Reservoir Ridge Natural Area is managed by the City of Fort Collins and is located 15 minutes northwest of Fort Collins, Colorado. Primary activities are hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding (with horse trailer parking), and walking leashed dogs. There are two free parking lots, each of which has a restroom and free pet waste bags, but no water. The parking lot on the east side is 15 minutes from downtown and the parking lot on the west side is 30 minutes from downtown. Cell phone service was available while in the park. Finally, a sign on the trail states that Reservoir Ridge Natural Area is funded in part by Great Outdoors Colorado and the Colorado Lottery.
The following hike is a 3.0 mile loop with a total elevation climb of 400 feet. It begins at the Reservoir Ridge east parking lot, embarks on the Foothills trail, continues with a loop on the Reservoir Ridge trail, and finishes by returning on the Foothills trail. For longer hikes and bike rides, the Foothills trail at Reservoir Ridge can be traveled south to Maxwell Natural Area and eventually to Pineridge Natural Area. The following trail description only traverses the first 1.1 miles of the Foothills trail before switching to the Reservoir Ridge trail.
The Foothills trail starts at an elevation of ~5,200 feet. From the east parking lot, the first stretch of trail is smooth, flat, and almost wide enough for two people across. It only provides shade at dawn and dusk and, thus, it is important to wear hiking hats and/or sunscreen.
The second half of the 1.1 mile trail traveled to reach Reservoir Ridge trail is rockier and contains switchbacks that lead to an elevation gain of ~350 feet. Further, this section is moderate in difficulty whereas the rest of the described loop is easy. Regarding mountain biking, this section appears to be more vertically challenging than it is technically challenging.
A portion of the Reservoir Ridge trail forms a 1.1 mile horseshoe that connects to the Foothills trail in two spots. The Foothills trail first intersects the eastern half of Reservoir Ridge trail. We chose to continue to the second intersection and, thus, to hike the Reservoir Ridge trail clockwise. The portion of trail described in this blog post goes up and down spanning a range of 200 feet in elevation.
The western section of Reservoir Ridge trail contains an interpretive sign explaining the geological history of the ridge. Despite the housing developments to the west, hiking along the western half of the trail provides a quiet break from city sights and sounds.
It offers views to the south of Lory State Park, Horsetooth Reservoir, and Horsetooth Mountain Open Space; seen in the following picture.
Views to the north include the Poudre Canyon in the distance.
True mountain mahogany can be seen in the foreground of the following picture and is abundant near the trail. In addition, great plains yucca was seen near the trail. The eastern half of the Reservoir Ridge trail drops back down to the Foothills trail, which leads back to the east parking lot.
In sum, this is an ideal hike for Fort Collins visitors looking for a scenic Colorado experience that is low stress (i.e., short drive, easy hike). Further, Fort Collins residents frequent this natural area to walk their dogs and/or for recreational exercise. Mountain bikers can reach the trail from town by biking on roads and can experience a solid cardiovascular workout while on the trail.
