Planning a Trip

Getting There -- By Car -- Downtown Loveland is near the junction of U.S. 287 and U.S. 34. Coming from south or north, take I-25 exit 257B. From the west (Rocky Mountain National Park) or east (Greeley), follow U.S. 34 directly to Loveland. The drive takes about 1 hour from Denver.
By Plane -- Many visitors to Loveland fly into Denver International Airport. The Fort Collins/Loveland Municipal Airport (tel. 970/962-2852; www.fcgov.com/airport), off I-25 exit 259, 7 miles northeast of downtown Loveland, offers regularly scheduled commercial service with Frontier Airlines (tel. 800/432-1359 or 303/371-7300); call for the current schedule.

Shamrock Airport Express (tel. 866/482-0505 or 970/482-0505; www.rideshamrock.com) provides daily shuttle services between Denver and Fort Collins (one-way rates: $24 adults, $8 children 11 and younger, free for children who sit on a parent's lap).

Visitor Information -- The Loveland Chamber of Commerce operates a visitor center at 5400 Stone Creek Circle, Loveland CO 80538, just northwest of the junction of I-25 and U.S. 34 (tel. 800/258-1278 or 970/667-5728; www.loveland.org). In summer it's open daily from 8am to 6pm; winter hours are Monday through Saturday from 8am to 5:30pm.

Getting Around -- U.S. 34, Eisenhower Boulevard, is the main east-west thoroughfare and does a slight jog around Lake Loveland, just west of city center. Lincoln Avenue (one-way northbound) and Cleveland Avenue (one-way southbound) make up U.S. 287 through the city. The downtown district is along Lincoln and Cleveland south of Seventh Street, 7 blocks south of Eisenhower.
For a taxi, call Shamrock Yellow Cab (tel. 970/224-2222).

Fast Facts -- The hospital, with a 24-hour emergency room, is McKee Medical Center, 2000 N. Boise Ave. (tel. 970/669-4640; www.bannerhealth.com), in the northeastern part of the city. The post office is at 446 E. 29th St., just off Lincoln Avenue. Contact the U.S. Postal Service (tel. 800/275-8777; www.usps.com) for hours and locations of other nearby post offices.

Special Events -- Larimer County Fair and Rodeo, early August; Loveland Invitational Sculpture Show and Sale and Sculpture in the Park, early August; Corn Roast Festival, mid- to late August.
Valentines from Loveland -- To get your Valentine's Day cards remailed with a four-line Valentine cachet from Loveland, address and stamp each one, making sure to leave room in the lower-left-hand corner of the envelopes for the special Loveland stamp, and mail them in a large envelope to the Postmaster, Attn.: Valentines, Loveland, CO 80538-9998. To ensure delivery by February 14, mail for the United States must be received in Loveland by February 9, and foreign mail should be received by February 3.