Fort Collins is an outdoor paradise filled with mountain charm, and it’s a gateway to the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado. One particularly picturesque mountain destination is Red Feather Lakes. It’s less than an hour from Fort Collins, and it’s everything you’re looking for in a Colorado mountain getaway with trails, lakes, and forests to explore. It’s a small community in the Roosevelt National Forest, and despite its proximity to the cities of Colorado’s Front Range, it has an off-the-beaten path feel to it without a lot of crowds. Basically any outdoor adventure you’re looking for, you can find it here from camping to fishing to horseback riding.
There are 14 lakes in the area with some of the man-made lakes here dating back to the late 1800s. Dowdy Lake, at 115 acres with three miles of shoreline, is the largest of the lakes in the area, and there’s a year-round campground with 70 campsites along the southwest side of the lake. Sixty of the sites have electricity and can be used for RV or car camping; 10 of the sites are hike in tent camping only. The sites have picnic tables, and the campground has potable water and restrooms There’s a boat ramp nearby, making it the perfect place to camp if you’re spending time out on the water.
Camping at the tent-only sites from May 16 to September 20 is $30 per night; for the sites with electricity, rates start from $41 per night. Outside of peak season, rates start at $20 per night for all campsites. Even if you’re not camping at Dowdy Lake, you can enjoy a lakeside lunch at the day-use picnic area. Parking costs $10 for the picnic area.
More camping and fishing at Red Feather Lakes
Another popular Red Feather Lakes camping spot is at West Lake. It has 36 sites, five of which are for tents only. Camping at West Lake is only available in peak season, and it’s $28 for tent only sites and $41 for the others. More peak season camping is at the 10-acre Bellaire Lake where you can walk to the lake from the campground via a boardwalk. It has 27 sites, and it’s $30 for tent only sites and $41 for electric hookup sites…