French fur traders - "Mountain Men" - trapping along the river were caught in a blizzard in the 1820s and buried their gunpowder along the banks ("Cache La Poudre" - "Hide the Powder")

It flows from the upper reaches of Rocky Mountain National Park, down through LaPorte, Fort Collins, and flows into the South Platte near Greeley. The river flooded in 1864, destroying a military camp which then moved down river and created the fort of Fort Collins. Although now controlled somewhat, the banks - and homes built on them - are still subject to flooding. The Overland Stage line once followed along its northern bank as a major highway of the era.

This view is looking upriver from the LaPorte region.

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