Lory State Park Elopement Guide
Lory State Park: A Fort Collins Hidden Gem
Located just west of Fort Collins in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Lory State Park is a picturesque wonderland with 26 miles of trails and direct access to Horsetooth Reservoir. For couples looking to elope in beautiful mountain terrain—without venturing too far outside civilization—Lory State Park is a great choice! And being just a short drive from my home base, I know it like the back of my hand. I’d love to help you plan the perfect elopement day in this gorgeous Colorado state park!
Where to Get Married in Lory State Park
Lory State Park has a few rentable options including their three outdoor ceremony sites (Soldier Canyon, South Eltuck, and Timber), each with their own perks and natural beauty.
Soldier Canyon
Capacity: 100+ people, 50+ vehicles
Fee: $150 (weekdays) / $300 (weekends)
Soldier Canyon is a picnic area that can be reserved for 2 hour time slots, and is the best location in Lory State Park for weddings. Soldier Canyon is also the only ceremony site with water and electricity. It features a spacious covered picnic area, red rock backdrop for ceremonies, and vibrant meadows. This is perfect if you want privacy, views, and a covered space. You can have your ceremony and reception/dinner here. And there’s a cute fireplace where you could roast s’mores!
South Eltuck
Capacity: 50 people, 35 vehicles
Fee: $75 (weekdays) / $125 (weekends)
South Eltuck is a smaller picnic area just off the shore of Horsetooth Reservoir in a beautiful meadow. This site has a few covered picnic tables and barbecues that would work for a small reception or private picnic with your new spouse. The backdrop of red rocks and lakeshore are stunning for portraits!
Timber
Capacity: 100 people, 40 vehicles
Fee: $100 (weekdays) / $150 (weekends)
Timber is another picnic area in the mouth of Soldier Canyon, offering this site more privacy among rolling hills and cottonwood trees. This site also has a covered picnic area and bathrooms (though no running water or electricity). The nearby horseshoe pit and volleyball court would be fun built-in reception activities!
Conference Room
For a small indoor reception, Lory State Park also has a conference room available to rent, with a maximum capacity of 25 people. For a rental fee of only $100 a day, the conference room includes access to a patio picnic area.
Two Person Lory State Park Elopement Locations
The options above are perfect for microweddings and elopements with a few family and friends—but if you want to elope just you and your partner, we aren’t limited to just the traditional ceremony sites!
We can hike to other locations in Lory State Park to capture a private, intimate ceremony. Some of my favorites include Arthur’s Rock—a 1.7-mile trail to a rock outcropping with truly spectacular views of Horsetooth Reservoir and Fort Collins beyond—and East Valley Trail, a mostly flat 2.2-mile route through scenic meadows and foothills.
Lory State Park also offers backcountry campsites available for reservation (more on that below), which would be the perfect setting for a camping elopement! You can wake up, recite vows in front of a sunrise backdrop, spend the day hiking and exploring, and sleep under the stars on your wedding night.
For a ceremony in one of these alternative locations, we’ll must make sure we’re following Leave No Trace guidelines and all park rules about permitting (more below).
Adventuring during your lory state park elopement
I’ve said it a million times and I’ll say it a million more: one of the best things about eloping in nature is that you can make your entire wedding day look any way you want. Lory State Park has a plethora of options to adventure before or after your wedding ceremony, from hiking to biking to paddle boarding!
When you book me as your planner/photographer, we’ll work together to build a detailed itinerary for your day that includes activities that feel true to you as a couple.
Hit The Trails: Hiking, Biking, & Horseback riding
Lory State Park has 26 miles of hiking trails, most with low elevation gain to make them accessible even for beginning hikers. All of these trails are also open to leashed dogs, if you want to take your four-legged friend along on your day!
And if mountain biking or horseback riding is more your speed, several of the trails below are also open to bikes or horses! Lory State Park also has a bike skills park, and a horseback riding cross country jump field.
Check out the Lory State Park trail map for an overview of all the park has to offer.
