Eastern Plains
Logan County
15 Porch Notes tied to Logan County — the local details that change from one part of Colorado to the next.
Money and taxes (1)
Home and property (1)
Water and land (1)
Outdoors and wildfire (3)
Outdoors and wildfire
North Sterling is an irrigation reservoir that doubles as a state park
North Sterling State Park sits on a working irrigation reservoir northwest of Sterling, so its water level and boating season follow rules you should know before you go.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Prewitt and Jumbo are wildlife areas, not parks — access works differently
Logan County's State Wildlife Areas like Prewitt and Jumbo reservoirs are managed for hunting and fishing, so visitors 16 and older generally need a hunting or fishing license or a Colorado SWA Pass.
Read note ->Outdoors and wildfire
Tamarack Ranch is Logan County's riverside wildlife area
Tamarack Ranch State Wildlife Area takes in a long stretch of the South Platte River corridor east of Sterling, open for wildlife viewing, hunting, and fishing under Colorado Parks and Wildlife rules.
Read note ->Cars and driving (1)
Local rules (1)
History and culture (7)
History and culture
Downtown Sterling is a registered historic district, which can matter to owners
Several blocks of downtown Sterling form a National Register historic district, a status that recognizes the old commercial core and can open up preservation grants and tax credits.
Read note ->History and culture
Sterling's carved 'living trees' are a free, walkable bit of local art
Sterling calls itself the City of Living Trees for the cottonwood sculptures carved by artist Bradford Rhea, several of which you can see on a self-guided downtown walk.
Read note ->History and culture
Sterling's old Union Pacific depot is a landmark that was moved to save it
Sterling's 1902 Union Pacific Railroad depot is a National Register landmark that the city relocated when passenger service ended, a small window into why the town grew.
Read note ->History and culture
Sugar Beet Days and the county fair are the two days Logan County all shows up
Logan County's two big yearly gatherings are Sugar Beet Days on Sterling's courthouse square each September and the Logan County Fair and Rodeo at the fairgrounds each summer.
Read note ->History and culture
Sugar beets and the Great Western factory shaped Logan County farming
A sugar beet factory opened in Sterling in the early 1900s and came under the Great Western Sugar Company, and the beet industry helped shape farming and growth across Logan County.
Read note ->History and culture
The 1910 Logan County Courthouse and its Carara paintings reward a downtown stop
Sterling's domed 1910 courthouse is a free, walkable downtown landmark with a restored marble-and-oak rotunda and ten Eugene Carara paintings of northeastern Colorado history.
Read note ->History and culture
Why Sterling sits where it does: the South Platte and the Overland Trail
Sterling and Logan County sit where the South Platte River and the old Overland Trail crossed the plains, and Sterling's Overland Trail Museum tells that story.
Read note ->