The closest camping to Fort Collins is on Horsetooth Reservoir, and Larimer County's dog rules there are short and specific.
Horsetooth Reservoir is the long lake in the hogbacks just west of town, at 5,420 feet, and Larimer County runs two campgrounds on it: South Bay, near the swim beach and group pavilion, and Inlet Bay next to the marina. Dogs are welcome at both on one condition that the county states plainly: they must be on a leash no longer than ten feet at all times, and they are not allowed at the swim beaches. The Horsetooth Area Information Center on West County Road 38 E is the place for permits and current conditions.
Do not confuse the reservoir with Horsetooth Mountain Open Space across the road. The county requires leashes at all times throughout the open space, says loose dogs may be impounded; there is no off-leash option anywhere on the Horsetooth side of town.
Two seasonal notes: foxtails and cheatgrass dry out in the hogbacks from early summer through fall, so check paws and ears after every walk, and rattlesnakes are active on the sunny slopes above the reservoir from roughly April through October. Back in the city, the four fenced Fort Collins dog parks are the legal places to let a dog run.
Horsetooth Area Information Center, 4200 W County Road 38 E, Fort Collins, CO 80526
Dogs must be on leashes no longer than 10 feet at all times and are not allowed at the swim beaches.
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Larimer County requires dogs to be on a leash no longer than ten feet at all times at the South Bay and Inlet Bay campgrounds, and dogs are not allowed at the swim beaches. Across the road at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space, leashes are required everywhere and loose dogs may be impounded.
Not at the designated swim beaches, which are off limits to dogs. Elsewhere along the shoreline the ten-foot leash rule still applies, so any water access is on lead. Plan to keep the dog out of the roped swim areas near South Bay.
No. Horsetooth Reservoir and Horsetooth Mountain Open Space are run by Larimer County's Department of Natural Resources, which is why the campground leash limit is ten feet rather than the six-foot rule Colorado Parks and Wildlife enforces in state parks. County entrance permits are required.
