Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado

Seeing Double: Brewery-Hopping in Colorado

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I feel like I blinked, and suddenly it was less than two weeks away from Christmas. Please tell me, where did the year go?

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

I had grand plans to attempt and blog three days a week for the bulk of this year, but life (and work) happened and here I’ve gone radio silent for 10 days. There’s so much to update you on over on the work front, which I promise to do soon. Admittedly, work aside, 2016 has been a bit of a rough one over in our neck of the woods for myriad reasons, so when I realized SVV and I had a chunk of Southwest credit—enough to fly us each somewhere close-ish (within three hours) and back for free—expiring on Dec. 6, I called up my friend Layne and asked if we could come to Colorado and see her and her husband Brian from Dec. 1 to 5.

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

She’s a hospitable kind of gal, and as you could probably guess based on the title of this post, she said “yes!” and I booked our flights that night. It might have been the most spontaneous trip planning I’ve ever done!

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

I also did absolutely no research about Fort Collins before we arrived—well, other than a quick Google of “breweries in Fort Collins” on my phone the night before our departure, which returned more than two dozen and a disclaimer that FoCo is one of the best beer towns in America. If I wasn’t already sold before that, I was now.

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

We decided to take Ella on this trip since we’d be staying with friends for a change and not in a hotel or an Airbnb. This wound up being a wise decision on our part as Fort Collins turned out to be a very pet-friendly city, particularly when it came to breweries, and Ella would not have wanted to miss out on the fun.

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado
What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

That girl loves her some beer!

When we landed mid-afternoon on a Thursday, we quickly retrieved our rental car from Enterprise—which cost us just $160 total for five days, I should add, since it wasn’t snowing and we didn’t need 4WD; Colorado road trips are pretty darn affordable, particularly when your lodging and airfare are free and you’re cooking some meals from home—and pulled into town not more than an hour later. Since it was just 3pm and Layne and Brian were still at work for another couple hours, we didn’t even bother stopping at their place; we went straight for the beer. (Duh.)

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

Normally, I’d have no desire to go to a big-name brewery, but I had heard New Belgium rocks, and I now agree with everyone who told me to go there. Even though it’s a big name brewery, it’s employee-owned (how cool is that?), super welcoming and has a craft brewery feel nonetheless. Not to mention, they have so many seasonal products like the Terroir (SVV’s favorite) and the Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale (need I tell you I bought two six-packs of these after a mere tasting?) that you can’t get elsewhere outside of Colorado (tl;dr go there if in Colorado).

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

After Layne got off work, we went to her cute house right on the Colorado State campus, then headed to The Colorado Room—where you can get every kind of slider imaginable—for dinner.

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

The next morning, we had planned to go to Estes Park, but a text from a friend over that way revealed that it was icy and the canyon socked in with fog, so we decided to hold off for a day. In the meantime, we went to the movies to see Arrival (where they served craft beer!) then headed to Maxline Brewery for a round afterward.

This is one of Fort Collins’ newer breweries, having just opened over the summer, and it was also dog-friendly, though we had left Ella at home for the day.
What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

After I had a flight, we moved onto our next location, The Mayor of Old Town, which has more than 100 brews on tap. From there, we continued onto a local staple, Beau Jo’s, where we had Colorado-style pizza with a few of our Semester at Sea pals before continuing the party back at Layne and Brian’s place. It was a laid-back boozy day with no concrete plans, surrounded by friends, and I loved every second of it.

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

On Saturday morning, we got up and out of the house early on Saturday to go into Estes Park, which is about an hour and 15 minutes from Fort Collins, after a donut run for the road, of course (guys, if you ever go on a road trip with SVV and me, just know that donuts are a prerequisite).

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

It was bitterly windy out, and I’d say we dressed all wrong, particularly Ella who was just wearing her fleece lumberjack vest and little else.

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

Estes Park is situated in one of the prettiest valleys I’ve seen in Colorado, and there are viewpoints from every angle.

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

Do you recognize that brief glimpse of the Stanley Hotel, which served as Stephen King’s inspiration for The Shining?

 

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

Plus, it bears mentioning that it’s also the jumping off point for Rocky Mountain National Park.

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

This national park is steadily becoming more and more popular; a friend told us that Estes Park alone is seeing an increase in a million visitors annually who are coming to check out the scenery.

