Theater, turn north and move towards Macky Auditorium in the distance. The University Theatre Building will be on the left, to the west, where indoor theater and dance are performed.
After moving past the Theatre Building, take the northwest diagonal path across the Norlin Quadrangle towards Old Main. Once in the quad, look to the east to Norlin Library. This largest library on the main campus, opened in 1939, houses humanities, social sciences and life sciences. The quote above the entrance by namesake Dr. George Norlin reads, “Who knows only his own generation remains always a child."
The Norlin Quadrangle is a historic district considered the core of the University of Colorado Main Campus. There are twelve surrounding buildings with a variety of architectural styles. The quadrangle was named after a CU president, a university leader for 22 years who had worked to expand the library.
Continuing towards Old Main, there is a historic plains cottonwood tree to the left of the main entrance that lived to be 140 years old. It was 19 feet in circumference and grew to 110 feet tall. Cut down in 2022, clonings were taken in 2014. Forty-two plains cottonwoods were purchased for $35 in 1879. See a copy of the receipt in the interpretative signage.
There are over 5,000 trees on the main campus, most not native. CU Boulder has the largest centrally-controlled irrigation system west of the Mississippi River. The system uses radio signals to control over 66,000 sprinkler heads.
Completed in 1876 before Colorado became a state, Old Main was the first University of Colorado building. At the time, the building housed the university president, classrooms, library, laboratories, and custodian and their family.
Have a camera ready while passing over Varsity Lake bridge on a cobblestone path. Note the abundant wildlife and water life – birds, turtles, fish, racoons and foxes. Continuing in a northwest direction, Hale Science is on the left. Built in 1894, it is one of the oldest buildings on the campus and the first science building, named after Horace Hale, the second president of the university.
If you have difficulty navigating a wheelchair or stroller, please wait at this point for others to circle the pond and return to this point or skip to the next tour section if you are doing the self-guided tour.
Continue to the end of Varsity Lake. The Alumni Association building is ahead on the left.
At the western edge of the Varsity Lake, across the path behind the David Ken Kitano & Cathy Jeanette Pogue Kitano anniversary bench, stands one of the largest yellow buckeye trees in the state.
Resuming the loop around Varsity Lake, enjoy the scenic view of the arches under the bridge, only visible on the north side of the pond. McKenna Languages is on the east side. With an interior like a large private home, it was built as a social center and women’s dormitory. Now the building is home to multiple language classes.
There are steps that rise from the Varsity Lake path to a porch that are not wheelchair accessible. Instead, walk over the porch and descend the steps.
Closing the Varsity Lake loop at the bridge, head directly east. Macky Auditorium is on the left. Jazz, classical concerts, opera and speakers are hosted in the acoustically acclaimed venue. It is named after Andrew J. Macky, a Boulder pioneer, gold rush settler, carpenter and founding director of the First National Bank of Boulder. Also placed in Columbia Cemetery, Macky was a primary figure in Boulder’s early history who funded the construction of the Gothic-style building.
The large buckeye is behind the west wing of Macky.
From Macky Auditorium, head northeast towards Sewell Hall. On the right is Eaton Humanities, the new home of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Sewall Hall, at the cusp of the hill overlooking downtown Boulder and the foothills, was built in 1934 as the campus women's dormitory. Sewall has been in continuous use as a dorm ever since, making it the longest-serving purpose-built residence hall on campus.
Heading east, the public art Los Seis Sculpture memorializes the six Chicano activists killed in Boulder car bombings in 1974 while occupying Temporary Building 1. Created by artist Jasmine Baetz, the sculpture will remain on the CU Boulder campus.
Note: Ethnically diverse, 27.7% of CU Boulder’s current student population are nonwhite. Nearly 10% of all CU Boulder students are from California, 3.8% from Texas, and 2.2% from India. See citation 1.
Behind the Los Seis Sculpture is Clare Small Arts and Sciences, housing the Department of Integrative Physiology and the University of Colorado Herbarium. The Herbarium hosts nearly 500,000 plant specimens.
Move southeast around the University of Colorado Boulder Recreation Center. The student recreational facilities include a basketball court, ice rink, climbing wall, tennis courts and swimming pools—including a bison-shaped swimming pool that pays homage to the university mascot.
Continuing to move southeast, Ramaley Biology is on the right, to the south. In this building are the Department of Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and a research center. An addition is being constructed that will house the Integrative Physiology program.
Continuing toward Colorado Avenue, Porter Biosciences and Gold Biosciences are directly across from the southwest section of Folsom Field. Porter Biosciences is designed for Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology and includes a two-story laboratory.
Moving across the plaza of Folsom Field, home of the beloved Colorado Buffaloes and Deion Sanders’ team, the CU campus stroll has reached Colorado Avenue. Ralphie the Buffalo, CU Boulder's live mascot, has been running out in front of the football team at home games since 1967. The Folsom Field façade was remodeled in early 2024 with electronic screens communicating outwards from the sports venue.
Cross Colorado Avenue in front of Folsom Field to be at Duane Physics and Astrophysics. Here are portions of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, classrooms, research facilities, lecture halls and offices.
Following the route, proceed south across from Folsom Field, alongside Duane Physics, and then across the parking lot. Benson Earth Sciences, the Department of Biological Sciences, is on the left. Here is a geology and mineralogy library, atrium, auditorium and state-of-the-art laboratory classrooms.
Continuing east towards the Engineering Center, the Mathematics Building is on the left, to the north. Home to the Department of Mathematics, there is an expanded Engineering Library and Gemmill Library.
Continue east and the Engineering Quadrangle is across the plaza in the midst of Brackett Hall, Aden Hall, Cockerell Hall and Crosman Hall. This route does not go through the quad, but it is adjacent to Farrand Hall, which was visited earlier.
On the Engineering Center plaza, approach and descend the steps. Continue east towards Regent Drive.
Wheelchairs and walkers can proceed south through Engebretson’s Quad and go around the Rustandy Building.
Approaching Regent Drive, Discovery Learning Center is on the left, to the north. Here there is a collaboration of engineering students, faculty, government and business partners.
On the right, to the south, at Regent Drive, the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory supports hands-on engineering learning through an innovative environment where students integrate engineering theory with practice.
To complete the CU Campus Stroll, cross Regent Drive at the crosswalk and proceed south past the parking garage to Lot 440.
