Great Trail Runs in and near Fort Collins

The following trails offer great workouts and beautiful scenery, and are all within 30 miles of downtown:

Local Fort Collins Trails (within 5 miles of downtown)

Foothills Trailhead (Banyan and Prospect)

Foothills/Reservoir Loop 6.0 miles, 900 feet of vertical climb

Maxwell Ridge Loop 9.5 miles, 1400 feet of vertical climb

Pineridge Natural Area Trailhead

Pineridge Natural Area Loop 5.25 miles, 350 feet of vertical climb

Centennial Drive Hill Repeats a good place to do hill repeats

Taft Hill Road Trailhead for Poudre River Trail

Poudre River Trail west to Laporte 5.0 - 6.2 miles, flat

Poudre River Trail east towards downtown 5.0 - 12.0 miles

Spring Creek Trail and canal varies

Spring Creek/Poudre River Loop 15.0 miles

Lory State Park (12 miles from downtown Fort Collins)

Arthurs Rock Trailhead

Horsetooth Mountain Loop 10.9 miles, 2750 feet of vertical climb

Park-to-Park Trail Run (race route) 8.3 miles, 2000 feet of vertical climb

Timber Trailhead

Arthurs Rock via the Timber Trail 7.4 miles, 1700 feet of vertical climb

Well Gulch Trailhead

West Ridge via Well Gulch or Lookout Trails 9.0 miles, 2500 feet of vertical climb

Horsetooth Mountain Park (12 miles from downtown Fort Collins)

Horsetooth Mountain Park Trailhead

Horsetooth Mountain Trail Run (race route) 7.3 miles, 1950 feet of vertical climb

Horsetooth Rock 5.2 miles, 1495 feet of vertical climb

Soderberg Ranch Trailhead

Towers Road 6.8 miles, 1700 feet of vertical climb

Mill Creek Short Loop 8.9 miles, 1900 feet of vertical climb

Mill Creek Long Loop 11.4 miles, 2760 feet of vertical climb

Nomad -> West Valley (in Lory State Park) 10.9 miles, 1000 feet of vertical climb

Blue Sky Trail (connects to Devil's Backbone) 20.8 miles, 2700 feet of vertical climb for the roundtrip

Foothills to south of town

Coyote Ridge Loop -- 8 miles drive 7.0 miles, 1230 feet of vertical climb

Devil's Backbone -- 15 miles drive 7.0 miles, 1000 feet of vertical climb

Cache la Poudre Canyon Area (22-45 miles from downtown Fort Collins)

Greyrock Mountain -- 22 miles drive 6.6 miles, 2140 feet of vertical climb

Mount McConnell

Big Thompson River Canyon

Round Mountain -- 23 miles drive 9.0 miles, 3100 feet of vertical climb

If you're willing to drive longer, here are some other terrific trails to run:

Rocky Mountain National Park Area (55-70 miles from Fort Collins)

Longs Peak 15.0 miles, 5000 feet of vertical climb

Continental Divide -- Flattop/Hallet 8.8 miles, 2900 feet of vertical climb

Numerous others

Pingaree Park Area (~60 miles from Fort Collins)

Mummy Pass

Boulder Area

The Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks have over 120 miles of trails, including some very challenging and technical runs and awesome scenery. Click for trail map and trailhead information.

The Mesa Trail

South Boulder Peak from the South Mesa Trailhead

Bear Peak from the NCAR Trailhead

Green Mountain from the Chautauqua Park Trailhead

Mount Sanitas

Numerous other trails and loops possible

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