My favorite hang spot. Place to grill…read more Picnic tables. Dog friendly. Clean restrooms. Nice sized parking lot. Plenty of spots to scope out the perfect chill space for you & your crew.

Very busy which is just the way it is because this spot is a gem. Will return and get there much…read moreearlier. :)

Quick late morning hike, with helpful locals along the way, beautiful spots to stop and take a…read morebreather ...

Cute little local natural area with nice walking trails. There are many trailheads you can start…read moreat and a weave of directions that you can go. We parked at the trailhead that is on prospect just past the orthopedic center on the left (north) side of the road. There are trash cans at the trail head and also dog poop bags available at the trailhead. This is a leashed dog area. There are all kinds of people and dogs that seem to frequent this area. There is also a bunch of birds and can frequently see people out there bird watching. It is a beautiful little area and a nice local go to when you just want a walk or the hiking trails are closed due to mud.

Well laid our natural area. Bathrooms, trash cans, dog poop bags, picnic tables, grassy areas…read more There are several hiking trails but they are all pretty short. If you do them all though you can get 6.5-7 miles. Fall colors are popping there right now and quite lovely. Looks like its a popular spot for fishing. Saw several fishermen out and about today. Cost is $7 for a day entry pass. And they do have a annual pass.

Gateway is hidden away on the outskirts of Fort Collins. Great area for hiking or taking a stroll…read more You control the type of hike you want to do. Very beautiful area and it's tucked away. Great picnic area too.

Decent park. Love fishing here. Dog park has mulch which is way better than the crushed rock at…read moretwin silos. Hockey rink, skate park, basketball, tennis as well.

This is a lovely park with tons of parking and so much to do! Will certainly be utilizing this for…read moreour evening walks from now on. It has a great long path to walk with beautiful scenery, a playground, sports fields, etc. It is clean and well taken care of. The playground itself is great for the kids with options for all ages with slides, swings, things to climb on, and so much more! The Fossil/Prehistoric theme makes it stand out among other parks.

Best scenic view. Wandering canyons. Streams. Wildlife. Unbelievable views. Going back in time.read more

Another fantastic hike. Come prepared to work as you will be climbing some of the most gorgeous…read morepeaks Colorado's mountains have to offer. Please keep in mind this is a vast piece of land and you should pack your survival items in the event you should need them. A whisper sounds like a yell that echoes for minutes in this deep canyon with the Poudre River running through it. Great hiking, stunning scenery and you will encounter all kinds of wildlife so be prepared for that as well. There are bears in this area, real bears. Be sure you have done the appropriate amount of research before attempting to hike this area. This is NOT for beginners but is an awesome piece of land! There are random areas with lone trees or scattered brush, there are areas where you can easily become injured so do not attempt to do anything you are not sure you can do. Always play it safe and be prepared. You can hear the river long before you see it and that is one of the most special things about this place. Once you do lay your eyes on it, it is glorious and magnificent and well worth all of the efforts and aches and pains you have made to get there.

Beautiful state park! We did Arthur's rock hike and the views were amazing. We also stopped by the…read morelake but the beach was solely mud. We did the short walk to the waterfalls but due to the drought there was no water. Very pretty still!

We visited the accessible Homestead trail at Lory state park and it was lovely! There are a couple…read moreof accessible parking spots with access lanes right in front, and an accessible outhouse near the parking lot. The trail is wide enough for a wheelchair and is packed gravel/pea sized pebbles. My travel power chair did great on it, a manual chair might have trouble getting traction. It's about a half mile loop, there are informational signs throughout and benches scattered along the way if you need a place to sit. There are audio description devices available at the visitor center. There are also grills and picnic areas that are available when there is not a fire ban. Beautiful views!

This park is so heavily visited, so there are multiple visitor centers to help spread the load of…read moreaddressing all of the questions that tourists may have. Seriously, millions of visitors enjoy the park every year. I stayed in the gateway town of Estes Park, which is literally minutes away from the park entrance. I did the Nymph, Dream, Emerald, and Haiyaha Lakes via Nymph Lake Trail, as well as Bear Lake. The trails were in great condition, and even though the trails were heavily trafficked, everyone was pretty courteous. The views were simply amazing. Do note that you might need to be acclimated to the higher atmosphere (=thinner air) and so hiking may be more difficult than your usual if you're coming from lower elevations. I visited during elk mating season, and while I did see elk in the park, I saw even more in the parks of Estes Park!

