There's a place on I-25, just across the border into Colorado, where there is a really cool looking bunch; is that the scientific term? I don't know, so I'll go with it. There's a really cool looking bunch of rocks that erupt out of the prairie. It's a striking formation that I've always wanted to explore.

If you've made a Fort Collins run from Cheyenne, I'm sure you've seen it. On every trip down south, I think how cool it would be to explore those rocks. So last weekend I finally did.

It's called Natural Fort. It is an outcrop of sandstone that has earned its unique look from centuries of high plains wind and water erosion. There are parts of the Natural Fort on both sides of the Interstate, I stopped at the group on the north bond lane side.

Photo: Ben Kuhns/Towsquare Media
Photo: Ben Kuhns/Townsquare Media
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According to a few anecdotal sources I found, this area was a rest stop/point of interest on I-25, with on-ramps, picnic tables, and a sign for many years. The on-ramps and other rest-stop stuff are gone now. You have to drive on a frontage road from the Carr exit to get there.

The sign that used to be there told the story of how the area got its name. It comes from a clash of the Blackfoot and Crow tribes in and around the rocks in 1831.

Now, it's just a gravel road, a few broken bottles, and a slice of beautiful natural wonder. The rocks sometimes have graffiti on them, names carved into the soft rock. Some probably decades old. There are also some natural paths and great hiking in the rocks too.

Natural Fort in Northern Colorado

It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever personally been to. It is a distillation of this area of the country where the plains and mountains meet. You can almost feel the thousands of travelers who have stopped here.

Oh, and I should tell you, I'm definitely keeping this place in mind for when the zombie apocalypse starts. I called it first, so find your own.

If you want to see something really cool, check out this video of a guy flying a drone camera around Natural Fort:

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