It’s March and if you’re like me you are looking to get outside as much as possible as the weather starts warming up in Fort Collins! Although I may not have young children anymore, I’m not far removed. I’m always happy to give suggestions for kid friendly Fort Collins breweries for kids to burn some energy, while you get some adult conversation and a beer, seltzer or water to enjoy the sunshine! And since Fort Collins ranks in the top 5 best beer cities there is no shortage to choose from for your family!
New Belgium Brewing Company
New Belgium is always my first recommendation for most kid friendly Fort Collins brewery. Not only does it have a large turf area to run, play and sit in, but you can also find outdoor kid friendly games available to use. Or better yet – bring your own to enjoy! An added bonus is the perimeter is *mostly* fenced in for safety. There is ample seating, although on those really nice days those can be taken up pretty quickly. Bring a chair or a blanket and cozy up on the turf with the kids to enjoy the nice day yourself! New Belgium is great at advertising their food truck line up so you can feed the family while you’re out as well. Super bonus points – it is also dog friendly!
New Belgium offers Fort Collins brewery tours as well. Although not kid friendly, keep that in your back pocket as a date night option when you get a sitter!
O’Dell Brewing Co
If you find yourself on a walking or biking tour of Fort Collins breweries then I highly recommend literally going just down the street to O’Dell Brewing Co. Although no large turf area, O’Dell still has a large outdoor area for sitting and for the kids to run around together. O’Dell too thought of it all and fenced in the customer area for safety. O’Dell also has a daily line up of food trucks for when the kiddos ask for the 85th snack that day – haha! Bring the entire family, including the dog(s) to enjoy the sun and get copious amounts of pets. O’Dell offers non alcoholic options as well for the family and friends that don’t drink alcohol and/or are the designated driver. Bonus are the fire pits for those days and evenings that are still chilly.
Not a beer drinker? No problem! OBC Wine Project is on the same grounds offering several different types of wine and wine tasting!
Stodgy Brewing Company
Stodgy Brewing Company was one of the first Fort Collins breweries we visited when we were thinking of moving here and it won us over! This brewery seems to be a bikers paradise since we saw more bikes than cars in the lot.
Stodgy is very homey and cozy and tons of outdoor seating for the whole family. They too have a food truck every day to feed the family, along with non alcoholic options beyond water. Stodgy offers board games and card games to play while enjoying some fresh air with your family, or you can always bring your own too. On a really nice day it can get a bit crowded as all the breweries do, but there’s lots of inside seating, outdoor and standing room to chase the youngsters all around the grounds! Stodgy also gives a history lesson with their physical building since it’s been a Fort Collins staple for many businesses for decades.
Funkworks – a personal Fort Collins Brewery favorite
I’m biased to Funkwerks for a couple of reasons – it was the very first brewery we visited on our first trip to Fort Collins, and it’s now the closest one to our house on the north side of town. Having lived in Germany and exploring German and Belgium beers, finding a brewery that specializes in saison beers is hard to come by in the United States. Funkwerks does just that and it won us over the very first trip. So if you’re a certified “beer snob” this is the place for you!
Now, let’s get to the kid friendly aspects! As with the other breweries, you’ll find plenty of outdoor seating with space for the littles to have space to play with a fenced in perimeter as well. Funkwerks often has a food truck, has on site snacks and allows outside food and delivery if the truck and snacks aren’t quite what you’re looking for for the family. If you’re looking to get away from downtown or the busyness of College Avenue this is a perfect spot to be away from the hubbub, enjoy a brew or their homemade root beer and spend time with the family.
This is definitely not an exhaustive list and very subjective, but my personal preferences for those looking to have some time outside with their families.
Looking to capture your own family session in Fort Collins and the surrounding area?! Reach out and we’ll get that scheduled – I’ll bring the beers!
