"It's kind of part library, but also part REI," Anythink Libraries executive director Mark Fink told CPR News on a hard-hat tour last spring, months before the doors opened.
That line matters more now than it did in August. The Anythink Nature Library sits at East 136th Avenue and Newport Street and was built as the gateway to the 140-acre Aylor Open Space. Most of that open space isn't yet a place you can walk. This winter, the library's gear shelf, its rooms and its program calendar have to do the job the trails will do later.
One Mile Now, 140 Acres Later
The Denver Gazette reported that thousands of visitors came to the opening on Saturday, Aug. 8. They found a 33,000-square-foot building on a 15-acre campus with gardens, gathering spaces, an indoor and outdoor nature lab, and a one-mile loop trail.
Fifteen acres is about a tenth of the surrounding open space. The library's own page describes a trailhead connection to the 140-acre Aylor trail system. The rest is on the City of Thornton's schedule. The city's capital improvements page splits the Aylor project into three phases:
- Phase 1, infrastructure and utility work, was completed in early 2025.
- Phase 2 is the library building and its parking lots.
- Phase 3 covers the open space trails, a nature discovery area and site clean-up. It's planned to break ground in late 2026 and open to the public in late 2027.
That city page still describes the library as under construction, even though it has been open since August, so treat the Phase 3 dates as the city's stated plan rather than a firm calendar. Either way, the walking available at Aylor this winter is the library's loop. The bigger trail network comes after at least one more full season.
The Shelf That Does the Trail's Job
The library's answer to that gap is a collection it calls TryIts. These are kits and equipment you check out with a library card and take wherever you're going. The Denver Gazette put the opening count at more than 500 items, with a long-term goal of as many as 1,500. The collection includes:
- Bird-watching kits and wildlife cameras
- Hiking gear and weather exploration tools
- Microscopes and gardening equipment
- Nature art kits and conservation resources
Anythink's opening announcement gave a slightly more detailed count of about 550 items in 65 collections. The Gazette's opening-day photo caption, drawing on a press release, also mentioned snowshoes and camping gear. Snowshoes are the one item on that list built specifically for winter.
The loan terms are generous. Fink told the Gazette that items go out for up to three weeks, and slightly late returns don't carry a late fee. An item that never comes back is charged to the borrower. Anythink's systemwide library guidelines explain how that works. The district doesn't charge overdue fines. Once a final overdue notice goes out at 42 days, though, the item is treated as lost, charged to the account, and borrowing privileges are suspended until it's returned or paid for.
This matters because the gear isn't tied to Aylor. A wildlife camera borrowed at 136th and Newport works just as well on a backyard fence or a foothills weekend. For now, the library has to reach Thornton's outdoors through things people carry out the door rather than ground they walk on.
A Building Made for the Cold Months
Anythink says the library is "designed for exploration in every season." The floor plan supports that. Indoor spaces include a nature lab, a bright sunroom, a dark room for quiet reflection, a fireplace, study rooms, and separate kid and teen spaces. An open-air kinship garden sits at the center of the building.
The boulders are the most unusual design choice. Branch manager Maria Mayo-Peaseley told CPR News that the building was "actually built around the boulders," which had to be placed before any concrete was poured. She described them as "a place for somebody who might not feel comfortable going rock climbing in the mountains." On a January afternoon, that's rock contact without the drive or the ice.
Heating and cooling come from a geothermal system, and the Gazette counted 370 solar panels on the campus. CPR put the project cost at $43.4 million, the same figure listed on Anythink's website.
Food comes from LatinA Flavor Cafe, which has indoor and outdoor seating. Anythink identifies the cafe as operating at both its Wright Farms branch and the Nature Library. It was founded by Latina restaurateurs who are longtime Adams County residents. The posted fall menu includes coffee, chai, hot chocolate, breakfast burritos, pupusas, desserts and aguas frescas. Pupusas were also on the opening-day schedule in August. Cafe hours posted online refer to the Wright Farms location, so check at the counter before planning a lunch around them.
Library hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Sunday. The weeknight hours explain why so much of the calendar happens after work.
November, Week by Week
The Anythink events calendar for the Nature Library shows a nature center's lineup run on library hours. Here are the listings from the second week of November on.
Week of Nov. 9
- Critter Candles, Monday, Nov. 9, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
- Wildings: Tickle the Clouds, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 10 to 11 a.m., and Yoga Flow, 6 to 7 p.m.
- Nature Nerd Trivia Night, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 6 to 7 p.m.
- Roots & Rhythms: Stump Stomp, Thursday, Nov. 12, 5 to 6 p.m.
- Talking Turkey with Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, Friday, Nov. 13, 10 to 11 a.m.
- Author Talk: "Exploring Colorado with Kids," Saturday, Nov. 14, 2 to 3 p.m.
Week of Nov. 16
- The Outpost: Slacklining with Colorado Mountain Club, Monday, Nov. 16, 5 to 6 p.m.
- Chompsaw Cardboard Creators, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 5 to 6 p.m., followed by a Sound Bath with Rising Sign, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
- Author Talk: "Trail Therapy" with Jamie Siebrase, Thursday, Nov. 19, 6 to 7 p.m.
- Ecopoetry with Adams County Poet Laureate Aerik Francis, Saturday, Nov. 21, 1 to 3 p.m., and Rock & Roll: Intro to Rock Tumbling, 2:30 to 4 p.m.
Week of Nov. 23
- Wild & Recycled: Cardboard Wreaths, Monday, Nov. 23, 4:30 to 6 p.m.
- Full Moon Faire, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Yoga Flow, Saturday, Nov. 28, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
Baby Bounce and Story Time run Wednesday mornings, and Saturday Story Time starts at 10 a.m.
Many of these programs bring in outside groups. Bird Conservancy of the Rockies covers the turkey program, Colorado Mountain Club leads slacklining, and the county's poet laureate runs ecopoetry. Others, including slacklining, rock tumbling and a Colorado trail author, are skills and ideas you'd normally associate with the trail itself. Without a finished trail network, the library brings that material inside and fits it into a weeknight.
Where It Fits in Thornton's December
The library's first winter overlaps with the city's biggest holiday weekend. Thornton WinterFest returns to Carpenter Park Fields at 11000 Colorado Blvd. from Dec. 11 to 13. On Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m., Santa helps the mayor and city council switch on the holiday lights at Santa's Village. The Holiday Marketplace runs Dec. 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and fireworks are set for 8:30 that evening. Registration for Sensory-Friendly Santa visits at the Active Adult Center, 11181 Colorado Blvd., opens Nov. 16.
The same city schedule puts the Aylor Phase 3 groundbreaking in late 2026, which could mean construction activity starts near the library during these same weeks. The library has had a winter calendar since August. The trails, if the city's plan holds, open in late 2027.
A new public building at the edge of 140 acres of planned open space is the kind of change a Thornton homeowner may want factored into an honest conversation about value as the north side keeps developing. If you'd like that conversation with someone who follows these projects closely, Stock Jonekos would be glad to talk. Request your personalized home valuation.
