Kind of place
Colorado's college towns
Colorado spread its colleges across the map, and each town wears its school a little differently. Some are defined by it — the calendar, the rentals, the game-day traffic — and some barely mention it until move-in week. If you're heading to campus, dropping someone off, or renting nearby, the town's rules matter as much as the school's: local rental and occupancy limits, a bringing-a-car checklist, and the local taxes that shift from one college town to the next.
The places
Boulder
CU Boulder, the Flatirons, and a research-town brain.
Open the place page ->Fort Collins
Colorado State, Old Town, and a bike-friendly college rhythm.
Open the place page ->Greeley
The University of Northern Colorado anchors the south side.
Open the place page ->Colorado Springs
Colorado College, UCCS, and the Air Force Academy.
Open the place page ->Golden
The Colorado School of Mines, the storied engineering school on Clear Creek.
Open the place page ->Durango
Fort Lewis College, up on the mesa above downtown.
Open the place page ->Gunnison
Western Colorado University, in a high mountain valley.
Open the place page ->Alamosa
Adams State University, the four-year anchor of the San Luis Valley.
Open the place page ->Browse by county
Every city, town, and unincorporated pocket in this corner is reachable through its county page — each one gathers the local rules, rates, and notes tied to that county.
Notes from this corner
The small stories and useful rules tied to this part of Colorado.
Colorado State University began as the state's land-grant farm college
Colorado State University in Fort Collins started in 1870 as Colorado Agricultural College, the state's land-grant institution, and that farming-and-research mission still shapes the city and county.
Read the note ->Why Gunnison Feels Like a College Town
Western Colorado University, the first college on the Western Slope, has shaped the rhythm and character of Gunnison since its first class of 13 students in 1911.
Read the note ->Fort Lewis College began as a fort, then an Indian boarding school
Fort Lewis College traces back to a U.S. Army post first established in 1878 that later became a federal Indian boarding school, a difficult history tied to a tuition-free promise for Native students.
Read the note ->Adams State University: a teachers' college built for the valley
Adams State in Alamosa began in the 1920s as a teachers' college meant to train teachers for the rural San Luis Valley, and it is named for the local rancher-turned-governor Billy Adams.
Read the note ->The free Golden museum with a moon rock and a room of glowing stone
On the Colorado School of Mines campus, a free earth-science museum holds an Apollo 17 moon rock, a cave of glowing minerals, and tens of thousands of specimens that explain why Golden became a mining town.
Read the note ->In Fort Collins, you can pedal between breweries that helped start Colorado craft beer
Fort Collins grew up as a brewing town, and today its breweries sit close enough that many visitors hop between taprooms and tours on foot or by bike.
Read the note ->The student's porch kit
Where to next
See the other corners at Explore Colorado, browse every city and county in the place directory, or wander the stories in the Almanac.
Page feedback
See something wrong or unclear?
Send a note about this page. The page address will be included automatically.
Page feedback
Send a note
The page you're on will be included automatically.
Page feedback
See something wrong or unclear?
Send a note about this page. The page address will be included automatically.
Page feedback
Send a note
The page you're on will be included automatically.