The sun is shining and the temperatures are rising! Here are some fun activities to do in Fort Collins this summer:

1) Cache La Poudre River: Whether you are interested in fishing, walking, biking, kayaking, or tubing, this river is the optimum place for the outdoors enthusiast. Often referred to as The Poudre, this river has a 21-mile paved trail that follows the water and winds through beautiful country and covers a variety of different landscapes. It has marked historical points all along the trail, and provides many education opportunities for the kids. If you’d rather be in the water, rent a tube or kayak, head up-stream, and float down with a group of friends.

2) Breweries: According to Fort Collins Beer dot com, “Fort Collins is home to the most brewers and microbreweries per capita in all of Colorado.  Additionally, Colorado is ranked second in the nation for most craft beer by production volume.” This city is home to New Belgium Brewing Co., Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins Brewery, Coopersmith’s Pub and Brewing, Big Horn Brewery, and Anheuser-Busch/Budweiser. Take your time and tour each one, or rent a MyHandleBar party bike and gradually make your way to each brewery for some testing. Either way, it’s a great way to spend an afternoon!

3) Holiday Twin Drive-In: Spend an evening enjoying an old fashioned drive in movie theater! Located on the west side of town, and near the foothills, you can choose from two screens that offer double features 7 days a week. They offer new movies and have a fully stocked snack bar for your convenience. Pull in, roll down the windows, and grab a speaker. Or, comfy up the truck bed and watch from under the stars! Regardless of what movies are playing, this theater is worth the reasonable prices and the experience.

4) Horsetooth Rock and Reservoir: This is one of Fort Collins’ most well known landmarks. Horsetooth Mountain Open Space is filled with trails that provide spectacular views of the entire Front Range. The rock itself is visible from the plains, and sits at an elevation of 7300 feet. It’s a 5 mile hike round trip, and is popular among the locals. The reservoir is often busy during the hot months of summer, as it is a popular destination for boaters and water skiers. There is a small fee to get into the park, but it is well worth the money.

5) Old Town: This section of town offers ample opportunity to eat, shop, walk, catch some live music, or visit the farmer’s market. It’s booming with quaint little stores, coffee shops, breweries, and historical marks. You can take a self-guided one hour tour to learn about the architecture and history, or you can enjoy a meal at one of the many restaurants that offer outdoor seating. Throughout the summer they also offer outdoor concerts in various locations around downtown. They are usually free, and the people watching is great! Whatever your preference may be, Old Town is a great place to spend an afternoon.

If you love what you see in this city, check out Fort Collins homes for sale on COhomefinder.com in the area!

It’s less than a week from Halloween and also the first day of snow in the front range.  For those who have lived in Colorado a long time, you know the first snow and Halloween seem to follow eachother hand in hand.  Every Colorado trick-or-treater knows it’s not a costume if you can’t fit a snow jacket underneath!

The forecasts for Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins has Halloween day 2011 the 10 day high.  We’ll see if the Colorado forecast is correct!

In the meantime however, it seems that there are more activities for young and old, across Colorado, in the days leading up to Halloween itself.

Many of the neighbors in the Colorado neighborhoods 8z Real Estate blogs about have listed activities, costume and decoration ideas recently.  Here are a few things happening near you!

Activities

In Boulder:

In recent years the Boulder High Haunted House has now become legendary. Travel through the tunnels beneath the school and through the auditorium to benefit the Boulder HS theater production team. So avoid those long lines at the commercial haunted houses, and visit the local haunted house. It opens October 27th through Halloween. Click for more details about Boulder High’s Haunted House.

On Friday Oct 28, 3-5pm there’s an event at the SoBo Rec Center for the young kids, ages 3-8 years old. It’s the Spooktacular Celebration complete with pirate bounce house, crafts, face painting, Halloween tattoos, haunted house/maze, games and prizes.

Not every Halloween activity is about eating obscene amounts of candy. On Saturday, Oct 29th, 8:45am bring a pumpkin and a canned food item to donate and participate in the 3rd annual Halloween Food Drive and PUMP-kin workout at Scott Carpenter Park.

From there you have time to attend the Free Family Halloween Concert at the Boulder Public Library’s Canyon Theater. It is at 11am Oct 29th.

There are also two non-scary Halloween themed play classes during the weekend on Oct 29, 4-5:30pm and Oct 30, 10-11:30am at  Gymboree Play and Music. For $20/child (adults are free) your kid and you can enjoy craft time, a costume parade, parachute time with bubbles and a snack.

And on Halloween day itself, from 3-5pm take the kids after school to Downtown Boulder’s Munchkin Masquerade. Trick-r-treat on the Pearl St Mall!

And before heading out in the neighborhood for trick-r-treating, visit Ideal Market’s Annual Pumpkin Patch Photo Booth.  It is also a free event with photos taken by a professional photographer.

In Denver:

On Saturday October 29th, head to Northwest Denver as the shops all along Tennyson Street between 38th and 45th Avenues in the Berkeley neighborhood will be giving out goodies to children. It’s the Trick Or Treat on Tennyson Street!

In Northern Colorado:

Near Greeley, there is The Fritzler Maize which is Colorado’s original and premier corn maze. There are pillow jumps, camp fires, duck races, loads of other fun entertainment – and food – kettle corn, pizza, funnel cakes, cotton candy, BBQ and more. Read about the maize.

In Loveland, participate in The Embassy Suites Loveland’s 2nd Annual Phantom 4-Mile Race, Bone Chilling Breakfast and Costume Contest will be held Saturday, October 29, 2011. There will be prizes for the best adult costume, best team costume, best child’s costume and best dog costume! Read about the course and the animal sanctuary it benefits.

And for plenty more, happening in your neighborhood, check out your neighborhood blogs on 8z.com.