Horsetooth Reservoir stretches 6.5 miles along the foothills just west of Fort Collins, offering a dramatic mountain-lake escape just 15 minutes from Old Town. Named for Horsetooth Rock, the distinctive 7,255-foot formation overlooking the reservoir, this is where Fort Collins locals come to swim, boat, hike, and escape.
The reservoir was created in 1949 when the Bureau of Reclamation dammed the Cache la Poudre River's south fork. Today it stores water for cities along the Front Range while providing a stunning recreational playground. The lake's 1,900 surface acres and dramatic western shoreline make it one of Colorado's most scenic reservoirs.
Summer weekends pack the beaches and boat ramps, but the surrounding mountains offer year-round adventure. Hikers tackle Horsetooth Rock and Arthurs Rock trails, mountain bikers explore miles of singletrack, and rock climbers scale the cliffs above. In winter, the shoreline trails stay accessible when higher elevations are snowbound.