As we welcome more sunny days and the beginning of summer, we’re all in search of the nearest playground to let our kids run around and burn off some energy. And thankfully, Fort Collins is dotted with a number of exceptional playgrounds with features that will keep them entertained and active for hours.
These parks in Fort Collins contain a variety of unique features for your family to explore, from extra-tall slides tucked inside silos to splash pads and petting zoos to children’s gardens. And of course, you’ll find your standard playground must-haves, including slides, swings, ropes, teeter-totters and more.
Have fun!
An award-winning park like Twin Silo Park deserves the #1 spot on this list! Included on the Urban Adventurer’s list of the Coolest Playgrounds of 2018, Twin Silo Park takes the concept of “playground” to a whole other level. There are plenty of interactive experiences (plus a zipline!) surrounding the park’s main feature: the twin 48-foot farm silos, which honor the area’s agricultural roots and house the tallest slide in Fort Collins. The 54-acre park also has community gardens, paved recreational trails, an orchard, a BMX park, pickleball courts, a dog park, original artwork and much more to explore.
Spring Canyon Park’s Inspiration Playground is the first universally accessible playground in Colorado, designed to bring children of all abilities together to share play experiences, recreation and relaxation. According to the city, “It enables children with and without disabilities the opportunity to play independently on the same equipment.” Here, you’ll find a variety of safe, state-of-the-art, sensory-rich structures, many of which are covered by shade to protect little ones from the harsh Colorado sun. The playground is accompanied by a picnic shelter and an interactive splash pad with sensor-activated water bursting from the ground.
City Park
One of the largest parks in Fort Collins, City Park offers more than 85 acres of outdoor space and kid-friendly attractions. Although it is one of the oldest parks in the city, City Park is home to one of the nicer playgrounds in town. It has two separate playgrounds situated side by side, one for toddlers and the other for older kids, accompanied by a giant green cannon, which was here long before the playgrounds. City Park also has an outdoor swim park, tennis courts, basketball courts, ball fields, a miniature train, a city pool, and a beautiful lake you can go paddle boating on.
Future paleontologists and archeologists will especially love playing on the playground at Fossil Creek Park. This prehistoric-themed playground is dotted with several large beasts of the extinct variety and large “bone” and stone features throughout. Just half an acre smaller than Spring Canyon Park, Fossil Creek is one of the largest community parks in Fort Collins. A popular spot for the whole family, this South Fort Collins gem is home to the Southridge Golf Course, Fossil Creek Dog Park, a splash park, a skate park, tennis, basketball and hockey courts, and baseball fields. Plus, paved trails weave throughout the park, looping around the park’s scenic reservoir.
A jewel of the Fort Collins parks system, Lee Martinez Community Park is home to some of the best family-friendly attractions in the city, including The Farm at Lee Martinez Park, which offers farm animal encounters and educational experiences all year long. Also in the park, you’ll find playgrounds, tennis courts, basketball courts and baseball fields — plus, the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery is located at the southeast corner! The playground has plenty of unique structures for little ones to climb and play on — and a soft surface to land on if they fall!
Edora Park
Encompassing more than 65 acres in the heart of Fort Collins, Edora Park is one of the city’s most popular. It’s home to the Edora Pool Ice Center, a community garden, a skate park, a large playground, a disc golf course, baseball fields, basketball courts and tennis courts. The sandy playground contains several slides, elevated walkways with tunnels, swings for both toddlers and big kids, and various climbing apparatus!
Sugar Beet Park is one of the newest additions to Fort Collins’ park system. The park’s playground centers on a 12-foot-tall wooden sugar beet structure that honors the history of the area, which was home to sugar beet fields farmed by migrant laborers at the turn of the 20th century. The beet is accompanied by play structures on either side, resembling the leaves and roots of the beet, plus a zip-line swing, trellis and rolling benches that can be pushed along miniature railroad tracks. The park also has a picnic shelter, a turf field, a pollinator garden, and basketball hoops.
Avery Park covers 17 acres and is the neighborhood park for the Avery Park neighborhood in central Fort Collins. The park reopened in August 2017 with an updated playground, remodeled restrooms, a new shelter, creek elements and a new bridge. The new playground has vibrant orange slides connected to lime green equipment. Toddlers will love playing on the small play structure with shorter slides and older kids can use their ninja skills to climb ropes and reach the extra tall slide on the main structure! In addition to the playground, Avery Park also has a full basketball court, a large shaded pavilion and a sandbox. A small stream runs along the north end of the playground, creating an especially peaceful environment for park visitors.
Gardens on Spring Creek Children’s Garden
While it is not your traditional “playground” with slides or swings, the Gardens on Spring Creek Children’s Garden is an oasis for children to play — and learn! Their first garden open to the public, the Children’s Garden contains a variety of inviting areas with themes of community, gardening and sustainability woven throughout. You’ll find a rock garden, secret gardens and willow huts, a bridge extending over a pond stocked with fish, a green roof shelter, a giant watering can with an active splash waterway, a Dr. Seuss playhouse and sandpit, an interactive discovery zone, raised garden beds, a miniature train garden, an animal footprint path, and more!
Which is your favorite?
Let us know which park in Fort Collins your family loves to visit — even if it’s not on this list!
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