Things to do in Fort Collins, Colorado
If you’re visiting beautiful Fort Collins, Colorado, here’s a guide to the top things to do, where to stay, and places to eat to make your Fort Collins trip amazing.
Our Fort Collins Trip
Jedd and I had the pleasure of visiting Fort Collins, Colorado on our Rockies Mountains road trip. We met up with my parents in Colorado where we visited my Mom’s college stomping grounds: C.S.U. in Fort Collins. We loved Fort Collins and can’t wait to go back!
Updated: Summer 2020 with help from Kara of Destination: Live Life
Originally published: Summer 2014.
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Table of Contents
Where to stay in Fort Collins
Old Town
You may hear “Old Town” or “Downtown” but rest assured these are one and the same! And for a visitor to the beautiful city of Fort Collins, Colorado, this is one of the best areas to stay on your trip. Old Town Fort Collins has been well-preserved throughout the years, and even includes several buildings listed on both national and local historic registries.
And fans of Disneyland may feel a strange sense of familiarity when walking through Old Town. That is because Disneyland’s “Main Street USA” was modeled after none other than Old Town Fort Collins!
With a high concentration of the city’s best shopping, dining (over 80 restaurants in this area alone!), craft breweries, and more, it is clear to see why Old Town is a great option for visitors.
Where We Stayed: Armstrong Hotel in Old Town Fort Collins
The historic Armstrong Hotel is one of the few places of lodging in Old Town. The building, which also hosts some great eateries on the first floor, was restored in 2003 in an updated-yet-historic style.
Rooms are small but stylish and the resident cat, Oreo, is the perfect touch to this unique, family establishment.
Check rates and availability at the Armstrong Hotel >
University Park
The University Park neighborhood in Fort Collins is centrally located just to the south of Old Town and the east of the Colorado State University campus.
If your interests in Fort Collins include both city and nature, then University Park is easily accessible to both. Its proximity to College Avenue (a transportation hub for the city) will make it easy to take day trips outside of Fort Collins. And the high biking/walking score means you can explore the city with less time and money spent on transportation.
Hotel Recommendation: Remington Flats Hotel
Old Prospect
A little further to the south, Old Prospect is a great option for those looking to be a bit further off the “main drag” of Old Town. And considering Old Prospect is surrounded by parks and green spaces on (almost) all sides, this is a great option to accomplish that.
This is also a great option for those interested in visiting the Gardens on Spring Creek. GSC is an 18-acre community botanical gardens, and it just-so-happens to be walking distance from Old Prospect.
Hotel Recommendation: Hilton Fort Collins
Top Things to Do in Fort Collins Colorado
There are plenty of great things to do in Fort Collins, especially when it comes to outdoor adventures and food.
1. Explore Old Town Fort Collins
Sometimes, the best thing you can do in a new place is just walk around. So that’s exactly what we did. We loved the charming feel of Old Town and were surprised at how many restaurants there were to choose from!
This historic area of Fort Collins is certainly the heart of the city. It is the premier area in Fort Collins to experience the best in entertainment, shopping, amazing restaurants (over 80 in this neighborhood), and more.
Ride the last remaining original trolley car this side of the Mississippi via the Fort Collins Municipal Railway. It runs between City Park and Old Town on summer weekends and holidays and takes about 30 minutes round trip. The trolley is a cute little slice of history and a great way to see more of the city!
Old Town is also a popular space for events, festivals, and live music. Especially if you visit during the warmer months, your chances are high of having one of these events occurring during your trip.
Popular Fort Collins events include Tour de Fat, an annual event thrown by New Belgium to celebrate Fort Collins’ history with “beer, bikes and bemusement.” Or check out Bohemian Nights “Thursday Night Live” for incredible free concerts all summer.
2. Tour a Brewery
Did you know that Fort Collins produces approximately 70% of all craft beer in the state of Colorado? They also have more microbreweries than any other city in Colorado, each with their own style and twist on a beloved beverage.
One way to experience the craft beer scene in Fort Collins is to take a free brewery tour. Here, you can learn all about the beer making process, see how they operate, and (of course) sample some beer.
