Horsetooth Mountain Park plan update under way

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

Horsetooth Mountain west of Fort Collins has been a popular place to recreate since the 1870s. A visual icon for the city, it continues to beckon multitudes of visitors.

Over time, settlers used the mountain and surrounding land for cattle grazing, timber harvesting, quarrying and farming. When residential development threatened the mountain in the 1980s, two Colorado State University students began a petition to purchase the land for a county park preserve. The issue passed, and Larimer County became the owner of Horsetooth Mountain Park in 1982. Today, the public can enjoy the approximate 2,027-acre park reserve adjacent to Lory State Park on the north and Horsetooth Reservoir on the east.

But what about tomorrow? The Larimer County Parks and Open Lands Department is taking a look at the way it has managed the park over two decades and what it should do in the future.

The county updates management plans for parks every five to seven years, looking at whether facilities are adequate, how visitors use a park and the status of natural and cultural resources.

Consultant Drew Stoll, a landscape architect for EDAW, said a key topic for Horsetooth Mountain Park is design of the main entrance. There is agreement that parking needs to be more efficient and changes need to be made at the trailhead. Stoll noted that a new trailhead that opened this year at the adjacent Soderberg Open Space has reduced some traffic congestion at the park's south entrance, but it still needs improvements.

The parks department has spent several months gathering comments from people who use the park or live next to it. Some want to see the trail network expanded. Some want designated backcountry campsites. Others want to see the trails upgraded for mountain biking. Park visitors also noted that the route to Horsetooth Rock needs to be more clearly marked, and it would be good to have interpretive signs along the trail. A summary of comments and possible solutions is available on the county web site at www.larimer.org/parks/htmp_plan.

The final draft of the updated management plan will be presented to the open lands board and the county commissioners in February. Parks director Gary Buffington makes the final decision on adopting the revised plan.

The plan will be posted on the above web site in early January. Anyone who wants a printed copy should call park manager Mark Caughlan at 498-5600 or write to HTMP, 1800 S. County Road 31, Loveland, CO 80537. The deadline for additional public comment is Jan. 31.