This is roughly a 45 mile loop on some great foothill canyon roads and can be attacked a number of ways. Let's start this one in Laporte, Colorado (a small town NW of Fort Collins) at Vern's Place (A), a great place for breakfast. The 40+ Motorcycle Club eats here for breakfast sometimes. Vern's is located on Larimer County Rd 54G, just west of the "center of town". Immediately west of Vern's is W Co Rd 52E, also known as Mountain Ave (not to be confused with Mountain Ave in Fort Collins) which forks left off the main road Vern's is on. This road (known locally as Rist Canyon Rd) will take you straight through Bellvue, Colorado and right up Rist Canyon. At the top of Rist Canyon you'll crest the ridge and head straight down for about a mile to a T at Stove Prairie Canyon Road and the Stove Prairie School (B). This is a good spot to stop and take a drink, as there's little room after this for pulling off. At this point, you can either head north to Poudre Canyon or South to Masonville, Colorado. This loop is intended to go South. Heading South from the Stove Prairie School you'll eventually end up in Masonville at the Nostalgic West Leather Shop. (C) The road changes names to Buckhorn Rd partway to Masonville. There is no stop sign in Masonville, so if you're new to this area, you may pass it right by. After a stop at Nostalgic West Leathers, continue on to the East. The road changes names again in Masonville to W Co Rd 38E and continues East past Horsetooth Mountain, Horsetooth Reservoir and the town of Stout, Colorado. Once back down off the Hogbacks the road changes names once more to Harmony Rd at JJ's (D), the first traffic light you'll see since Laporte. Now that you're on Harmony Rd, you're back in Fort Collins and it's up to you to find your way home. There's great color during the fall on this road, but it's slow and twisty in some areas with a couple deceptive, decreasing radius turns, so be careful. There are also cattle guards and thus free-ranging cattle. And watch out especially for sand on the road in the Spring. Reversing this route changes the scenery completely. I like to run it counter-clockwise as the view from the top of Rist Canyon to the West is great. This route can be run anytime the snow is gone, noting the above hazards. No gas is available between Laporte and JJ's but it is only 45 miles.
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