Free tours are offered at Anheuser-Busch Brewery, Odell Brewing Co, and New Belgiumm Brewing Company. You can catch some live music while enjoying a beer from the Tap House- or sample several different beers from their taster trays. We drove, but there were plenty of folks who got there (carefully) by bike.
Another idea is to create your own brewery walking tour, which is easy to do given the proximity of breweries to one another. You can get some exercise, see more of the city by foot, and get to experience world-class beer culture, all in one!
3. Enjoy the Great Outdoors
If there’s one thing we noticed quickly about Colorado, it’s that people here like to be active. Being in a place surrounded by people with healthy habits is quite refreshing!
The city of Fort Collins is a platinum-level bike friendly city, due in large part to more than 285 miles of bike lanes, trails, and paths throughout the city. The most prominent and easy to access from town are the Poudre and Spring Creek Trails, which are great for biking, walking, or jogging.
These are just a few of the many sights you can see along the city trail systems:
Another beloved outdoor activity in Colorado is hiking. And due to proximity to the majestic Rocky Mountains, there are all types of hiking trails to choose from to suit any fitness level.
The most popular hiking areas near Fort Collins include Horsetooth Reservoir (where you can also fish, boat, and camp), Lory State Park, and Pineridge Natural Area.
4. Restaurants: Where to Eat Out in Fort Collins
As mentioned above, Old Town seems to have an abnormal amount of restaurants for its size. While we by no means hit all the hot spots during our weekend visit, we definitely got a great taste of the options, thanks to our trusted restaurant resource:Yelp.
Where We Dined
Silver Grill Cafe, the oldest restaurant in Northern Colorado, has undergone several expansions over the years, due in part to its famous Giant Cinnamon Rolls.
As mentioned in previous posts, my family and I are cinnamon roll aficionados, and these were legit. You can get them or giant size or “mini” (which is still big).
Lucky Joe’s Sidewalk Saloon is a lively Irish restaurant and pub with peanut shells on the floor and live music. We enjoyed the outdoor seating and tastier-than-average pub food.
Restaurant 415 uses predominantly local ingredients in their small plates, pizzas, and entrees. We especially enjoyed the balsamic vinaigrette-topped Woodland pizza. Sharing small plates is always one of our favorite ways to eat because you get to try a little of everything and don’t over-eat!
Lucile’s Creole Cafe actually has five locations in Colorado. The Fort Collins restaurant offers cozy indoor and outdoor seating with Louisiana favorites like beignets, various styles of grits, po’ boy sandwiches, and more. Thanks to our top-notch and very generous waitress, we had an amazing brunch and took home plenty of delicious left-overs.
5. Day Trips from Fort Collins
Popular day trips from Fort Collins include visiting the capital city of Denver, Colorado. In Denver you can get that bigger city feel while enjoying amazing restaurants, outdoor recreation, professional sports, concerts, and more.
Another popular option is to pop over to nearby Boulder, Colorado. Boulder has a very “hippy” small mountain town feel to it.
Finally, over four million annual visitors cannot possibly be wrong, so I would be remiss to not mention Rocky Mountain National Park. It is a huge draw of annual tourism and one of the most visited National Parks in the country (and only an hour’s drive from Fort Collins).
Within the boundaries of the park there are over 100 mountain peaks, the highest continuously paved road in the country (Trail Ridge Road), an array of wildlife, hiking trails, biking, horseback riding and more.
You might also like: Our guide to Rocky Mountain National Park
We’re not looking to settle down, but if we had to end up somewhere, Fort Collins would probably be high up on our list. The main reasons are: lots of sunny days, plenty of outdoor activities, a college prominent in town, and a fun downtown with great character.
Have you been to Fort Collins? Let us know your travel tips and recommendations in the comments! What are your favorite things to do in Fort Collins?
Co-Author Bio: Kara is the one-woman team behind Happening in Denver. After fleeing small-town life in Wyoming, she has called Denver, CO home for the last 12+ years. When it comes to travel, Kara loves to travel like a local, and never pay full price for a trip. And when not living that travel life, Kara can be found petting any dog that will let her and laughing (loudly) at any opportunity.
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so colorful!