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

We did wind up going into the park ever so briefly, and instead of paying the $20 entry fee, Layne and Brian splurged on the annual national parks pass, which is just $80 and pays for itself if you visit a national park even once a quarter. SVV and I had one of these during our RV days, and I loved it—too bad we don’t live too close to many national parks, or we’d also invest.

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

Just like everywhere else in America, it seems, Colorado has had an uncharacteristically warm year, and there was barely snow anywhere, except at the peaks.
What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

It was, however, deceptively cold at just 20 degrees with a whipping wind and a frozen river, so SVV had some fun doing some ice skating sans skates.

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

If you’re heading into this park, be sure and check for road closures as there were many while we were there, despite the lack of snow.

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

After driving around town and through the park, we had a stop to make. A friend of mine from way back during my Sewanee years moved out to Estes two years ago to open the town’s first distillery, which debuted on the 4th of July.

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

We arrived just as they were opening, so we had the place to ourselves as McShan gave us the backstory as to why they chose Colorado—he’s from Alabama and went to school with me in Tennessee—and how they came to open Elkins Distilling Co. in Colorado after realizing the liquor laws in other states were too restrictive.

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado
What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado
What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado
What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado
What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

The Elkins team makes only white whiskey—because of the various zoning restrictions in Estes Park, they’re not able to barrel it at the moment—which they dress up with a bunch of spices and wood like French oak or applewood to mimic the aging process. The result is a number of different blends available for sample, as well as an awesome cocktail menu.

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

As we headed out of town, I couldn’t help but wish we’d had more time in Estes Park; it’s such a cute town, and there seems to be a lot going on there. We stopped at Rock Cut Brewery, which wound up having my favorite beer of the trip—a vanilla porter—but coincidentally was my least favorite brewery (the bartender had an extreme attitude, plus they wouldn’t allow Ella inside). But we did have some delicious food courtesy of Two Chicks Wings and Henhouse, the food truck parked out front (the owner of whom was very lovely and the food oh-so-tasty!).

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

On the way back to Fort Collins, we stopped for pie at Colorado Cherry Company. (Never a bad idea.)

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

When we got back into town, Layne had a group of friends in from Ohio State, where she went to school, so we met up with all of them at O’Dell Brewing Co., which is one of the more famous breweries out of Fort Collins and had a very welcoming, chill vibe if all the parents with toddlers in tow are any evidence.

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

On Sunday, there was a Broncos game, so the boys stayed in to watch while Layne and I headed out for an aerial yoga class, followed by $6 carafes of mimosas at Pour Brothers with our pals Chris and Erik. We needed a warm-up before jumping into the beer for another day, head-first.

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

We had saved a couple of the best for last, including Horse & Dragon whose Sad Panda stout is out of this world.

Horse & Dragon Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado
What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

They also were dog-friendly (a bonus!) and had complimentary snacks (double win!).

Horse & Dragon Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado

After two rounds, it was off to Equinox to taste some more brews. There may have been a little AcroYoga on the street, too, en route (I blame the beer!).

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado
What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

From there, we went to Jessup Farm, which Layne described so eloquently: “It looks like Pinterest threw up inside.”

Jessup Farm in Fort Collins

It was lovely—though didn’t allow dogs—but the service left much to be desired. Still, we enjoyed our beers before grabbing burritos and staying in for the night after a looooong day (erm, weekend) of brewery-hopping.

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado
What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

Monday signaled the end of our trip and time for Layne and Brian to go back to work, but we had a whole day left to kill as our flight wasn’t until 7:45pm and we were but an hour from the airport. So we tooled around Fort Collins a bit, got more donuts, then headed to Boulder.

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado
What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado
What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

In Boulder, I got my nails done, and we took a stroll along the pedestrian mall, but once again the weather was not in our favor (story of our past visits to Boulder).

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

So when once we turned into ice cubes, stopped for a beer at Upslope (again, pet-friendly and super awesome!).

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

Then, made our way into Denver, which is less than pet-friendly (but Ella will recount that to you in another post). In an all-too-appropriate move, we landed at midnight last Monday and I got up early to do a beer shoot in Nashville for the Brewers Association, which is based in—you guessed it—Colorado. I will say this: I’ve never felt more adequately prepared for a shoot in my life!

