Dayhikes accessible from Denver?

Take the B bus to Boulder. Get off at Broadway & Baseline. Walk a mile west to Chautauqua – hiking central. Going up Green Mtn from there is nice. Or get off the B at Table Mesa & Broadway, get a transfer & take the Skip bus to about Lehigh & Lafayette, get on trail there & hike up Fern Canyon to Bear Peak. Trail maps at OSMP.org

BTW, I think the B (or any of the B series buses) costs $5 from downtown Denver.

Besides Peter's excellent logistic suggestions, this link should assist with some hikes in the area:
http://protrails.com/area/boulder-denver-golden-fort-collins-lyons

Thanks for the pointers, much clearer than I've been able to piece together in my haphazard googling! I'll be sure to check out the Chautauqua itself in addition to the surrounding hikes as I'm from the birthplace of the Chautauqua movement and have always found it fascinating. To me this is a perfect coinciding of the hike and the historic.

Thanks again!