Larimer County: A Great Place to Visit, A Great Place to Live
Larimer County attracts millions of visitor each year ...
visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park, visitors to Estes
Park, visitors to Loveland and Fort Collins. Mountain climbers
and skiiers, hikers, bikers, car and camper tourists all flock
to the Mountains, or skirt the foothills from Virginia Dale,
down through Livermore, Fort Collins, Loveland and Berthoud on
their way to and from Denver and Cheyenne. Prospective college
students visit Fort Collins and Colorado State University.
And a great many of those who come fall in love. In love with
the mountain vistas, in love with the healthy climate, in love
with the people whose Western style welcome makes visitors feel
instantly at home.
So thousands pack up and move here. For school, for health, for
a richer and less hectic life. The population grew by over 35%
between 1990 and 2000, and continues to grow ... yet there are
plenty of wide open spaces, with more than six acres per person
in the county.
Denver is just an hour drive away when you need the kind of
things only big cities offer. The county itself has mountains
and high fertile plains. Only a few hours north and west put you
in the high desert country in Wyoming, while a few hours south
and west put you in the Sonoran desert of Arizona.
The climate is surprisingly mild -- at least it comes as a
surprise to someone from Michigan or Minnesota to find that the
snow doesn't cover the ground all winter, except in the high
mountains, but comes and goes. And the summer evenings are cool
and comfortable. Summer days get hot on the plains, but you have
only to drive fifteen minutes into the mountains to be refreshed
(or turn on the air conditioning).
If you haven't visited Larimer County you should plan on doing
so at the first opportunity. If you are already familiar with
the area, you will no doubt find yourself drawn back over and
over. It's just irresistable.