Fort Collins Travel Guide

A bustling college town, Fort Collins was founded in 1864 as a military post on the Cache la Poudre (pronounced Poo-der) River, named for a powder cache left by French fur traders. The fort, named for Lieutenant Colonel William O. Collins, was abandoned in 1867, but the settlement prospered, first as a center for quarrying and farming, and by 1910 with sugar beet processing.Today Fort Collins is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, with an average annual growth rate of 3 1/2%. Population leaped from 43,000 in 1970 to 65,000 in 1980 to more than 100,000 today, not including the many Colorado State University students. CSU was established in 1870; today it is nationally known for its forestry and veterinary medicine schools, as well as its research advances in space engineering and bone cancer.Fort Collins, at just under 5,000 feet elevation, makes a good base for fishing, boating, rafting, or exploring Rocky Mountain National Park.