Lived in denver for 17 years, traveled all over the world and this is my first trip to RMNP. Wow,…read morewhat was I thinking waiting so long. One of the Crown Jewels of the National Park Service, RMNP sits just outside of Estes Park and 90 minutes from Denver. We camped at Moraine Park and with that came a guaranteed timed entry and all access to the park. It was the perfect way to avoid booking entry to the park and separate booking for Bear Lake area. Our campsite had a phenomenal view on Long's Peak and was walking distance to Elk meadow. Every morning and evening we were front row to the bull elk bugling and enjoyed a great camping experience. We saw so much wildlife but the stand outs were, Moose. Elk. Deer. Coyotes. Fox. Marmot. Pika. Blue Jay. The park is a spectacular spotlight on the Rocky Mountains. We hiked from meadows to mountain tops and enjoyed many epic views and endless fresh air. Got caught in a big rain storm and watched a hiker find his missing keys!! Please note, elk meadow is restricted a bit during this time to let the elk mate. We watched a coupled disregard that and wander down to get wedding photos near the elk herd, wedding dress and all. Park security did not find that amusing. I'm sure those were very expensive wedding photos lol. So much to see and experience. Now I understand why every tourist coming to Colorado needs to see this park.

Wow! It's so beautiful here. I enjoyed my solo take out dinner sitting on top of a boulder and…read moreenjoying the views of the lake and mountains. Plus, the lake is only. Short walk from the parking lot, so it is accessible to most. While on a short hike on the trail, I ran into a beautiful MOOSE and caught a few photos while he ate his dinner. Amazing experience!

Brainard NRA is stunning. I was surprised how fast the tickets go for this place during the summer…read moremonths - I went in mid September and the tickets for the morning times were fully gone within minutes after they dropped online a few weeks before I went Given RMNP tix go like that I was ready at 0900 for when they dropped, and actually within 1 min the 8-11a time slot sold out so I couldn't get it! But I did get the 5-8a slot which was fine. The area itself is very easy to find and navigate, and it is well maintained by the staff. When you arrive they do scan your day pass ticket and give you a pass to hang on your rear view mirror. The lot was plenty empty at Long lake trailhead (the start to get to Lake Isabelle) when I arrived around 0730. The day was fairly cool but not cold, and partly cloudy. It was absolutely gorgeous, the hike there was even more beautiful than the lake itself! I saw a moose along part of the trail too. The lake itself was surprisingly low, I'm not sure why the water level was that low but it looked much lower compared to the pictures/tiktoks I've seen online. That said, it is still very picturesque. There were lots of places to roam around the lake, and even tho it became SUPER windy when I got to the lake, I had a good time running around (but note - my nose was running like CRAZY, if you have allergies, come with tissues!). I did end up walking from long lake trailhead to the lake Mitchell trailhead and making the hike out there too; Isabelle is prettier imo but it was still a fun walk and the trailhead at Mitchell has plenty of parking too. There is a little trail, about 15 mins walk between long lake trailhead and Mitchell trailhead, although you do briefly have to walk along part of the road. Brainard lake itself is also lovely, I saw a moose hanging out right by this lake too!