Arthur’s Rock Trail
- Distance: 3.2 miles
- Elevation Gain: 1,099 feet
- Mountain Biking: No
- Scenery: Forested mountainside and open meadows, leading to a rock outcropping with expansive views of Horsetooth Reservoir
Wells Gulch Nature Trail
- Distance: 2.5 miles
- Elevation gain: 603 feet
- Mountain Biking: No
- Scenery: Wildflower meadows with stations describing local flora and fauna
East & West Valley Trails
- Distance: 4.7 miles
- Elevation Gain: 282 feet
- Mountain Biking: Yes
- Scenery: Meadows and foothills, can be muddy
Waterfall Trail
- Distance: 0.2 miles
- Elevation Gain: 29 feet
- Mountain Biking: No
- Scenery: Short walk leads to a series of waterfalls during spring and early summer
Backpacking & Camping
Lory State Park does not have a campground, but it does have six primitive, backcountry campsites that can only be reached by hiking Timber Trail, one of the longer and more challenging hikes in the park. The location of these campsites far from roads and most park visitors makes them the perfect candidate for a backpacking elopement or honeymoon!
All six campsites are open year-round and can hold up to six campers each. Campfires are prohibited, but camp stoves are allowed. You’ll have to pack in water (and everything else you need), and pack out all trash. I can help you make sure you have the gear you need as part of your elopement plan!
Campsites fill up fast, but you can reserve them in advance through the Colorado Parks & Wildlife website. Backcountry camping permits are $18.
Watersports
With close proximity and access to Horsetooth Reservoir, I highly recommend incorporating paddleboards, kayak, or canoes into your Lory State Park elopement day! You can launch canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, and rafts directly from the North Eltuck Bay parking lot in Lory State Park, and power boats from Satanka Cove nearby.
If you don’t have paddleboards of your own, you can rent them from several nearby businesses, including FOCO Adventures near Horsetooth Reservoir. (Or, you could take mine out for a spin!)
When to Elope in Lory State Park
Lory State Park is open year-round, but like everywhere in Colorado, weather can vary wildly and even cause trail closures.
Winter and early spring are the muddiest times of year, and trails in the park often close. Ceremony sites are also likely to be muddy during this time, and you may see snow on the ground. Lory State Park experiences average highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s in the winter, and highs in the 50s and 60s and lows in the 30s and 40s in the spring.
I recommend late spring and summer for the brightest green meadows and wildflowers. Summer highs average in the 80s, with lows in the 50s. Afternoon thunderstorms are a regular occurrence, but we can plan around them and they often bring amazing sunsets!
Finally, fall offers warmer tones in the meadows, with average highs in the 60s and 70s and lows in the 40s and 50s.
Want to know more about when to elope in Colorado? Check out this blog!
How To Plan Your Lory State Park Elopement:
If this guide has convinced you that a Lory State Park elopement might be right for you, but you’re not quite sure where to start and feeling overwhelmed by the options, don’t panic! I’ll break down the steps to planning your dream elopement and do my best to make the process as stress-free as possible for you and your partner.
1. Contact ME
First things first, fill out my contact form! No worries if you don’t have all the details figured out yet—reach out to me with your ideas, and I can help walk you through the rest of the steps from inquiry to elopement day. I pride myself on being not just an elopement photographer, but also a local expert, planner, and my couples’ best friend and cheerleader as they navigate the elopement planning process.
2. Pick a Spot and Secure Permits
Our first task will be choosing a location! If one of the options above caught your eye, that’s fantastic—but there are even more hidden gems all over the area to suit your priorities, and my first step as your photographer will be to create a custom location guide to help you select the best fit for you. I’m super familiar with the permitting process for Lory State Park, so I can help you navigate the application and nail down a date.
3. Book Lodging
Once we know the ceremony location, I’ll help you sort through the best places to stay, whether you’re seeking ultimate comfort or a night under the stars.
4. Find Other Vendors and Nail Down Timeline
Once we have a location and place to stay, we can start building out the timeline for your elopement day, including hiring any other vendors you may need to make your dream elopement a reality. This might include florals, hair and makeup, reservations for elopement day activities or rentals, formalwear, and food. I have established relationships with several local vendors and can provide recommendations to help you pick the right professionals to execute your vision!
5. Elope!
With all the planning out of the way, and me on your team handling any last-minute crises, all that’s left to do is marry your person and have the absolute best day ever.
Fill out my contact form below to start chatting, no matter where you are in the planning process!
