Lory State Park is a hidden gem that feels remote, even though it isn’t

Editor’s note: This is part of The Know’s series, Staff Favorites. Each week, we offer our opinions on the best Colorado has to offer for dining, shopping, entertainment, outdoor activities and more.

Near the top of the Arthur’s Rock trail in Lory State Park, it’s easy for hikers to forget the elevation is only 6,800 feet. A steep notch in an outcrop of granite features a narrow rocky staircase that requires sure-footed balance and scrambling skills to ascend, making it feel more like a fourteener summit than a foothills hike only 20 minutes west of downtown Fort Collins.

Capping off a 1.7-mile hike that climbs 1,100 feet, the ramp to Arthur’s Rock is exhilarating. So is the panoramic view it reveals at the top.

Arthur’s Rock overlooks Horsetooth Reservoir, 1,350 feet below, while also providing sweeping views of Fort Collins and the plains to the east. Climbing through a dense forest in a steep-sided ravine, the trail is Lory’s most popular, and it’s one of the reasons Lory State Park is a place I love to hike.

I think of Lory as a hidden gem. It’s relatively undeveloped, delivering a far different experience from the teeming crowds of motor boaters and jet skiers at Boyd Lake State Park not far to the south in Loveland. It has no paved roads. It has five picnic areas but no campgrounds, although it does have a half dozen primitive backcountry campsites that require substantial hikes with significant climbs to reach.

“We describe our backcountry sites as primitive, and that’s how I would describe the character of the park relative to Boyd Lake,” said Lory State Park ranger Ian O’Brien. “They’ve got boat ramps, a million campsites. We just have those six backcountry campsites. We’d definitely like to leave this park in a more primitive condition so it has multiple opportunities for solitude. You can feel like you’re really out in nature, but you’re only a 20-minute drive from Old Town Fort Collins.”

It measures only four square miles, but it borders Horsetooth Reservoir, a park managed by Larimer County. Kayakers and paddleboarders can access the narrow 6.5-mile-long reservoir from five coves in Lory that are located on the reservoir’s western shore. One of these days, I’m going to bring my kayak to cool down on the reservoir after a long hike.

Lory has 28 miles of trails, several with substantial climbs similar to Arthur’s Rock in ravines that have been remarkably green and lush this spring. One trail on the western side of the park offers views of high mountains to the west, including Long’s Peak 30 miles to the southwest. That one requires a hike of not quite four miles one way with a 1,500-foot elevation gain, and it’s well worth the effort.

Lory also has relatively flat terrain in the valley along the reservoir that offers opportunities for mountain biking, trail running and horseback riding. And, bordering Lory to the south is the Horsetooth Mountain Open Space, managed by Larimer County, with trails that connect with some of Lory’s trails. Hikers can hike Horsetooth Rock from Lory, for example, although it’s a much shorter hike when accessed from the Larimer open space trailhead to the south.

“When you loop everything together,” O’Brien said of Lory’s connections with Horsetooth Mountain Open Space, “we’ve got almost a 60-mile trail network.”