Fort Collins in terms of scenery. Is it all that? (Denver: college, tax)

[XRAYTECH]

I've been looking at Ft. Collins as a potential place to live... I really want to live close to the mountains and I know Ft. Collins is flatter than other nearby cities. Is the scenery nice? Is it close to the mountains? I'm from Chicago which is flat as... flat! What are some of the cool things about living in Ft. Collins? How does it compare to other nearby places like Boulder and Denver? How far is the drive to Rocky Mtn. NP? Does anybody ever visit Cheyenne? Thanks

[Tom Emmerling]

I think Fort Collins has great scenery. There is horsetooth resevoir on the west side of town, and several other smaller bodies of water throughout Fort Collins. Old Town is a historic part of town with most of the buildings being refurbished. It is great for an afternoon of shopping and eating and just looking at all the art in that area. I also think the city does a terrific job of keeping the curb appeal. They go as far as to dictate how many trees a business has to have on the property. RMNP is only about a 30 minute drive from here. You can also do things like drive up the Poudre canyon which is beautiful. I like it here because I don't necessarily like living right in the mountains but at the same time I am within throwing distance of the mountains. There are really some great views here. My wife and I do go to Cheyenne. We live in Wellington so it is only about 40 miles away for us. It is not the best looking town but we enjoy Frontier Days and there is a chinese place we like to eat at there. It is also nice for grocery shopping and fuel because they don't have the tax that Colorado does. Well hope that helps.

[WhereTheSidewalkEnds]

The whole Front Range is flat - it's in the plains. As far as scenery - yes, there are views of the mountains. That's pretty much what you get along the Front Range. Boulder has views of the foothills/flatirons. Since it's so close to the mountains, you do not see the mountains.

[tfox]

Fort Collins gets lots of points for being a great town, but to be honest it's not as scenic as Boulder or Colorado Springs, both of which enjoy a great vantage point for view of the mountains. In terms of scenery, it's similar to Metro Denver in that regard.

Fort Collins is very close to RMNP; the nearby town of Loveland is even closer. Both are closer than Boulder, which often advertises itself as "Gateway to RMNP" (mainly because you drive through Boulder on the way from Denver).

[vegaspilgrim]

Here's a shot I took last summer in Fort Collins, looking at the mountains in the afternoon from the CSU campus:

What you see in this picture is pretty much what the views are like there.

[soapmaker]

I would have to agree, that in general that photo with the mtns in the background is about as good as the scenery gets unless you happen to catch one of the awesome sunsets (FC folks know what i am talking about), with the whisp of clouds and the sun going down behind the mountains. ALthough, within a 30 minute drive you will be up to your eyeballs literally in sceney! We took some family members up to Poudre canyon early in the summer one year they filled up both memory cards on their digital cameras taking pics!

[jazzlover]

Poudre Canyon west of Fort Collins is one of Colorado's nicest river canyons--that, in my opinion, is one of Fort Collins' main scenic attributes. You won't have it to yourself, especially on a summer weekend, though.

I will get flames for this one--especially from the newbies, but why the fixation on Rocky Mountain National Park? I would guess because it is well-known. Does it have some very nice scenery and backcountry? Yes. But it is a typical overcrowded national park in summer along any of the roads through it. As far as mountain scenery goes, it is not nearly as spectacular as a lot of lesser known areas in Colorado. On a scale of 1 to 10 for spectacular Colorado scenery, with 10 being the best, I would rate it about a 6. As a Colorado native, I am a lover of the Colorado mountains and have spent my whole life (half-century plus) exploring them--I only go to Rocky Mountain National Park if I have to. Much nicer places for me to spend my time.

[ryanek9freak]

Yeah, I'd much prefer to go to the uncompahgre wilderness myself, or the wet mountain range. MUCH more beautiful things to look at.

[CSisaGhetto]

I personally find the drive up to fort Collins along I-25 extremely ugly. It looks like a combination of farmland and a toxic waste dump. I do love how the city is designed, but after going to CSU for 4.5 years, there is no way I would want to stay there. Jobs are hard to find and they pay low. That's why I'm moving to Denver. It is the best option for me over Colorado Springs (where I was born and raised) and Fort Collins (my college town).

[StealthRabbit]

Ft Col is close enough to "The Snowy Range" (west of Laramie), but without the wind of Laramie

They are my favorite Mountains.

The terrain near Box Canyon is pretty nice too (but are not 'Alpine' Mtns)

There is a pretty good variety of views, but from the town itself.... not great