Horsetooth Rock - 5.0 Miles Round-Trip

Horsetooth Mountain Open Space Park encompasses the Culver, Soderberg, and Hughey Open Spaces. This 2,886 acre park is located on the west side of Horsetooth Reservoir, 4 miles west of Fort Collins and 12 miles northwest of Loveland. Horsetooth Mountain Open Space Park supports 29 miles of multipurpose trails through native grasslands, ponderosa woodlands and montane forests.

Trail Map | Photo Gallery

Horsetooth Rock (7,256') caps Horsetooth Mountain, the park's tallest and most recognizable feature. According to Native American legend, Horsetooth Rock is the remains of the heart of an evil giant, slain and cut in two by Chief Maununmoku.

European settlers believed the rock bore a greater resemblance to a horse tooth, hence the modern name. Numerous routes lead to the summit; the most direct route begins at the Horsetooth Mountain Open Space Trailhead and follows the Horsetooth Rock Trail:

The Horsetooth Rock Trail rises through open grasslands dotted with yucca, cacti, and cattail to the Horsetooth Falls Trail connection (.32 miles : 5,923'). It continues steadily up a well defined path to the first of four connections and brief merges with the multi-use South Ridge Trail (.55 miles : 6,095'). Remain on the Horsetooth Trail in each instance.

The trail winds north-northwest into a mixed pine forest that thickens as you progress. Look for signs of deer, fox, coyote, skunk, bobcat, mountain lion, and bear along the way. Large outcrops flank much of the trail, which are good places to find a sunning rattlesnake. Frequent breaks in the timber provide views over the lower foothills, Horsetooth Reservoir and eastern plains.

The trail reaches a 4th and unmarked merge with the South Ridge Trail; bear right to remain on track (2.0 miles : 6,875'). Note that a side spur veers left to excellent views of the Horsetooth.

A short distance ahead is the Wathen Trail connection (2.1 miles : 6,888'), beyond which the trail grows rugged and periodically ill-defined over rock slabs. Remain vigilant to a set of rock-notch steps just below the Audra Culver Trail split (2.25 miles : 6,982').

The trail keeps a north-northwest heading past an informational sign before curling steeply to a gap on the north side of the Horsetooth. Here you'll begin a short but rugged scramble (back south) to the top of Horsetooth Rock and Horsetooth Mountain summit (2.5 miles : 7,256').

The summit is long and thin with unabated panoramas across the eastern plains, lower foothills, reservoir, and Rocky Mountains. Notable from these heights are hogbacks, or homoclinal ridges, that run uniformly north-south between the plains and foothills.

These uplifted and tilted formations are typically comprised of two compressed sedimentary layers that eroded at different rates. As the softer layer erodes, its slopes steepen and the harder layer emerges along it edges. These rounded formations with a jagged rock outline resemble the knobby spine of a hog.