Fort Collins History Tour: Engaging Early Settlement Exploration

Embark on an engaging and detailed history tour of Fort Collins and its surrounding region. Explore early settlements, hear fascinating stories, and immerse yourself in the rich history of the area.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Cache La Poudre River - This tour tells the fascinating story of some the earliest settlers in the Cache la Poudre River valley, how they came to be associated with the founding of the fledgling community of Fort Collins, and where the settlement occurred along the Poudre corridor.
  • Library Park - Guests will be able to see Auntie Stone’s cabin and learn about the Euro-American settlement here in 1859 and the U.S. Army, serving a protective role for civilians.
  • Strauss Cabin Road - Guests will enjoy a 10 minute walk to see the remains of the Strauss cabin, situated along the Cache la Poudre River.
  • 131 Lincoln Ave - Harmony Mill, Fort Collins - Constructed in 1886, the \
What's Included
  • Personalized stagecoach ticket
  • Variety of historic artifacts shared from personal company archives and collections
  • In-vehicle air conditioning
Additional Information

On each journey, primary historical interpreter and owner, Mark Serour, eloquently communicates the absorbing chronicle of Fort Collins and the nearby area in a detailed, entertaining and engaging manner. To enrich the visitor’s experience, he also wears themed attire and showcases a range of contextually relevant visual aids from the Traces of the Past company’s collection and records. We stand as the sole History tours service in the larger Fort Collins region offering such a unique feature. Participants can look forward to an escorted van exploration supplemented with some moderate strolling across extensive Fort Collins zones. Our tours uncover captivating tales of individuals and occurrences that are germane not just to the immediate Cache la Poudre River valley, but also encompass southeastern WY and western NE regions. Comprehensive history is not limited to one place, but a wide-ranging, unbiased investigation encompassing diverse groups populated across a substantial geographical range. This is the vision that Traces of the Past History Tours endeavours to manifest.

Location
4900 Rist Canyon Rd
Rist Canyon Road
Where to Meet: the tour will begin at the parking lot next to the entrance to Watson Lake State Wildlife Area. Located ~1 mile west of Vern's Place on Rist Canyon Rd. next to the bridge that crosses the Cache la Poudre River (closest address to site: 4900 Rist Canyon Rd., Laporte, CO 80521).
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(12 Ratings)
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I9115tneileenb
Jul 5, 2024
Great Tour! - Mark was our guide for "In the Footsteps of the Explorers" history tour in Fort Collins. He was very knowledgeable; answered all our questions. Highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Amgarcia28
Jun 27, 2024
Super Interesting - I’ve visited Fort Collins many times over the years to visit family snd friends, and usually have just a couple of days, this time I have several weeks and decided to dive deeper and try to learn more about the area. Mark’s history tour was great, he chose a few really interesting people from the area’s past and gave us an in-depth look at the stories behind some of the place names that are so familiar here. His love for history really makes his stories interesting and the characters come alive. His maps, artifacts and photos really add a lot to the authenticity of the tour. Thank you Mark!
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Alisonw2474
Aug 21, 2023
Wonderful Tour - Marc was a wonderful guide to the early beginnings of the Cache de Poudre valley. He was informed, charming, and clearly communicated his love for the area that he was guiding us through. Not only did he continually narrate the history and the features of the natural environment we were seeing, he also provided us with a map of the area to use that highlighted the important locations he was discussing and showed us many artifacts and documents from the time periods he was focusing on. He even dressed in clothing of the era and mastered the special handwriting of the time period to prepare a journal with quotes from area notables. Thank you, Marc, for an enjoyable and informative morning.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Palmer55summer_fun
Jul 27, 2023
Simply put, it was Perfect. - It was an amazing and extremely informative tour. Mark was incredible and super knowledgeable in the history of this area. He brought artifacts along and shared an incredible amount of information. From start to finish he was cognizant of our needs and so polite. If you love history and want to learn about Fort Collins- I highly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cynthiamm394xs
Jul 8, 2023
Wonderful Tour/Captivating Stories - Delightful, insightful and informational! Thank you Mark for a wonderful morning and a Happy Birthday for our Mother :) Cynthia
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shannonm589
Jun 24, 2023
See Fort Collins differently - I took my father on a tour for father’s day. Mark is a wonderful tour guide who really enjoys what he does. It was a wonderful experience. The tour sparked us to go home and look up information.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Klksboys
Jun 11, 2023
Awesome, informative tour. - Unique tour in an area where I was bombarded with beer tours. Mark is passionate, knowledgeable and fun. Highly recommended.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jeanporr
Jun 8, 2023
Pioneer history in Fort Collins comes alive! - As a history major, Mark was well-qualified to lead this tour. He took us to several sites in the early history of Fort Collins and shared many details of the early days here. He offered several maps and photos to help us understand the people and their times. He welcomed questions, and we finished the tour with a better grounding of the area and its history. Thank you, Mark, for an enlightening afternoon!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Fredgr99
May 25, 2023
History Come Alive! - Someone once said that history is who we are and why we are the way we are. Mark Serour knows this better than anyone. On his "Early Settlement" tour yesterday Mark made history come alive for us. He is extremely knowledgeable of local Ft. Collins history, Colorado history, and national history and presents historical events in a helpful, easy-to-understand frame of reference. Mark is also warm, friendly and a lot of fun. We highly recommend Mark Serour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rose
Apr 23, 2023
If You Love History, Don’t Miss This - We thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Mark and Wendy were the best. We are all seniors and they made sure we were comfortable and planned the tour to please us. (The four of us were the only tourists) Mark was a wealth of information. It was a great 2 hours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 10 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
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