Fort Collins Attractions

By Amanda May
Staff Writer
Rockies.com

The outdoorsy town of Fort Collins, Colorado is nestled between the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains. Stay in one of the many Fort Collins hotels to base yourself in a gateway city to Rocky Mountain National Park.

A kayaker about to start his journey in the Cache la Poudre River near Fort Collins. (Colorado Tourism Office)

Located on the Front Range of the Rockies just 60 miles north of Denver, it’s a great place to mountain bike and to rock climb. Other popular outdoors activities include boating, kayaking, swimming, white water rafting, golfing, fishing and off-roading.

History buffs can delve into Fort Collin’s past at the Fort Collin’s Museum and Avery House. There you can learn that there was indeed a fort here in the 1860s, but it never became a major military outpost.

In fact, it was more of a trading post than anything. Native Americans and traders would meet along the banks of the Cache la Poudre River, for mostly friendly interactions back in the early days of the West. Nowadays, the Cache la Poudre is a great place to whitewater raft or kayak!

The Old Town area of Fort Collins is the end point for the Colorado Marathon every year and has many fine shops, galleries and a cool bookstore. Wander around at your will, exploring the area on a self-guided walking tour of downtown. Don’t miss taking an old trolley ride while you’re there!

The city itself has a lively college scene thanks to Colorado State University. The youth brings with it a thriving music scene as well as an audience for all the local breweries.

The New Belgium Brewing Company is the largest of four microbreweries in Fort Collins. The Odell Brewing Company, Fort Collins Brewery and the Pateros Creek Brewing Company are the other three.

Local brewpubs are where to go to conduct some research on the beers in the area. C.B. & Potts Restaurant is an old standard, as well as its Big Horn Brewery and CooperSmith’s Pub & Brewing. Or, if you’re lucky enough to land in Fort Collins in June, you can check out the Colorado Brewer’s Festival. This beer-fest draws 45 breweries from all over Colorado and 30,000 atendees!

Anheuser-Busch also has a major beer brewing operation in Fort Collins. They offer free tours, peeks at the world-famous Clydesdale horses and the best of all- free Budweiser samples!

Lory Park and Horsetooth State Park are two other large parks near Fort Collins. Horsetooth Reservoir is a great place to go boating, swimming, horseback riding, fishing, mountain biking, rock climbing and camping.

Fossil Creek is a free public park with a huge playground that includes unique equipment and climbing walls. There are also baseball fields, a roller hockey rink, tennis courts, pavilions, running/walking path around a series of lakes and a nice dog park. Great for families!

If you’d like to supplement your outdoors adventures with a bit of high culture, check out Fort Collin’s Lincoln Center, which hosts over 1,750 events per year. You can see everything here- from the ballet to children’s theatre.

The Holiday Twin Drive-In is one of the real remaining drive-in theatres in the US. It is affordable, fun for the whole family and a unique way to see the latest blockbusters!