Fort Collins is home to numerous places for family fun, including art studios, trampoline parks, museums, and more. This list highlights outdoor destinations where you can have a great time enjoying the fresh Colorado air!
If you’re looking for family bike rides in Fort Collins, this is the ideal city for it. In fact, it is one of the top 5 bike-friendly cities in the U.S.! You and your little ones can enjoy its easy and interpretive trails, not only for bikes but for hiking as well!
From water activities to fun outdoor parks, take a look at our top picks for outdoor activities for the whole family in Fort Collins!
Outdoor Activities for Families in Fort Collins: Fun and Adventure!
1
Open Air Adventure Park
Among the favorite Outdoor Activities for Families in Fort Collins, Open Air Adventure Park combines an outdoor location with 32 unique challenges at 11 and 21 feet in the air! There’s an activity for almost every age, including ziplining, ax-throwing, climbing over hanging chairs, and more!2
City Park Pool
The best of summertime is spending time outdoors and cooling off at an amazing pool like this one! As one of the best parks for weekend outings, it welcomes families to enjoy a water park experience right there in the city! Among the amenities and activities, you will find an outdoor pool, a 30-foot drop slide, an open curly slide, a lazy river, shallow water, geysers, a large play structure, and more!3
Horsetooth Reservoir
The outdoor activities for families you can enjoy at Horsetooth Reservoir are endless! This is one of Fort Collins’ favorite spots for family-friendly outdoor adventures, and you can enjoy hiking, swimming, paddle-boating, camping, and more outdoor activities for the entire family!4
Beaver Meadows Stables
Beaver Meadows Stables offers guided horseback rides into the Roosevelt National Forest, a great option for outdoor activities for families! The rides are done in small groups, usually just the family or group and a guide, so the staff can accommodate your individual riding skills!5
The Gardens on Spring Creek
The Gardens on Spring Creek is an 18-acre site that is home to breathtaking gardens to explore with the whole family, a visitor’s center, a gift shop, a Butterfly House, Everitt Pavilion, and Great Lawn.6
Mountain Whitewater
Rafting in Fort Collins is a must-do family activity when it comes to outdoor fun! Mountain Whitewater Descents Rafting offers rafting adventures for the whole family on the Cache La Poudre River near Estes Park, Colorado!7
Fun City
Fun City has many activities and attractions for a fun family time! Marvel at the beautifully landscaped surroundings and the majestic view of the mountains as you enjoy the cool outdoor activities and attractions, such as miniature golf, bumper boats, bungee trampoline, water walking balls, go-karts, and of course, the giant rainbow slide!8
The Farm at Lee Martinez Park
Another cool outdoor destination for families: The Farm! While it’s not one of the nature centers for children in Fort Collins, families can enjoy nature anyway: seeing and meeting the farm animals. There’s so much to see! Hands-on experiences, interactive family fun, birthday party rentals, museum, The Farm Store, hayrides, pony rides, and special events!9
Ride-A-Kart
Ride-A-Kart is Estes Park’s premier family entertainment center! This place features fun rides and attractions that the entire family can enjoy, including bumper boats, go-karts, Casey’s train, batting cages, bumper cars, extreme bungee trampoline, mini-golf, and arcade! You can also find picnic areas and open spaces!10
A Wanderlust Adventure
A Wanderlust Adventure offers two great Estes Park and Fort Collins whitewater rafting trips on Colorado’s only ”Wild and Scenic” river, the Cache La Poudre, and you will get to choose from two amazing trips! During each adventure, you’ll experience wildlife viewing areas for families, like birds, fish, and many more!11
Laughing Buck Farm
At Laughing Buck Farm, you will find therapeutic/adaptive riding lessons, daytime farm classes during the school year, educational farm tours for all ages and abilities, internship and volunteering opportunities, summer camps and classes for kids of all ages, farm school for kids of all ages, horse and pony lessons, seasonal events, and more!12
Rocky Mountain Raptor Program
At Rocky Mountain Raptor Program, all ages can enjoy programs that provide presentations and exhibits that teach communities and individuals about the uniqueness of raptors and their habitats through creative props, recorded sounds, and interactive activities. If you were looking for wildlife viewing areas for families, this is the perfect place for you and your curious children!Check out the many other things to do with kids in Fort Collins – there really are many! While Fort Collins is known for its beautiful outdoor scenery, many indoor venues could save your kids from boredom on rainy days.
Some of them include laser tag and arcades, mini golf, and more fun and excitement for the whole family.