Earth Day 2025 is coming up soon on April 22nd! Since Fort Collins is surrounded by scenic natural beauty and our residents and visitors love the outdoors, Earth Day is a special day here every year. We strive to be an environmentally friendly city, focusing on a number of "green" initiatives and finding ways for us to become more sustainable.
Voted No. 1 for The Best Places to Live in America in 2020 by Livability, No. 1 City in America for Cycling by PeopleForBikes, voted the Clean Air Champion by Regional Air Quality Council, along with many other green awards; Fort Collins is frequently recognized for its sustainable efforts that improve the quality of life its residents and travelers. It is now time that sustainable tourism in Fort Collins is recognized.
The World Tourism Organization (UNTO) defines sustainable tourism as “Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities”.
Read on to discover the best ways to celebrate Earth Day in Fort Collins this year!
Attend Special Earth Day Events in Fort Collins
Earth Day Fort Collins
Don't miss the 15th Annual Earth Day Fort Collins coming up on Saturday, April 19th at Civic Center Park. This free event features a combination of activities and events for the entire family, including informational booths and displays, kids activities, arts & crafts, live music, speakers, food trucks, farmers market and even a beer garden. Visit their website to find out more information.
Colorado State University
On April 18th, Colorado State University has several earth-friendly events to celebrate Earth Day. From 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Moby Arena Parking Lot, CSU is hosting a compost giveaway, athletic shoe recycling, and electronic waste recycling.
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Take home CSU food waste-turned-compost, sponsored by HDS and Facilities. Come by and collect compost for your gardening needs. Please limit to two, 5-gallon buckets per person (bring your own buckets).
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Recycle your athletic sneakers/ tennis shoes, sponsored by Campus Recreation. Athletic shoes in any condition will be evaluated, repurposed, or recycled through a third-party organization. Please no dress shoes, boots, or non-athletic footwear.
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Recycle your personal electronics, sponsored by Surplus Property and Environmental Health Services. Any electronics with a plug or battery can be recycled through this event. Please limit to two electronics, no larger than a desktop monitor, per person.
Additionally, there is a CSU Arbor Day Celebration & Planting at 12 p.m.-1 p.m. between the Visual Arts and Chemistry buildings, off Pitkin. The first half hour of the event will include a ceremony and tree planting clinic with students from the Society of American Foresters demonstrating steps for how to plant a tree properly. The second half of the event the community will dig holes and help plant 6 trees. This is their 15th consecutive arbor day planting, and the 14th year being acknowledged as a Tree Campus Higher Education institution.
Get Outside
There is no better way to celebrate Mother Earth than going outside and appreciating all her beauty! Fort Collins is home to thousands of trails, lakes, and streams in the surrounding foothills and mountains that are waiting to be discovered. Fort Collins is home to some of Colorado's best camping, fishing, hiking, and open spaces. From whitewater rafting to kayaking to disc golf, there are endless outdoor attractions to enjoy, no matter what you might be into.
Fort Collins' pride and joy, Horsetooth Reservoir, has a wide variety of both land and water activities, making it an ideal choice for your Earth Day adventure. Use the COTREX app to find trails perfect for you, and be sure to educate yourself on the Leave No Trace principles before you go out! One of the most unique things about Fort Collins is that we are surrounded by such beautiful natural scenery, so get out there and explore it and enjoy it this Earth Day!
Volunteer & Give Back to the Planet
What better way to celebrate Earth Day than actively cleaning up campgrounds, open spaces, and trails before the summer starts? Larimer County Natural Resources is hosting a few amazing opportunities for you to directly help our beautiful natural areas here in Fort Collins.
Tiny Trekkers: Earth Day is for Everyone!
Bring your 2-5 year old for a morning filled with nature exploration, stories, and connection with our amazing natural world. This month, we're celebrating the place we all live: Earth! We'll plant sunflower seeds to take home with us and learn about how the earth provides what a plant needs to grow. Registration is required, so click here to sign up - but its free! There are two dates: April 17th at Lions Open Space and April 19th at River Bluffs Open Space and Poudre River Trail.
