SWETSVILLE ZOO: Exit 265

There are so many choices along America’s highways to stop for a 20 minuet break, and Colorado is loaded with them!  There are rest stops, picnic areas, historical landmarks, points of interest, hiking trails and scenic overlooks.

And then there is the Swetsville Zoo.

Located at CO I-25 Exit 265 east, just south of Fort Collins you will find artist, Bill Swets’ (loved by the locals) ‘zoo’.

Started in 1985, this scrapyard-turned-sculpture-garden is the result of years of insomnia and a passion to create a place where dinosaurs, giant insects and Snoopy to all live together in harmony.  A place where visitors of all ages can delight and gaze in wonder at this whimsical, metal menagerie while still wondering how to react to it all.

Here you will find a restroom and a handy picnic table by the river shaded by a giant spider made of an old Buick.  You can stroll the path lined with sea monsters, dinosaurs, aliens and insects.  You can see trains and wagons pulled by fantasy characters made from scrap metal, concrete, car parts and old tools.

Regardless of your reaction, you’ll never get to see anything like this anywhere else!       

So, stop in, make a small optional donation and wonder all the way into Denver what it is that you just saw!

While your in the area, take a drive through the historical little town of Timnath.  There you’ll find a few quaint gift shops, a place to eat, and if you are there in October, check out the Jack Lantern Corn Maze…it’s Northern Colorado’s favorite!

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