Gateway Natural Area

Gateway Natural Area is the kind of place you will want to bring your family for a day in the mountains and definitely a place you will be proud to say is part of Fort Collins. Gateway Natural Area (formerly Gateway Mountain Park) is the site of the City's old water filtration plant, where the North Fork of the Poudre River joins the main Poudre River. Visitors enjoy it because its tucked away from the noise of Highway 14 and Gateway is only 15 miles from Fort Collins! You'll find hiking trails, a designated launch area for kayaks and canoes, fishing, picnic tables with grills, informational kiosks and a natural playground.

Note: Cell phone service at Gateway and in the Poudre Canyon is not reliable.

Trails

Black Powder Trail: Moderate, 0.8 miles, steeply climbs to an expansive view of the Poudre Canyon.

Overlook Trail: Easy, 0.3 miles, steeply climbs to a beautiful ridgetop.

Seaman Reservoir: Visitors can access City of Greeley's Seaman Reservoir through Gateway Natural Area. The reservoir is 1 mile from Gateway via a flat dirt road with a short climb at the end. Swimming and cliff jumping are not permitted at Seaman Reservoir.

E-bikes are not permitted on soft/natural surface trails. ADA mobility devices are allowed.

Please visit these links for a Gateway Brochure(PDF, 14MB) and Natural Areas Map(PDF, 25MB). These documents are provided for printing purposes. For assistance viewing or reading these documents, please contact the City's ADA Coordinator via email adacoordinator@fortcollins.gov or phone: 970-416-4254.

Plan Your Visit

Popular times.

Graph of popular times at Gateway Natural Area. Weekday visits rise from morning, peaking at 1 p.m. Weekends are much busier, with the highest use late morning through mid-afternoon, especially from noon–4 p.m.

Hunting Access

No hunting within Gateway Natural Area. A permit from the City of Fort Collins is required to carry firearms across Gateway Natural Area. Apply for a free special use permit by contacting naturalareas@fortcollins.gov.

Fee Area

Passes are required for vehicles, walk-ins, tubers and boaters.

Daily passes can only be purchased onsite at Gateway Natural Area. No cash, cards only. Visitors are encouraged to park and then pay at the self-pay stations to ensure a parking spot.

Daily pass: $8 per passenger vehicle. Daily passes must be clearly displayed on the passenger’s side of the dashboard. 

Annual Pass: Annual passes are available starting Dec. 1 and can be used until the end of the following year. Purchase Annual Passes at the machines onsite at Gateway Natural Area only.

Annual Accessibility Pass: Please contact the Natural Areas office for information 970-416-2815

Visitors can also checkout a free Gateway Natural Area annual pass for up to one week from the Poudre River Library District and Wellington Public Library. No holds are available.

Passes issued by other agencies are not valid at Gateway Natural Area such as Colorado Parks & Wildlife's Keep Colorado Wild, Larimer County, America the Beautiful, etc.

Special Use Permit Required

Groups of 15 or more persons, including organized school activities and group athletic activities must apply for a Special Use Permit. There is no charge for a Special Use Permit. Email naturalareas@fortcollins.gov for more information.