Horsetooth Mountain Open Space in Fort Collins

Great park, excellent views.

Great hike, great views, quite a bit of hikers and majority of it was exposed. Some of the trails are narrow so be cautious. There were some parts with shade and trees. Make sure to bring plenty of water. When I went back in July, the waterfall was dried up so we did not get to see that.

Beautiful area, enjoyed a decent hike at one of the trailheads. Trails were well groomed!

Went in August of 2021. Took our SUPs out and chilled on the lake most of the day. Great views at night/sunset. Very calm and quite.

Visited from Indiana. Great experience. Watch out for the Prairie Rattlers. If you look close you in the picture below you can see him. We heard him rattle as we walked by. He was about a foot off the trail. Really enjoyed our time here.

Saw my first rattlesnake here. The view from the top was amazing! Great trails. Many options.

Choose your trails carefully. If you hike, choose foot traffic only. You will get run down by bikers and stay in hot sun if you dont.

So beautiful and hike was perfect this morning

5.5 miles. This is a great hike for all skill levels, with great views all around. Start early in the morning when the weather is warm and bring loads of water. This is a GREAT night hike with fantastic views of Fort Collins. It is also a really nice hike in the winter. The Horsetooth Mountain Park trail system is ideal for trail running as well with trails that link up to adjacent Lory State Park (northand the Blue Sky trail (southwhich eventually links with Coyote Ridge and Devils Backbone! Great for mountain biking endurance junkies and noobs alike!

Great hike. Waterfall was just a drip in this dry weather, but still fun to see.

I did the Horsetooth Falls Loop, and it was spectacular. People say a lot of varied things about this hike, so I’ll try to provide some clear info for those trying to decide if it’s for them.The drive from Boulder is breathtaking and not white knuckle driving like the drive to other places.I am in excellent physical shape but only 1 week adjusted to altitude, and I found the hike mildly challenging on the way up, only because you are hiking straight up. My dog, however, found it extremely hard. It took us about 2 hours to do the loop, stopping every 10-15 to give her water and let her rest. Like some humans would, at some point she sat down and refused to budge for a while. As a side note, she drank an entire hydro flask full of water and half of mine.The terrain itself is easy for advanced intermediate or advanced hikers (sandy/pebbles/wide paths for a lot of the hike). However, a couple I met at the bottom said they turned around when the path got “narrow.” They had made it at least 45 minutes in. What I think they meant is that at some point, you can no longer hike two abreast.If you go counter-clockwise, you’ll have some tree cover on the way up. I do recommend going this way, because on the descent, the world opens up on your right to a breathtaking mountain view that reminded me a lot of VT. If my black-furred dog wasn’t having such a hard time, I would have stayed longer just to sit. But, if you’re getting there at a late time when it’s hot, you’ll get just a bit more tree cover hiking clockwise. I think the views are best experienced counter-clockwise, though!On the ascent, the most difficult part is an all-rock scramble to the top of Horsetooth Rock. However, you don’t have to do this to experience the majesty of this hike. You just keep on the path and begin the descent shortly after coming to another beautiful vista.If you are not an avid hiker, or not acclimated to altitude, or not in uphill climb fitness, you’re likely to experience the ascent as difficult. If you’re an avid runner/hiker and adjusted to altitude, you’ll find it easy. Without my dog, I probably would have done the loop in 45-60 min, hiking up and running down.If you’re not an avid hiker or not adjusted to altitude, people’s recs of 2-3 hours are probably right, especially if you like to take breaks & sit at the top.It’s one of the best-marked trails I’ve ever been on. Impossible to get lost. And so much beauty! I saw 5 different kinds of butterflies and so many birds!I would definitely tell most people to stick with the hard parts and make it to the top if they can, to experience the amazing views coming down.

Horsetooth Mountain is a Beatiful area close to Fort Collins that offers all kinds of options. Trails are for beginners and experts.Bring your dog, kids, horse, hike or mountain bike. Trails cross each other pretty well so easy to do loops or just a short out and back.Wildlife includes deer and maybe bear but never saw any. Small parking fee at lots.

Great place to hike with friends or someone special. The view is really good. Relatively easy hike too.

Absolutely beautiful hike. Quick note to those new to hiking, please bring plenty of water for you and your children.

Short but challenging hike. Beautiful scenery!

