Fort Collins vs Asheville; outdoor recreation (Boulder, Keystone: real estate, rentals, house)

[thitzler]

So let me put this question out to people that have experience in both Asheville, NC and Fort Collins, CO.

Keeping in mind the proximity to the center of town, where is the outdoor recreation better? My two passions are hiking and mountain biking, but I'd also like to get into kayaking, fishing (?) and maybe some snowboarding. Thanks.

[Mike Weber]

I have never been to Asheville, so this is not a comparison, but an informative post.

Snowboarding is going to be the activity among your listed interests that will take the most time to reach. Closest ski areas to here are Eldora, above Boulder, and Snowy Range, above Laramie. Both usually take about 1.5 to 2 hours to reach. The more popular areas like Keystone, Breck, Winter Park, Copper Mountain, etc are at least 2 hours distant on a weekday with no traffic.

Fishing can be done in many lakes in and around town, along with Horsetooth Reservoir on the west side of town (<5 miles from Old Town). The Poudre River, which runs right through town is also popular for fishing. Most of the fishermen seem to fish it up the canyon, which is maybe 20 minutes from Old Town by car. However, it runs within 2 blocks of Old Town, so you might be able to walk to fishing.

The Poudre, in the canyon, is very popular with paddlers. You will see dozens of kayaks in the river on summer weekends. Most of the popular boating spots are in the lower canyon, which can be reached in 20-30 minutes from Old Town.

Hiking and mountain biking can be as close as the edge of town, on the Maxwell Trail, Pineridge Open Space, Foothills Trail, and Reservoir Ridge Trail. A 15 minute drive (or 30-40 minute bike ride) brings you to Lory State Park and Horsetooth Mountain Park, behind the reservoir or Coyote Ridge south of town. Adding another 15 - 30 minutes in the car opens up other options including trails in the Poudre Canyon (Greyrock - hiking only, Hewlett Gulch, Young's Gulch, Dadd Gulch, etc) and the Buckhorn Canyon west of town, Soapstone Prairie, Bobcat Ridge, etc. Within an hour, you can be in Rocky Mountain National Park (for hiking) and a whole bunch of National Forest for hiking and biking. The hiking and biking both have a variety of terrain and scenery, from open prairie to alpine forest and meadows. The biking runs from rocky and technical to smooth and flowy. As for mountain biking, there are few places to shuttle downhill runs, if that is the type of mountain biking you prefer.

As an avid mountain biker, I live on the west side of town, just blocks from a trail head. I rarely drive to ride my mountain bike. Last summer I took a 47 mile ride from my house, connecting various trails, and only rode about 6 miles of pavement during the ride. Upon completion of the ride, I looked at my GPS track and was never more than 7.3 miles from my front door.

There is a lot of fun to be had here. Most winters allow us to bike and hike year-round on the lower elevation trails close to town. Higher trail that get snow are fun on snowshoes during the winter.

Good luck in your move.
Mike Weber

[thitzler]

Hi Mike,
Thanks for the great information. I am happy to hear that the recreation is so conveniently located. Can I ask you another question? As a real estate agent you would know the best areas to live if I wanted to avoid the college crowds. Generally speaking, if I avoid the areas closest to campus will I avoid most of the college crowd? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being around a variety of people, it's just that I like it quiet around my house and would not want to have a lot of loud people (college or otherwise) living next door to me.
Regards,
Tom

[Mike Weber]

Originally Posted by thitzler

Hi Mike,
Thanks for the great information. I am happy to hear that the recreation is so conveniently located. Can I ask you another question? As a real estate agent you would know the best areas to live if I wanted to avoid the college crowds. Generally speaking, if I avoid the areas closest to campus will I avoid most of the college crowd? Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being around a variety of people, it's just that I like it quiet around my house and would not want to have a lot of loud people (college or otherwise) living next door to me.
Regards,
Tom

Tom,

You will find that most of the students live within a half mile to a mile of campus, with the exception of some neighborhoods to the west of campus, where they are up to two miles away.

To the north of campus in the Old Town area, especially near Mountain Avenue, the property values have gone up quite a bit in recent years. That has led to fewer students in that area as former landlords find they can make good money selling a vintage home to an owner occupant who really wants to be in that part of town.

Fort Collins has an ordinance that states that no more than 3 unrelated people are not allowed to live in a single family dwelling. It seems as though this is not always enforced unless there are complaints from the neighbors, but it does cut down on some issues with student rentals.

When my buyers are considering a home, I encourage them to visit the neighborhood at different time of the day and on different days of the week to see what kind of activity, noise levels, and other things like parking issues they encounter. It is also a good idea to meet the neighbors and talk with them.

Good luck