Poudre Trail

The beautiful nature trail known as Poudre Trail starts at Fort Collins in Colorado, and hikers can enjoy activities like hiking, biking, and dog-walking along its 10-miles that follows the Cache la Poudre River. The entire trail is paved, with minimal inclines, few street crossings, and some natural areas to explore as it passes through parks and preserves.

Poudre Trail begins at the CSU Environmental Learning Center, where there is a paved parking lot, trash bins, and benches available for those needing a rest before heading out. The trail immediately begins to follow the river that its named after, with elevated overlooks and forks that lead to the bank of the river. Hikers can enjoy fishing, boating, and swimming on the natural beaches of the river, but if you plan on just hiking, you'll pass over a wooden bridge that continues along the path.

Although the trail passes through a few communities and downtown locations of Bellvue, La Porte, and Fort Collins, the trail remains mostly secluded and in the woods, with sights of forests, lakes, ponds, wetlands, grasslands, and open spaces where wildlife passes through. Some of the most known open spaces include Riverbend Ponds Natural Area, Prospect Ponds Natural Area, and Lee Martinez Community Park. There are over a dozen more parks and preserves that the trail passes through, which offers amenities such as parking, entrances and exits, water fountains, clean-up stations, restrooms, and picnic areas for rest.

The trail ends in the community of Bellvue, where there is a small gravel parking area along Rist Canyon Road which is also the entrance to Watson Lake. 

The trail is a perfect place to walk and hike with your pup, and offers over 7 feet of space along the trail for multiple activities, many places to stop and rest with amenities, and a dog-friendly atmosphere throughout the entire route.