For those who enjoy hiking, skiing, and other outdoor activities, Fort Collins Colorado may be just the place for you. Its Old Town district is filled with historic houses, antique shops, and restaurants from the 1800s. Visitors can visit the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, which features interactive exhibits and a digital dome theater. Nearby, the city’s Horsetooth Mountain Open Space is home to the famous Horsetooth Rock formation and the waterfall, Horsetooth Falls.
This artsy town has many unique attractions and activities for visitors and residents. Fort Collins Center for the Arts is a great place to see touring Broadway shows or a local playwright. It also has two miniature golf courses, a laser tag course, bumper cars, batting cages, and a video arcade. Families can also attend a local charity event to support a local non-profit. And if the day isn’t busy enough, Fort Fun is a fun and educational place to enjoy a night on the town.
The area is home to numerous craft beer breweries. There are over 20 brewing companies in Fort Collins. These breweries produce 70 percent of the state’s craft beer, and seven percent of the nation’s rations are made in Fort Collins. Fort Collins is an excellent place to take a beer tour. Its brewpubs often have live music or food trucks on site, and many of the breweries also offer tours to their customers.
Bicycle enthusiasts can enjoy miles of bike trails and scenic drives throughout the city. Local trails are well-maintained and cleared in the winter months. Bike enthusiasts will find the town’s mountain bike trails to be easy to navigate. In addition, the city is home to a number of state charter schools, including the Academy of Arts and Knowledge, Global Village Academy, and Heritage Christian Academy. Many bikers also love the city’s cycling scene, and local biking clubs are an ideal place to take a ride.
With four distinct seasons, Fort Collins has a variety of weather conditions. In the summer, the weather is mild to hot with low humidity, but afternoon thunderstorms can threaten to bring rain. Winters are cool but not cold, and average temperatures in Fort Collins are only about ten degrees below freezing. Fort Collins receives 300 days of sunshine per year. The average July temperature is 73.1 degF (22.8 degrees Celsius) and the average December temperature is 31.2 degF (7.1 degrees). The city’s snowfall is 51 inches, with the majority of snow falling during early September to mid-May.
Fort Collins is home to three public libraries. The Fort Collins Public Library was founded in 1900 and is the sixth public library in Colorado. Andrew Carnegie donated $12,500 to fund its construction, which was completed in 1904 at a cost of approximately $15,000. The Fort Collins Public Library joined the Poudre River Public Library District in 2006, and today operates three branches. The Old Town Library is located in downtown Fort Collins, while the Harmony library is located on the campus of Front Range Community College. Horsetooth Falls and the historic town of Fort Collins are located within Rocky Mountain National Park.