“Please don’t tell people about Fort Collins,” the local I chatted with at Odell Brewing Company said. “We want to keep it for ourselves.”
Sorry, but this delightful city just 65 miles north of Denver is too good not to share. With a charming historic Old Town, fantastic restaurants and a location close to one of the most visited national parks in the country, Fort Collins is a wonderful getaway any time of year.
We hiked dozens of miles in three parks, including one in nearby Wyoming that’s a rock climbers paradise. I kept my feet firmly on the ground.
Here are five reasons to go to Fort Collins.
The shops, restaurants and activities in historic Old Town
This downtown area of Fort Collins seemed to go on for blocks, but it’s all flat and easily walkable. We visited in the summer and with pleasant weather, the patios of bars and restaurants were filled with people enjoying the outdoors and kids were frolicking with delight in the splashpads.
We loved strolling around the streets, stopping in shops and eating outdoors in several restaurants, including The Regional and Austin’s American Grill. On Friday afternoon we descended a flight of stairs to the basement speakeasy, The Social, where we enjoyed an excellent cocktail.
On Sunday afternoon we visited The Exchange, a courtyard surrounded by shipping containers that house restaurants where we listened to live music while enjoying an adult beverage.
Hiking in the Horsetooth Mountain Open Space
With almost 3,000 acres, Horsetooth Mountain Open Space has 29 miles of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails. Using my AllTrails app, I found the Horsetooth Falls Loop Trail, a 3-mile trail that was rated moderate.
I love this app for finding hiking trails and even pay for the pro version that allows me to download maps and access them offline. We once got lost on a mountaintop in Idaho where we couldn’t locate the path because it was covered in snow – in June – and I vowed never again. Plus, I probably read way too many “lost on a hike” news stories that rarely have happy endings.
We headed clockwise on the path and the first part of the hike was in full hot sun with unrelenting elevation. Thankfully, we soon came to a shady part and crossed over a stream with plenty of trees that made the rest of the hike easier. There’s also Horsetooth Reservoir nearby for boating, kayaking and paddle boarding.
Strolling through Colorado State University Perennial Gardens
The house where we stayed was directly across from these gorgeous gardens, which are not only beautiful but function as a living laboratory for the students in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at the university.
Across the street was another huge area filled with blooms as it is the location for the Annual Flower Trial Garden where the performance of different plant varieties are evaluated. The gardens are planted from late May to October. Both gardens are free and open to the public.
Hike around giant rock formations at Vedauwoo Recreation Area
When I learned that Wyoming was less than an hour away, I knew I had to go as I’d never been to the state. Lured by the promise of huge natural rock formations, we opted to head to Vedauwoo Recreation Area, a little over an hour north.
As we drove in the parking lot, I looked up and noticed people rappelling down a sheer mountain face, something I’d rarely witnessed in person. I’d seen it on TV and in movies, most notably the panic-attack-inducing “Free Solo” that depicted Alex Honnold scaling El Capitan in Yosemite.
While Chris was taking care of paying for parking, I chatted with a few men in the parking lot who told me they had just come down from climbing the mountain. The question burning inside of me was, “Why would you do that?” but it seemed impolite.
Apparently, Vedauwoo is a rock climber’s paradise, with about 1,000 rock climbing routes. I am completely confident I will never experience any of them firsthand because there are few things that look less fun to me than hanging onto a sheer rock face while defying gravity every second.
With my feet firmly on the ground, we hiked the 2.9-mile Turtle Rock Trail, which wounds around Turtle Rock, and were rewarded with beautiful views of dramatic granite rock formations.
Explore Rocky Mountain National Park
We almost didn’t make it to the number 1 reason I wanted to go to Fort Collins – to visit Rocky Mountain National Park. During our stay in Colorado, fire fighters were battling wildfires in several locations, including one near Loveland that closed down the most direct route to the park.
I’ve never been in proximity to a wildfire before, and one less than an hour away sounded too close to me. But we decided to head to the park, although our drive would be a bit longer as Highway 34 was closed.
With more than 4 million visitors a year, RMNP is one of the most visited national parks and requires a reservation to enter from May 24 to mid-October. We missed the first window to get one, however around 40% of the reservations are released at 7:00 p.m. the night before.
We both signed into the website, fingers poised to pounce at exactly 7:00 and were rewarded with a 10:00 a.m. entry.
As we drove through Loveland the next day, I was surprised to see no indication of the Alexander Mountain Fire burning just a few miles away. Skies were blue and there was no smoky smell.
Our day in the park was glorious and we hiked around Sprague Lane, Bear Lake and the most challenging, Emerald Lake. After our hikes, we headed up the semi-scary Old Fall River Road, a one-way dirt road opened in 1920 that was once the only way to travel in the park.
After a stop at the top at the Alpine Visitor Center for postcards and a view from almost 12,000 feet elevation, we headed down Trail Ridge Road.
Our return home from Fort Collins was easy. We took a 1.5-hour bus ride on Bustang, a comfortable bus that took us to Union Station in Denver where we could take the train to the airport.
– Jan Schroder, Editor-in-chief
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