Visiting Downtown Fort Collins Colorado
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I have been meaning to share with you some highlights from my visit to Fort Collins, Colorado a few weeks ago. Fort Collins is located north of Denver and is a wonderful city to visit or call home. I could see the snow blanketing the mountain from the airplane before we arrived.
Once we landed in Denver, which I still have not explored yet, we headed to Fort Collins in our rental car. Quite a change in weather for this Southern California girl, but I loved seeing all the snow.
We stayed with family so I was looking forward to enjoying our time with them. It was so nice to wake up to snow in the neighborhood, because this never happens at home.
We enjoyed the indoors, but also explored downtown Fort Collins during this trip. Did you know that some of the buildings in downtown were inspiration for the buildings on Disneyland’s Main Street? One of the original designers of Main Street grew up in Fort Collins and designed the buildings based on what he saw here growing up.
Several of the buildings also have ghost signs of what the buildings used to be. There is a really cool walking tour you can take and see many buildings from the 1800’s. They have left the buildings in great shape and you can see nuances from life there over a century ago.
There were so many wonderful places to eat, drink and shop. I seriously needed more time to explore, but I made the best of what time I had.
One of my favorite stores downtown was The Cupboard, a kitchen specialty store that had so many fun things for the home. Cookware, bakeware, cupcake accessories galore, dishes and these cute colorful teapots.
There was also a huge selection of cookbooks upstairs and an entire section devoted to gift ideas for the cook or baker including recipe cards, recipe keepers and books and journals – Squeeeee!
I could have stayed there longer, but then I got the “aren’t you done yet” eye from my husband so we moved on.
If you are a home cook or foodie, I suggest you check out the Savory Spice shop. While I have been to the smaller location at the OC Mix, here in Orange County, this location was much bigger and offered a larger selection.
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They had so many wonderful herb and spice blends and you could sample them before you buy.
I bought a few fun spice blends from the shop.
We had a nice lunch at Coopersmiths Pub and of course, since Fort Collins is also home to many awesome breweries, we had to visit a few. We checked out Zwei Bruder Brewery while we were there since it is just a few minutes from downtown. I really enjoyed the Vienna Lager that they have on tap there.
There are so many things to do there including bike trails, brewery tours, hiking, fishing and the city is very self-sustaining. I hope to get back there soon when the weather is a bit warmer. It was a high of 7 the day we left.
Fort Collins is simply magical at night too!
Downtown Fort Collins is beautiful day or night, but especially magical during winter evenings.
Downtown Fort Collins Travel Tips
- Put on your walking shoes and explore downtown’s cafes, shops and bars.
- Renting a bike is a great way to see the downtown area.
- Check into the Fort Collins visitor bureau for tips and tours.
- Colorado State University is nearby and hosts a number of activities throughout the year.
- If you love beer, you will love the many brewery options in Fort Collins.
- Consider taking a day trip to Boulder, Colorado.
- Whitewater Rafting and Boating activities are also available in Fort Collins.
It was a fun quick trip and I cannot wait to go back. Have you ever visited Fort Collins?
What a fun trip! Combination of family and exploration.. the perfect mixture if you ask me…. so pretty with all their lights on at night!
It was really fun Jamie. I wish I had more time to see the charming town. Worth a vist for sure!
The cupboard looks like a fun shop!
I wanted to spend more time there – like an hour, but it was not going to happen with my hubby there. A very cool store with demos, classes etc!
I’ve never been to Colorado at all, despite getting very close on our cross country trip.
It must be nice to see snow if you’re not used to it. Even though we’re deathly sick of it here, it’s still really pretty first thing in the morning. No school today, in fact!
Interesting about Disneyland’s Main Street!
It is SO cool looking at snow. I know you are so tired of it, but I think it looks beautiful. I am sure I would be tired of it if it were for weeks at a time. I hope spring comes for you soon Tamara!
I lived in Ft. Collins during my grad school days. Your post brings back memories.
It is such a pretty city! You are so lucky to have lived there. I cannot wait to go back.
UIt looks like you had a good trip! I live in Colorado so I get tired of the snow after the first storm of the year 🙂
Oh I bet Angela – it was so awesome to see the snow everywhere for me. You live in a beautiful state.
I thought Fort Collins seemed like a great town when I visited but didn’t get a chance to go into the downtown area. Looks really nice. The 14 degrees doesn’t sound too appealing to me, though! Visiting from Someday Crafts.
It’s a really cool part of town to explore with so much history. Yes the 14 degrees was colder than I have ever been LOL! Thanks for visiting.
There are so many places in this great country of ours that I want to visit. I’ll be adding Ft. Collins to my Colorado list. Thanks for sharing your adventure at Tips & Tricks. I look forward to what you will link up next week! I pinned this to our Tips & Tricks lifestyle board.
Yes I agree with you on our great country. Hope you can stop by there sometime and thank you for the pin!
I have traveled to Colorado before (the Colorado Springs area), but have never been to Fort Collins. Looks like such a quaint, historical town with lots of stops for the foodies. 🙂
It is truly beautiful and I love towns with lots of places for foodies!
I have only been to Colorado one time, and know I need to get back. There are so many places to explore. Thanks for the info on Fort Collins!
It is so pretty and I am ready to get back there again. I hope you can visit sometime in the future Brenda!
So glad you enjoyed your trip to my town! We love it here, and you did some great things! Too bad you couldn’t have had a little warmer weather.
That is awesome that it is your hometown! We are going back in July so I am excited to see it during the summer Erin!
I’m adding this to my bucket list!
You would love it there!