Boulder, CO Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Downtown mall district
- smoking banned
- Parks/open space/mountain parks
- smoking banned
- Trail buffer
- 25 feet on both sides
- Library/transit stop buffer
- 25 feet
- Restaurant/tavern outdoor seating
- smoking banned
- Governing sections
- B.R.C. 1981 §§ 6-4-3.5, 6-4-5.5
Summary
Boulder bans smoking outdoors in a broad list of public places: downtown's Pearl Street Mall district, parks, open space and mountain parks land, trails and within twenty-five feet of them, libraries, transit stops, the City Municipal Campus, and the Boulder High School area. A separate section bans smoking on any outdoor patio or seating area at a restaurant or tavern. Sections 6-4-3.5 and 6-4-5.5 govern.
No person shall smoke in a public area:(a)In the Downtown Boulder Business Improvement District including the Mall;(b)On any park, parkland or facility;(c)On any open space and mountain parks property;(d)On any trail, path or multi-use paths and within twenty-five feet on both sides of any trail, path or multi-use path;(e)Within twenty-five feet of a library facility;(f)Within twenty-five feet of a transit stop;(g)Within the City Municipal Campus; and(h)Within the Boulder High School Area as defined in this chapter.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 167 Update 3).
Full Breakdown
5 of the Boulder Revised Code bars smoking in a public area anywhere within the Downtown Boulder Business Improvement District, including the Pearl Street Mall; on any park, parkland, or facility; on open space and mountain parks property; on any trail, path, or multi-use path and within twenty-five feet on either side of it; within twenty-five feet of a library facility; within twenty-five feet of a transit stop; within the City Municipal Campus; and within the Boulder High School Area as the chapter defines it.
5. The chapter defines smoking broadly to include lighting or possessing a lit cigarette, cigar, or pipe, or activating an electronic smoking device, of any composition. These outdoor bans sit alongside the indoor ban in Section 6-4-3, which already prohibits smoking inside buildings and enclosed workplaces with narrow exceptions for private dwellings, a limited share of hotel and bed-and-breakfast rooms, tobacco stores, and a single grandfathered cigar-tobacco bar. '
Violations & Fines
Smoking within the Downtown Business Improvement District, on park or open space land, on or near a trail, library, or transit stop, within the Municipal Campus or Boulder High School Area, or outdoors at a restaurant or tavern violates Sections 6-4-3.5 and 6-4-5.5 and is enforced under the chapter's general penalty authority alongside the required 'No Smoking' signage duties in Section 6-4-6.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke on a restaurant patio in Boulder?
How close to a Boulder trail can I legally smoke?
Is the Pearl Street Mall a no-smoking zone?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Boulder
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Outdoor Smoking Restrictions in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Boulder County handle outdoor smoking restrictions.