What to See, Eat and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado

Oh Colorado, you never disappoint. I’d love if the travel gods sent a ski trip our way this winter, too—hint, hint, nudge, nudge—if that happened, I wouldn’t be the slightest bit disappointed.

What to See, Eat, Drink and Do in Fort Collins, Colorado


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Fort Collins, Boulder & Denver: A Road Trip Through Colorado
Fort Collins, Boulder & Denver: A Road Trip Through Colorado
Fort Collins, Boulder & Denver: A Road Trip Through Colorado
COMMENTS
  • December 13, 2016

    Love Colorado and Estes Park.
    Got married in Estes park in 1982!
    Would love to go back!!

    • December 13, 2016

      Ah, I didn’t know that! How cool. Samantha got married there last year, as well. It was my first time in Estes, and I can see why you would pick that as a wedding spot!

  • December 13, 2016

    All those brews, all those views… Sigh… You have visited so many gorgeous spots the last few months! 🙂 I remember you had set a goal at the start of the year to visit X amount of National Parks, did you manage? I’m nowhere near the goal I set; so I will retry next year!

    • December 13, 2016

      Good memory! It was actually one state park a month, as Tennessee has 56 awesome state parks, and I do think I hit that goal! I believe I averaged about 1.5/month if we count both state and national parks =)

  • December 13, 2016

    Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ale? Dang! So much brew, so little time. Estes is such a beautiful part of Colorado to visit. And love Ella’s plaid look.

    • December 16, 2016

      It’s actually the PERFECT brew. And it’s a light one, too, which I don’t usually like. It somehow tastes like cookie dough and the most delicious beer you’ve ever tasted at the same time.

      And Ella says thanks 😉

  • December 14, 2016

    ‘Very much love this post and the fantastic photography. And isn’t Ella just so adorable! What a babe!

    I’ve never been to Colorado, but I have been to four National Parks in the USA – all in the winter, and all wonderfully impressive. Throw in all those lovely beers and great scenery, and you’ve got yourself a British-German tourist ready to queue up! 😀

    • December 16, 2016

      Oooh, which ones, Victoria? America has some pretty amazing national parks. Hoping you can make it to our own Smokies here in Tennessee—they’re actually the most visited national park in the country year after year!

  • December 14, 2016

    I read your full blog and it was very informative, and helped me a lot.Great advise and Guide. I have started traveling as a friends group. Your above tips will surely help us complete our goals in the long term.

  • December 14, 2016

    I’ve been to a few of these. I had a ‘memorable’ night at Mayor of Old Town. I woke up the next morning with a $142 bar tab, so I guess I had a good night and made lots of new friends 🙂

    If you are ever in Fort Collins again, try Funkworks. Great place and great people.

    Love seeing Ella in so many pics!

    • December 16, 2016

      Ha! A $142 bar tab, now that’s admirable, Erik =)

      We had Funkwerks on the roster but totally ran out of time! I think we’ll probably try to visit them in the summer again, though, so we’ll make that our first stop!

  • December 16, 2016

    What fun! Isn’t it nice to see how many breweries/tap rooms are pet friendly (and, in my case, I like that most are family-friendly, too)? I haven’t visited Colorado since college (and I don’t want to tell you how long ago that was!). You mentioned visiting a big name brewery–we recently visited Lagunitas in Petaluma and were pleasantly surprised in the beer and food selection despite how crowded it was.

    • December 16, 2016

      Totally! Hopefully, Ella will be allowed in all the Sacramento breweries you’ve written about when next we bring her out to see Scott’s in-laws =)

  • December 18, 2016

    My favorite state! I’ve never been up to Ft Collins, though, but it looks like a fun place to spend a weekend. I’m looking forward to spending some quality time in CO next year – I only got a long weekend this year, which is never enough!

    • December 22, 2016

      Me, too, Leigh! I feel like I only ever scratch the surface when I’m there and need a whole month to just feel like I’ve really experienced the state.

  • December 30, 2016

    Thank you again for all the knowledge you distribute,Good post. Excellent and decent post.

  • January 27, 2017

    fantastic photos, i also want to experience this place

  • January 27, 2017

    fantastic photos, i also want to experience this place , thanks for sharing such lovely memories.

  • September 27, 2020
    Jim Corbett

    I am bit late of seeing this but I loved to read it completely. I honestly appreciate it. Worth Reading.

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