Well usually I would give this place 5 stars but just went out to take my boat out on this beautiful Saturday afternoon this afternoon and all the docks are closed due to inclement weather... I see no inclement weather! Sure it snowed last night but its been beautiful all day These guys should good try to schedule this off of what weather is happening not what they predicted 3 days ago I work a lot and dont have much time to get out and Its kind of ridiculous that that we have such a beautiful day but we are not able to enjoy the lake

Beautiful hike! Only picture I got was while driving there but trust me it was a wonderful hike!

Entry fee for county park. 10 bucks. Great hike. Dogs are allowed with leash.

Beautiful hike that is a Fort Collins classic...if you can find parking. There is not enough parking for such a popular place and it is way to expensive and if you make the mistake of not paying theyll slap a $20 ticket on your windshield. I really wish I could leave a good review because the hike is definitely worth it but I cant because I can only hike it half the time. I recommend ubering up there and back so you wont have to worry about parking.

The Horsetooth Rock Trail is amazing! There isnt much parking though so get here early.

Beautiful local hike that was a lil more intense than perhaps our understanding of the reviews let on. But, absolutely gorgeous space right near home. So dry this time of year, so the Falls were but a trickle, but the hike up was great (even on a very windy day)!

A Fort Collins classic. Not a difficult hike but there are lots of steps no matter where you go and the parking lot fills up quick. Still, awesome views, well maintained, and getting on the rock is an awesome experience

Really fun hike. Around 2.5 hours. Round trip 5.5 miles. Parking is limited so be early.

Great hike—not too hard but enough to get some good exercise in. Mixture of wide and narrow trails. Awesome views.

I wasnt prepared to hike either of the loops, but they interpass at multiple points so I did the hike distance I was able to and "loop" my own way back to the parking lot. Cost $9 to park and hike. Some dog feces left behind by owners along the way. I do love that this is a pet friendly hiking trail.

Have been multiple times. This is one of my favorite places in the Fort Collins area. Parking at the upper lot closer to the falls does fill up quick. I would go every weekend if I had enough time to do so!

We hiked up and stayed a couple nights at HM2, a dispersed campsite. It was beautiful to say the least!At trailhead theres restrooms, cook stoves, water, and electric outlets to charge up.

Fantastic hike! Theres a few different route options for level of difficulty so everyone is happy. Dont forget to use sunscreen, the majority of the routes are uncovered so you wont want to burn.

Excellent and challenging area with multi-use trails and rewarding vistas at every turn. There are a lot of different trails to take, so you can have a different experience every time you go back. The rock scramble to the the top is especially fun with a 360 degree view! On this trip I took pretty direct paths to the top and back, which made my hike around 6 miles total.

Hiked horsetooth rock and met some new friends. They took us to a waterfall which Ive never been too and we all ritualisticaly went under to cleanse our souls. The hike wasnt even the best part. The people we met on the trails were all so cheerful spread joy like wildfire.

AMAZING. the trail is wide open up to almost the top. then it becomes a much tougher single track but WORTH IT. the views from the top are outstanding.large parking lot and costs $9worth the tough hike up.

Dropped a friend off for a community hike the other day. Very nice. Saw 3 beautiful deer. No elk or balloons but heres 2 pics from my neighborhood not too far from Horsetooth😁

We went up the Horsetooth Rock trail and down the South Ridge trail. Note that the parking lot was filling quickly by 7:45 so make sure you get there early during busy seasons. Even though the lot was full the amount of trails made it seem like we were the only ones around. Well maintained trails made the trip up through the beautiful terrain easy to follow. Absolutely beautiful, we cant wait to come back!

Very well maintained and marked trails with great views. I hiked about 1/4-1/3 of the trails in a day. Several I would love to come back and ride on my mountain bike. Parking is $9, so I recommend coming early and getting your money’s worth by putting in the miles.

A very popular hiking area in northern Colorado. I highly recommend visiting since it is an iconic hike in the area. Make sure to get there early in the summer to beat the crowds and beat the heat. As of August 2020 google will route you to the wrong location for Horsetooth falls. Make sure to use the Horsetooth open space trailhead for directions to the main trailhead.