The Poudre River Trail's trail head starts in west Windsor and goes all the way into Greeley. The…read more21 mile paved trail goes through a combination of urban most rural areas such as along river banks, bluffs, fields and farmland. The trail head as I said starts in West Windsor, just east of the Ptarmigan country Club's Golf Course. The trail is not far from a Fort Collins bike trail also called the Poudre Trail which ends at the Habitat Learning Center. It is planned that the two trails were to connect yet this has not happened either through inept planning on a cities part, uncooperative private land owners, easement issues or a combination of these or other factors. I highly recommend this trail! I have said it is paved all the way to Greeley from west Windsor. It goes through some nice neighborhoods and parks in the southeast part of Windsor then goes to open space, farmland, and river banks. I suggest going here in the spring, summer or fall! Since it is 21 miles one way you may want to spend the night in Greeley or Windsor, depending which way you are going. If you are an avid biker then you could probably go both ways without any problem at all but if you are like me I just had to get a room! When you go to Greeley from Windsor you are mostly going downhill which means it is more of a workout if you have to bike back to Windsor because it is uphill. I was being overzealous and thought I could go back that night but after going one way I was too exhausted to go back and decided against it. That was not the only reason why. I have said this is mostly a rural trail therefore there are considerable factors to consider if you going back on this trail at night. Here are a few things that could be potential "hazards" but really are just things you should be aware of when going on this trail. I'm not trying to dissuade you from biking on this trail by any means at all!! Here are a few things to think about if you do choose to bike at night on this trail. There is a construction zone between Windsor and Greeley where the paved trail ends and there are concrete dividers that you walk in between to get to the other side of the trail. You don't want to hit those at night! Much of this trail goes through private property so that means no trespassing and keep your dog on a leash at all times because as some signs indicate, some property owners may shoot your dogs if they get on their land. There are hunters that hunt through the rural parts of the trail in the Fall so expect to hear gun shots. In fact I would advise wearing bright colored clothing in the Fall so you are not confused with wild game. Most hunters probably know where the bike trail is but don't make that assumption too much! Some areas of the trail, closer to Greeley go through a pasture. I came across some mother cows with their calves. They seemed tame for the most part but one mother got a little snorty and protective but did not charge. Most times they won't. Just stay away from the calves and let them see you and be on your way and you should be free of incident but do you really want to run into them in the dark. Someone might get a little ringy and someone might get ringed! There are also cattle guards that you have to cross. They have screens set up so you can have your bike go over it safely. It is very important if you don't go on the screen to hold onto your handlebars tight! You are in for a real wreck if one of your tires goes through the cattle guard. I have seen this for myself! A friend of mine got her head split open at a birthday party for not hanging onto the handlebars tight enough and so the party had to get canceled so she could get stitches. Also on the path there is an abrupt end and kind of a drop off of the paved trail for a railroad crossing. The trail resumes right after but if you are not paying attention you could be in for a real jolt, especially at night. Something else to be aware of when biking and especially at night. There is a narrowing of the trail in west Greeley for a small section where you go past some small river bluffs. there is also Poison Ivy that grows here as well. There are signs indicating this and they have it cut back so you won't touch it but you could very easily miss the signs at night. Finally the trail is not maintained in the winter so that is something to consider as well. These things are not to be deterrents to going on this trail, just things to be aware of. It is a gorgeous trail and worthy to go on for anyone who wants to take a leisurely bike ride through city and open space! Enjoy!!

This is a nice, scenic area with walking trails. There are also some ruins and a bit of history.read more

This trail is found off the road that would take you up to red feather lakes. Just past the Forks…read moregas station on the left hand side. After you turn left you will drive down a winding dirt road for a bit to get there. Thankfully the times i have visited it has not been overly busy. Which is nice. You dont find that on a lot of the trails in northern colorado. Everything around here always seems to have a lot of people, dogs, mountain bikes. sometimes you just want some solitude. Dogs and horses are allowed here. Bikes are not. There are bathrooms and trash cans at the parking lot and dog poop bags at teh trail head. For half the year, this trail is 5.3 miles long. It makes a figure 8. For the other half of the year, they close about half the trail for nesting eagles so the trail will only be around 2.5 miles long. So be sure to check the season if you are wanting a long hike. Of course any time of year, nothing says you can not just do the first loop of 2.5 miles and call it a day. There is 1 tree along this entire trail. It is very open. With gorgeous views. But this is not a trail you want to do in 100 degree weather. As with any trail it is a good idea to bring water with you. Even more so if you have dogs. This trail is home to rattle snakes so be sure to be snake aware if you go during snake season. I would personally call this trail moderate skill level. I believe i have clocked around 900 feet of elevation gain when i have done this one the last couple of times. At one point you do cross a river. You actually go over it on a bridge, but if your dogs need to get down there to cool off that is a good place to do it. it is right before you start the 2nd loop. On the 2nd loop depending on the time of year you may find yourself around a lot of cows who are out grazing. This is a lovely local hike in our area. If you have not checked it out it is worth trying at least once.

This is one of those reviews I am torn about...I love to share travel tips but I also love the…read moresolitude this space provides and don't want it to get too popular! But it really is too beautiful not to share. I would disagree with the previous reviewer about its difficulty. I should disclose, I have only ever hiked the loop but would rate it as moderate if you are a fairly active person. If you start down the right side, you will be hiking on a cow path for half the distance. However, there is zero shade on that side. In the heat of the summer, you should remember to bring plenty of water and perhaps avoid midday. The scenery here is just gorgeous though and you are unlikely to encounter crowds like at Grey Rock or Horsetooth. On a weekday, you may have the place all to yourself! Dogs and horses are allowed on this trail but mountain bikes are not. Parking is free and there are vault toilets at the trailhead. Enjoy!!