Family days in Fort Collins, season by season

Fort Collins families learn to plan by the sky. Some weeks belong to the river and the playgrounds; others call for a museum, a library or an ice rink. The good news is that most of the places below are city-run or a short drive across town, so a free afternoon rarely needs much planning. Here is how the year tends to go, starting with the season we are heading into.

Winter: lights, ice and a museum with a Tot Spot

The biggest family tradition of the cold months is Garden of Lights at The Gardens on Spring Creek, the city's botanical garden on Centre Avenue. It runs on December evenings, closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, with timed-entry tickets. The route is a half-mile walk past thousands of lights, an Ice Forest and a river-of-lights display added in 2026, and Santa visits nightly through Christmas in the Everitt Pavilion. Children 2 and under get in free, and the Gardens offers reduced-price tickets for SNAP/EBT households.

Downtown does its part too. About 65,000 holiday lights cover 22 block faces in Old Town and stay lit into mid-February, which makes an evening walk free and easy. For a daytime downtown outing, Silver Grill Cafe on Walnut Street has been feeding Old Town since 1933 and is known for cinnamon rolls the size of a plate; it serves breakfast and lunch, and a shared roll is a fine reward for a morning of errands.

When it is simply too cold, the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery on Mason Court is the standby. It is a partnership between a nonprofit museum and the City of Fort Collins, and it mixes local history with hands-on science. Toddlers head for The Tot Spot, with its train table, water zone, art center and crawl-through tree; older kids gravitate to the Music & Sound Lab, where they can play drums, marimbas and even a theremin. The Natural Areas exhibit has two live black-footed ferrets, and there is a dome theater for shows.

For a skating afternoon, Edora Pool Ice Center, known as EPIC, on Riverside Avenue offers public skating for all abilities, with rental skates, alongside its indoor pools.

Spring: libraries, gardens and baby animals

The Poudre River Public Library District keeps three branches in town, Old Town Library on Peterson Street, Harmony Library on South Shields and Council Tree Library on Council Tree Avenue, plus Evie, the mobile library. Each has storytimes and programs for children from birth to 5 and for kids 5 to 11, and the schedule is posted on the library's site. The district is also raising money for a new southeast library, which it expects to open in 2028 at the city's new Southeast community center.

The Gardens on Spring Creek is worth a return trip once things bloom. Beyond its outdoor beds it has a tropical Butterfly House, plus storytime, classes and camps for children and families.

Spring is a fine time to visit The Farm at Lee Martinez Park, the city's farm on North Sherwood Street, when its longer April hours begin. It has been a family outing since 1985 and is home to about 40 to 60 animals, including horses, cows, sheep, chickens and, in season, baby goats. There is a farm store and a classroom, and it stays open through the winter on a shorter schedule.

Summer: pools, parks and a scoop downtown

Summer brings the outdoor pool at City Park, which has a 30-foot waterslide, geysers and a lazy river. The park around it wraps Sheldon Lake, a popular fishing spot, and has a playground and picnic shelters. All city parks are open daily from early morning until late evening.

On summer weekends, pony rides at The Farm run from April through October for riders 2 and older, and hayrides can be added for a group.

A hot afternoon downtown almost always ends at Walrus Ice Cream on West Mountain Avenue. The shop has been locally owned since 1987 and makes its ice cream by hand on site, with sherbets, sorbets including a dairy-free one, and gluten-free cones. It posts its flavors of the day online, so the argument about which one can start in the car.

For families who like to stay near the water, the River District just north of Old Town has the Poudre River Whitewater Park and the Poudre Trail.

Fall: back to the farm, and a shop for the holidays

Autumn is a good time for a last outdoor visit to The Farm before it switches to its shorter winter schedule. Fall is also when families start thinking about the holidays. Clothes Pony & Dandelion Toys on North College Avenue stocks children's clothing, books, art supplies, puzzles, building and science kits and Colorado-made souvenirs. It sits right on the route of the downtown lights.

In Fort Collins, a family year has a rhythm: the Farm in spring, the pool in July, the Museum of Discovery when the wind picks up, and a walk under the Gardens' lights in December. Pick the season you are in and start there.