$9 to park, there is a machine that takes debit/credit. The pass is good for 24 hours. The parking lot fills up very quickly. Dogs allowed on leashes. The waterfall at Horsetooth Falls trail was bigger than I expected, you can go up on the top and sit by the pools, or go down to the bottom of the falls, I enjoyed this trail its very short, easy, well shaded, and good variety of uphill and downhill. Horsetooth rock trail is much more difficult. Both trails are enjoyable and have wonderful views!

Such a great short hike, close to town. Just the right amount of elevation gain. Gets very icy at the approach to the rock, so bring traction! Its 9 bucks to park, good for 24 hours.

Horsetooth is a subtle Beauty. There are many miles of trails just in this foothill range, and one of the perks of this are is the fact that there are resturants, pubs, breweries, fastfood, grocery stores, hotels and any other amenity that you could ever ask for, all within driving distance for before or after your scenic hike!

Easily accessible from Fort Collins and surrounding areas. Great place for hiking snowshoeing and cross country skiing. Its hard to get lost. Trails are marked well and snow-packed enough to follow them when snow-covered. Activities for all levels.

Three of us visited in late August and had a great time hiking around. Beautiful country up there and tons of different trails to walk around on. Get far enough away from the trailhead and the only sounds you hear are the nature and your footsteps. Marvelous. We spent about 3 or so hours hiking and only scratched the surface of available trails and scenery. Crossroads between the trails are well marked, but I recommend bringing a map with you along with plenty of water to drink.

I trail run here 1-4 times a week. Plenty of trails, gorgeous wild flowers early Spring, and great views of Horsetooth Reservior. Best to come early, parking lot fills up quick, especially on the weekends. Be rattle snke aware, they seem to like this area. Keep your dogs on a leash, or just do t take them July-september to keep them safe from a snake bite.

Good healthy trails perfect for any age and activity level with beautiful sites. Pay attention to the time of year with daily temperatures being quite warm to hot in the summer mid to high 90s.

There is a great variety of trails here- from multi-use bike-hike-ride to just footpaths. There is smooth dirt roads and challenging singletrack. A nicely equipped parking area with clear maps and well marked and maintained trails justify the $9 vehicle day pass. They do enforce parking passes and patrol the lots regularly.

Love this place......some spots not so good for toddlers unless you have a harness. Great hike with amazing views. The top of the tooth is where its at though. The water is fall is beautiful and relaxing.

A great place to go for a hike with varying levels of difficulty. The views of Fort Collins, Pikes Peak and Wyoming and brilliant. I cant wait to go back to explore the area more. They have a mix of mixed use and hiking only trails. Parking is $6 / day which is reasonable. Parking is available for horse trailers if youre planning on taking that option up the mixed use trails. Bring something to drink as there are no fountains on the mountain.

This is a great place to go hiking with the family depending on which trail and how far u go it is easy to moderate. Perfect for kids 5 and up if they are used to being active. Make sure you go on a cool day as it does get scorching up there. We made the mistake of going when it was over 100 degrees last time we made it but it was rough from the heat. Also the falls are always nice to see not the best falls I have ever seen but for a 40 min trip to the falls not bad. Also go check out the rock on the other trail its beautiful up there.

Really lovely hiking and sightseeing location. The views are beautiful and the wildlife is diverse. Northern Colorado bird watching is especially good in this park and full day trips are very easy as there is a lot of trail and many points of interest.This park provides access to historic Horsetooth rock, gives great views of Fort Collins as a whole, and also features a waterfall and stream access to play in the water.The wild flowers and plant diversity are really a lovely thing to see in the spring and summer.The paths are hard packed dirt and work well for walking, jogging or bicycling.There is a fee for parking a car in the lot, just $6 at the time of this review, but no limit on the number of passengers and gives you a full day pass that you can use to enter the park any time on the purchased date.Water fountains (turned off in winterand an out house style toilet are available in the parking lot before you set out.

Well kept park right outside of Fort Collins. On some days itll be quite busy but just take your time and enjoy the beauty of the reservoir and front range. Keep an eye out for deer and other wildlife!

Multiple trails with varying levels of difficulty. The parking is paid however, so make sure you have a debit card with you. Well maintained, beautiful natural area. Please make sure you pack out your trash and dont forget to bring an extra jacket or hat; Colorado weather is unpredictable!

Go hiking up the horsetooth rock and see the horsetooth reservoir & city. Anyone can make it if you have decent hiking shoes. The parking is $6 for the day. Not bad at all.