Outdoor Project

Radnor Lake State Park is a 1,332-acre park and is protected as a Class II Natural Area. The lake is manmade and was created by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company in 1914 to supply water for steam engines at a nearby location. Remnants of this operation, including a historic valve house, which can still be found on the property. Today, Radnor Lake provides an opportunity for outdoor recreation within just a few minutes of Nashville.

At Boyd Lake State Park, close to Loveland, the Boyd Lake Swim Beach offers beachgoers beach access on hot Colorado summer days and the chance to dip into the waters of Boyd Lake. Spanning 1,700 acres, visitors to Boyd Lake Swim Beach will have at their behest a large beach for relaxing, wading, and swimming, a marina with a boat ramp, a fishing pier, and a day use area with ample room for picnics and games.

Large and central to Loveland, Boyd Lake State Park offers visitors the opportunity to walk, relax, and boat around the cool waters of a lake. Much larger than neighboring Loveland Lake, the friendly confines of Boyd Lake State Park offer an extensive list of amenities and activities. Topping this list, of course, is the lake expanse, spanning 1,700 surface acres and reaching depths of 50 feet. The lake allows all types of watercraft access, available at a boat ramp and marina, although non-motorized boats may find it more convenient to launch from one of Boyd Lake’s banks.

Lake Loveland has existed for more than 100 years in the city of Loveland, created in 1893 out of what was then a marshland known as Hays Lake. The lake has long been redeveloped as a more serene and peaceful place, and situated at its northwestern corner, North Lake Park has a full complement of outdoor activities ideal for families.

Beginning from the historic ranch site at the Soderberg Open Space, the Stout, Sawmill + Nomad Trail Loop in Horsetooth Mountain Open Space near Fort Collins features 3.8 miles of singletrack, shared between hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders. The trail travels through groves of ponderosa pine and wide open grasslands, which in the spring will be teeming with wildflowers.

In the Rocky Mountain foothills outside of Fort Collins, the Soderberg Open Space is nestled into the southeastern corner of Horsetooth Mountain Open Space, a 2,700-acre preserve just west of town. The trailhead here offers access to Horsetooth Mountain’s 29-mile trail network and backcountry campsites.

Horsetooth Reservoir County Park is a popular destination for motorized and non-motorized boaters alike. Its 1,900 acres are especially popular with stand-up paddlers, boaters, and fishers, and Inlet Bay Campground is an especially attractive destination on the lake. A marina offers slips for annual docking, a boat ramp, and boat rentals, including both motorized (jet skis, pontoons, and group boats, among others) and non-motorized boats alike.

Next to the South Bay Campground at the south end of Horsetooth Reservoir County Park, the South Bay Day Use Area and Swim Beach offers the full complement of services to day users visiting the reservoir just outside of Fort Collins.

Nestled in the foothills of the Front Range, Fort Collins keeps Colorado’s reputation as an outdoor mecca, and nowhere is this demonstrated better than at Horsetooth Reservoir and Horsetooth Mountain.

At 2,492 acres, Lory State Park is actually bigger by land area than the nearby Horsetooth Reservoir. Combined with Horsetooth Mountain Open Space, and additional 2,700-acre preserve directly adjacent to Lory to the south, it spans from Satanka Cove to Inlet Bay on the Horsetooth Reservoir’s western edge and its trail network covers 55 miles.