Larimer County Drops $9 Million to Turn Loveland Ranch Into Open Space

Not far from the area of the famed Dam Store, outside of Loveland, over 1,500 in acreage for open space use has been put under contract.

Many will breathe a sigh of relief, as this land could have been developed for residential, or even (at one point) a concert venue.

The whole thing still needs to be approved by the City of Loveland Natural Areas Program and the City of Fort Collins' Natural Areas Department, but the purchase by the Larimer County Department of Natural Resources could close by the end of 2022. The land is currently knows as Heaven's Door Ranch, which has been the site of a few special events, including this one from 2016, with Rick Shuler:

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Years ago, there was serious talk about turning the piece of land into an actual amphitheater for the area, similar to Red Rocks. Imagine the traffic Highway 34 would have seen if that project would have progressed.

RELATED: NEARLY 1,000 ACRES ALONG POUDRE RIVER TURNING INTO OPEN SPACE 

The 1,547 acres, purchased for $9 million, will now become open space within Larimer County, the county states that the land "offers excellent wildlife habitat and is dominated by grasslands, foothills, shrublands, and lower montane forest with numerous natural springs present." It is a wonderful area, it's great that it will be used for open space, instead of some sort of development.

The parties that be, have been working on getting this piece of land into the area's open space for 30 years; hopefully, the public will find great trails, fishing and more, much sooner than that.