Earth Day Litter Cleanup
Celebrate Earth Day by picking up and packing out local litter! Volunteers will head out to the Upper Sunrise Day Use Area on the east shore of the Horsetooth Reservoir to remove unsightly litter from the area. All ages are welcome so you can register as an individual, group, or family. Click here to sign up! A shuttle from town will meet at Spring Canyon Park for those without their own transportation. Stick around after the project for lunch and a raffle drawing!
Stargaze with Northern Colorado Astronomical Society
Enjoy an evening with members of the Northern Colorado Astronomical Society (NCAS) for an up-close look at the night sky over the Rockies. Telescopes will be available for viewing stars, galaxies, planets and more! Bring the whole group to connect with the wonders of the night sky. This open house-style program is located at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space (entrance on County Road 38E). Telescopes will be set up on the far side of the paved parking lot. Program is free but a parking pass is required. Registration is encouraged. Click here to register!
Visit an Environmentally Conscious Brewery or Restaurant
In Fort Collins, we are proud to be home to restaurants and breweries that value minimizing their impact on the world around us. Sustainability is important to the Fort Collins community, and we want to highlight a few of our favorite businesses that are going above and beyond to help guide us into a greener future.
The Fox Den: No Waste Cafe & Roastery
This adorable coffee shop just west of Old Town is a hidden gem and it is totally worth a visit! Their goal is to provide the Fort Collins community with freshly roasted specialty coffee, delicious pastries, a welcoming atmosphere, and 5-star service, all while maintaining their “No Waste” practices. It is the perfect first stop before kicking off your Earth Day weekend festivities!
Ginger & Baker
The legendary Ginger & Baker exemplifies what it means to be working towards a sustainable future as a business in Fort Collins. When their old grain mill opened its doors over 100 years ago, the health of the business went hand in hand with the health of the land and community - from seed to crop, to food for the animals and the people who kept it all going. Today, understanding the need for a healthy planet continues to be a part of the Ginger and Baker philosophy. Stop in to visit the Cafe where comfort food is done right, the Cache which is known for being a modern Colorado steakhouse, or the Market & Bakery to grab a coffee and a slice of delicious pie!
Horse & Dragon Brewing Company
After getting outdoors, what better way to cool off than with a well-earned beer? Horse & Dragon Brewing Company is the perfect spot to continue your Earth Day celebrations as the company constantly works with a triple-bottom-line mentality and focuses on how its brewery impacts the surrounding environment by leading the Fort Collins community in sustainability. Visit their taproom (which happens to be a repurposed airplane hangar), drink local favorite beer, and cheers to the wonderful planet we get to call home!
Getting Around Fort Collins
Fort Collins has been ranked as one of only 5 Platinum-Level Bike-Friendly Cities in the nation. What better way to celebrate this achievement and Earth Day than to experience it first-hand? Enjoy a day around town by bicycle! Start by renting a bike from Beer & Bike Tours or Pedego and head to City Park. Take in the gorgeous views of the Rocky Mountains, stop to take a break and enjoy the sun on the rolling green hills, and immerse yourself in the community. Then, bike down Mountain Avenue, which is full of beautiful and historic homes (arguably the prettiest street in all of Fort Collins)! Park your bike in Old Town and grab a bite to eat and shop at many of our famous local shops. It's easy, exhilarating, and better for the environment to tour our city on a bike, so join in on the fun!
MAX Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) serves major activity and employment centers throughout our community including Midtown, CSU, and Downtown. MAX links with other Transfort bus routes, Park-n-Rides, the City's bicycle/pedestrian trail system, and other local and regional transit routes to provide seamless service for passengers.
Transfort provides exceptional, customer-focused service that meets the Fort Collins community's present and future transit needs. Transfort is all about easy, modern transit.
No matter how you choose to celebrate this Earth Day in Fort Collins, get out there, be sustainable and never take our beautiful planet for granted. Explore, experience and enjoy our Mother Earth!
