Arguably no neighborhood on Denver’s Northside has undergone as many changes in the last 20 years as Sloan’s Lake.

Bounded by Colfax on the south and 29^th Avenues on the north and sandwiched between Federal and Sheridan Boulevards, Sloan’s Lake today is both a park and neighborhood: the park, a 177-acre city refuge comprised of a large lake rimmed by walking and biking trails, where neighbors and visitors come to walk their dogs and babies and take in views of mountains to the west and the Denver downtown skyline to the east—and the neighborhood, a mix of housing from 1920s bungalows and mid-mod ranches to New Urbanism and post-modern apartments, condos and townhomes.

In 2011, St. Anthony Hospital, which anchored the Sloan’s Lake area for more than 100 years, moved to its new location in Lakewood, opening 32 acres of redevelopment potential just 2.5 miles from downtown. Since then, the south side of the neighborhood has transformed, sprouting as many as 1,000 new residences, among them the luxury Lakehouse with its light-filled condos and townhouses and the brand-new The Vida at Sloan’s Lake, an affordable mixed-use apartment complex for senior and disabled residents. Other developments on the lake’s southside include SloansEdge townhomes and Sienna on Sloan’s Lake—a renovation of the vintage Kuhlman Building into affordable-housing apartments and retail.

The northside of the park delivers even more diversity of housing with $1 million-plus contemporaries sharing the block with smaller Tudors, bungalows or mid-centuries.

While the park serves as the heart of the neighborhood, Sloan’s Lake sits in close proximity to popular retail and entertainment enclaves at 32^nd and Lowell and Tennyson Street, while also offering walking distance access to brew pubs, restaurants and shops.

The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, which offers food-and-film, recently reopened in Sloan’s Lake redevelopment with plenty of sanitation and social distancing measures in place. A burger can also be had nearby from Tap and Burger.

With the Town of Edgewater just across Sheridan Boulevard, neighbors can avail themselves of eats from GB Fish and Chips, Shiso Sushi and Oyster Bar, Sloan’s Bar and Grill, and US Thai. The Edgewater Public Market, a food and retail hall, dishes up everything from Ethiopian cuisine to empanadas along with the Zero Market—a package-free shop that fills empty containers—The Tangled Ball yarn shop, and other establishments.

RTD’s W Line, which runs along West Sixth Avenue, stops at Perry and Sheridan, links the neighborhood to downtown, transit hubs and the airport.

“Sloan’s Lake is that best combination of old and new, suburb and city,” explained Brad Lewis of Bradford Real Estate. “You can’t beat it for easy access to all parts of the metro area, entertainment along with the second-largest park in the city.”

Sloan’s Lake Highlights

Population: 2,000-plus
Location: Ten minutes west of downtown Denver between Federal and Sheridan Boulevards and Colfax and 29^th Avenues.
Sloan Lake Rankings: Niche.com ranks thousands of neighborhoods based on key statistics from the U.S. Census and expert insights. Ranked #10 Best Neighborhoods to Raise a Family in Denver by Niche.com, 2023. Ranked # 11 Best Neighborhoods to Live in Denver by Niche.com, 2023. Ranked #28 Best Neighborhoods for Young Professionals in Denver by Niche.com, 2023.
Housing stock: Mixed Housing from the early 20^th through 21^st century. Single-family, condos and townhomes.
Public schools: Denver Public Schools
Public high school: North High School
Nearest hospital: Denver Health
Nearby parks: Sloan’s Lake Park
Fun fact: Sloan’s Lake is a conjoined body of water made up of Sloan’s Lake and Cooper Lake, which were connected as part of a Works Projects Administration initiative in the 1930s.