Outdoors and wildfire - Front Range
The Cache la Poudre is a federally designated Wild and Scenic River
The Cache la Poudre River, which runs out of the mountains through Larimer County and Fort Collins, carries a national Wild and Scenic River designation that shapes how the canyon is managed.
Published June 10, 2026 - Last verified June 11, 2026
The river that comes down out of the mountains through Fort Collins, the Cache la Poudre, carries a designation that not many rivers have. Parts of it are protected under the national Wild and Scenic Rivers System, which is a federal way of keeping a river and its corridor in a more natural state.
In practice, that designation recognizes the river’s free-flowing character and its value for recreation and scenery. Some segments are managed as “wild” and others as “recreational.” Much of the river runs through Roosevelt National Forest in Poudre Canyon, and Colorado Highway 14 follows it as a designated state scenic byway up toward North Park.
Why this is worth knowing: the canyon is a working recreation corridor with camping, fishing, and rafting, but it is also a place with real rules and real hazards, including steep terrain and post-fire flooding in burned areas. The designation is part of why the corridor is managed the way it is.
To learn how the Wild and Scenic segments are defined and managed, see the national rivers program and the U.S. Forest Service page for the Cache la Poudre.