Northern Colorado · Loveland
Living in Loveland, Colorado
The Sweetheart City
Loveland is Northern Colorado's arts capital, a city that has built a genuinely distinctive identity around sculpture, public art, and community. The city has more than 500 public works of art, four sculpture parks (all free and open year round), and two working bronze foundries that have made it a destination for serious collectors. Every August, Benson Sculpture Garden hosts Sculpture in the Park, the largest outdoor juried sculpture show in the country, drawing over 160 national and international artists. Loveland's Valentine's Day remailing program, now in its 80th year, hand stamps and remails roughly 100,000 valentines annually for people around the world who want their card postmarked from the Sweetheart City. Founded in 1877 along the Colorado Central Railroad, the city has evolved from a sugar beet farming economy into a technology and healthcare hub, with Keysight Technologies operating a major research and development campus on the former Hewlett Packard site where HP built its first facility outside California in 1962.
Loveland Highlights
Public Art
Benson Sculpture Garden: 188 permanent works recognized among the top 20 contemporary art sites in the U.S.
Mountain Access
Gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park via the Big Thompson Canyon, about an hour west
Lakes and Reservoirs
Carter Lake, Boyd Lake, Pinewood Reservoir, and Flatiron Reservoir for boating, camping, and swimming
Valentine's Capital
Remailing program hand stamps roughly 100,000 valentines each February, now in its 80th year
Chapungu Sculpture Park
The only permanent exhibit of Zimbabwean stone sculpture in the U.S., 82 works across 26 acres
Golf and Trails
Mariana Butte Golf Course borders the Big Thompson River with panoramic Rockies views
Lifestyle
Loveland has a creative, unhurried character that is unlike any other city on the Front Range. The arts community is professional and prolific, the brewery scene is local and low key, and the outdoor access is exceptional. River's Edge Natural Area, situated on a former HP campus along the Big Thompson River, offers two miles of wildlife trail almost entirely within city limits. Carter Lake and Boyd Lake are close enough to feel like your own backyard. The city draws a broad mix of working families, artists, retirees, and outdoor enthusiasts who appreciate that Loveland does not try to be Denver or Fort Collins.
Schools & Education
Served by Thompson School District (TSD), which covers Loveland and Berthoud. Aims Community College has a full campus in Loveland, making continuing education and workforce training easy to access.
Commute & Access
Fort Collins is 15 minutes north on US 287, and Longmont is about 20 minutes south. I 25 puts Denver within an hour and Denver International Airport within roughly 55 minutes. The central location between Fort Collins and the Denver metro makes Loveland one of the most commuter friendly cities in Northern Colorado.
Real Estate Market
Loveland consistently offers better value per square foot than Fort Collins while sitting in the same employment corridor. Established neighborhoods near downtown and the lakes appeal to buyers who want character and mature landscaping, while the southeast and Centerra areas offer newer construction with modern finishes. Strong appreciation over the past decade reflects Loveland's growing appeal to buyers priced out of Fort Collins.
Things to Know About Loveland
Benson Sculpture Garden has been recognized as one of the 200 most important modern and contemporary art sites in the world by multiple publications
Loveland has two working bronze foundries and a finishing house, making it one of the most active sculptural arts cities in the country
Keysight Technologies, a spinoff of Agilent and ultimately Hewlett Packard, still operates a research and development campus in Loveland where HP built its first non California facility in 1962
River's Edge Natural Area was created from the former HP property purchased by the city in 2011 and now offers wildlife viewing, birding, and trail access along the Big Thompson River
Chapungu Sculpture Park is the only permanent exhibit of Zimbabwean stone sculpture in the United States, featuring 82 works across a 26 acre park with a 1.5 mile walking trail
Neighborhoods & Areas
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