Horsetooth Mountain Open Space and campsite management improvements done
Horsetooth Mountain Open Space & camping area is located 32 miles (43 minutes) from Lyons.
Take Hwy 66 from Lyons. Avoid the Hwy 287 Berthoud/Loveland traffic by turning north at Hygiene Rd. and taking S County Road 29 north toward the park.
You will need to search for a map online for complete route. It is a lovely open road drive, and ends about three miles north of Masonville.
It has hiking trails (some constructed), biking trails, waterfall, lake, wildlife, wildflowers, horseback riding trails, and programs… Pets must be on a lease (see web site for more details) 22 TRAILS between 1/2mi and 3 miles. Backcountry campsites.
Plan to arrive before 9 a.m. or after 3 p.m. as the open space will likely reach capacity, especially on weekends in the busy season.
BOATERS: Spring is upon us and boaters will be able to use the ramps at Carter Lake and Horsetooth Reservoir beginning April 1.
April 24, 2023: Larimer County Open Space Announces:
Two planned management actions to improve operational sustainability at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space (HTMOS) are complete with installation of an automatic gate at the main HTMOS trailhead, located at 6550 W. County Rd. 38E, and digitizing the open space’s backcountry campsite reservation method.
NIGHTTIME CLOSURE GATE
The gate facilitates a daily partial nighttime closure from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., which allows visitors to exit during the closure period. The partial nighttime closure resulted from several months of stakeholder meetings and community feedback that was gathered in 2021 to update the Horsetooth Mountain Open Space Management Plan, which was completed in 2006.
The partial closure provides the community with flexibility to recreate before sunrise or after sunset, attend permitted night programming (ex. Skygazing or astronomy), and to apply for special use permits. The closure’s goal is to abate increasing public safety incidents and wildfire risk.
RESERVATION SYSTEM
In addition, another action to manage nighttime use included transitioning the backcountry campsite reservations at HTMOS from a paper log at the trailhead to an online reservation system, which is being utilized to reserve all other Larimer County-managed campsites (larimercamping.com). Online reservations for the backcountry sites at Horsetooth Mountain will be available beginning Monday, May 1.
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The HTMOS Management Plan Adaptive Update was completed in 2021 and can be found online. For more information about Larimer County Natural Resources, please visit larimer.gov/naturalresources.
