Thornton Adams County

Located in Adams and Weld counties in Colorado, the City of Thornton has its own municipal government. There are 16 kilometers (10 miles) between Thornton and Denver’s state capitol. Thornton is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood Statistical Area. In addition, 1,295 acres of water covered 5.239 kilometers of the town’s total area of 24,286 acres (98,282 km2).

The city of Thornton boasts 81 city parks and 9,600 acres (8.1 km2) of open space. In addition, the city boasts over 80 miles (130 km) of trails. Parks and green spaces include Carpenter Park, Trail Winds Skate Park, Homestead Hills Park, Eastlake Historic Park, and Hidden Park. Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center and Thornton Community Center are among the recreational facilities. Todd Creek Golf Course and Thorncreek Golf Course are two of the golf courses.

Thornton is served primarily by three school districts: Adams County School District 12, Mapleton Public Schools, and Brighton School District 27J. These include Eight high schools (Thornton High School and Horizon High School {Both Adams 12}, Riverdale Ridge High School {Brighton 27J}, and five of Mapleton’s small by design high schools), eleven middle schools (Five in Adams 12, one in Brighton 27J, five in Mapleton) and twenty elementary schools (Twelve in Adams 12, two in Brighton 27J, and six in Mapleton).

The town of Thornton offers a number of shopping opportunities, including Thorncreek Crossing and Larkridge Mall. Larkridge is home to national anchor tenants, big box retailers, and restaurants, as well as a pedestrian village. Larkridge is home to Colorado’s first Sears Grand, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and PetsMart. DaveCo Liquor Store is the world’s largest liquor store.

The town of Thornton also has several charter schools, such as Stargate School, Colorado Virtual Academy, New America School, and Westgate Community Charter School. The Lord of Life Lutheran School is a Christian Pre-K-8 school operated by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Thornton.

Several libraries are found in Thornton, and the local library system, Rangeview Library District, is called Anythink Libraries.

Major highways in Thornton are I-25, I-76, SH 7, SH 44, SH 224, and E-470. In Thornton and throughout the Denver metropolitan area, buses are operated by the Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD). The agency opened the N Line commuter rail to Thornton in 2020. Denver International Airport is the major airport serving Thornton.