Fort Collins, Colorado, sees about 237 days of sunshine a year on average and gets half as much rainfall as the rest of the country. The city is the ideal location for outdoorsy folks who love exploring idyllic lakes, snow-capped mountains, and freshwater rivers.
However, not all residents have such a sunny outlook about this midsize college town. It can be difficult to see the bright side when one’s date prospects run dry. If you don’t have a date on the weekend, Fort Collins can seem like a bleak and dreary place to live. Fortunately, local dating resources can help end your dating drought and bring new life to your date calendar.
We’ve come up with a list of ways to meet singles in Fort Collins to offer a ray of hope to men and women who are struggling to connect in the local dating scene.
Fort Collins Dating Sites
Whether you’re interested in a short-term hookup or a long-term relationships, online dating is the best way to meet singles who want the same things you do. Today’s most popular dating sites can give you access to millions of dating profiles and offer personalized date recommendations to help you along the way. In addition to its matching features, most dating sites have advanced search filters that can help singles identify compatible dates that much faster and easier.
Best Singles Site
Since 1995, Match has garnered a reputation as one of the most successful dating sites around. The site uses a personality-driven match algorithm to power its date recommendations, and many singles have found love in its network. In fact, Match claims to have inspired more relationships and marriages than any of its competitors.
- Relationships: Friends, Dates, and Relationships
- Match System: Browse by zip, age, appearance, more
- Our Experts Say: Match has facilitated the most dates and relationships of any dating site, and its large audience and high success rate make it our top review. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
Over 50 & Senior Sites
As a college town, Fort Collins has a youthful population, and that can make people in the older generation feel a little left out of the fun. If you’re over 50, you don’t have to go bar hopping to meet dates, you can create a free account on OurTime and discover romance through long conversations. This senior dating site promises to support mature relationships between people ready to commit.
- Relationships: Dates and Relationships
- Match System: Search by profiles by zip and more
- Our Experts Say: OurTime is well-known in the over-50 dating crowd, particularly because it has a ton of helpful search features and an easy layout. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
For Black Men & Women Only
African-Americans are the largest minority in Fort Collins, yet they only make up 3% of the overall population. If you want to diversify your date prospects, you need to look outside the city limits, and BlackPeopleMeet can help you. This black dating site has thousands of members in the U.S. and Canada, and its search tools empower black and biracial singles to connect.
- Relationships: Deep Relationships or Just Casual Dates
- Match System: Search by location, age, more
- Our Experts Say: BlackPeopleMeet.com is the one of the largest and most popular dating sites for black and biracial singles, and the site is used by more than 5 million people a month. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
Hookup & Sex Site
You don’t have to play it coy on Adult Friend Finder (AFF), one of the world’s most popular hookup sites. The adult-friendly platform encourages singles and swingers to openly discuss their sexual fantasies and arrange sexy encounters. It’s free to join the AFF community and explore sexy profiles, chat rooms, web broadcasts, and other members-only forums.
- Relationships: Hookups Only
- Match System: Search by location, interest, more
- Our Experts Say: Make no mistake: this site isn't about making friends, it's about finding hookups and casual encounters. No adult site has a larger or more active user base of those seeking discreet fun. Our Review »
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
Popular Dating Apps
When you download a dating app, you become instantly connected to a network of eligible dates. You can swipe through singles in your neighborhood and find people who share your interests and goals. Dating apps put the power in your hands, so you can decide which dating profiles are worth pursuing. Each mutual match can inspire a flirtatious chat, which in turn could lead to a fun coffee or dinner date. If you feel you’ve exhausted your options on one dating app, then simply download another one and try your luck in a different dating pool.
Match.com
- Relationships: Fun Dates, Serious Relationships
- Match System: Browse by location, age, interest, and more
-
About the App:
Available via the App Store and Google Play, Match is a fantastic app for dates and relationships. With a user base of 30 million singles, Match is where you’ll have a high chance of success. It’s free to download, create a profile, search for date prospects, and receive compatible matches based on personalized preferences. Free members can also chat with select members and send unlimited likes.
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
eharmony
- Relationships: Long-Term Relationships, Marriages
- Match System: Get daily match suggestions
-
About the App:
Responsible for 4% of marriages in the U.S., eharmony is among our top picks for relationship-minded heterosexual singles. To become a member, add the app to your phone (iOS or Android) and then take its 29 Dimensions® of Compatibility Matching Quiz. It’s absolutely free to do both these things — as well as receive matches and communicate during other special events.
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
OurTime.com
- Relationships: Dating and Relationships
- Match System: Search by age as well as zip, gender, more
-
About the App:
Made just for single seniors, OurTime is one of the most well-known niche dating apps. It’s a fun and straightforward app with simple swiping features. Once two people swipe right on each other, they can communicate. For more match options, visit the ConnectMe and I’m Interested pages.
- Browse Free: View Photos Now
Fort Collins Singles Bars
Fort Collins is known as the Craft Beer Capital of Colorado with over 20 breweries scattered throughout town. What’s more, Fort Collins produces 70% of the craft beer made in Colorado, so you can sample some of the state’s finest brews here. The laid-back atmosphere at a brewery can help singles relax, be themselves, and have fun, and many pubs have board games, arcade games, or billiards tables to keep the crowds entertained. You can meet people and make friends by playing bar games at the following local watering holes.
The Colorado Room
The Colorado Room is a locally owned restaurant and bar that serves classic American grub, including sandwiches, wings, and poutine. The owners are two friends, Danny and Justin, who grew up in Colorado and love to support local beer, local food, and local artists. The bar supports live concerts on the weekends and comedy shows on the back patio on weekdays. The Colorado Room should be a go-to hangout for singles seeking dates because it gives locals plenty of space to mingle.
Social
Located in Old Town Square, Social is a hopping social spot for singles young and old. The underground speakeasy has a timeless air to it with a sleek standalone bar, sparkling chandeliers, and cozy leather couches. The bar features original, Instagram-worthy cocktails and sommelier-selected wines, and the kitchen offers cheese plates, sliders, and other charcuterie to go with its upscale drinks. Social hosts parties throughout the year to ring in the New Year, pay tribute to the Great Gatsby, and generally celebrate life and the end of prohibition in the U.S.
Ace Gillett's Lounge
Ace Gillett's Lounge is a favorite among college students and jazz fans alike. The bar tempts patrons with its classy cocktails and delicious food, all prepared using fresh, local ingredients, but it's the music scene that really hooks people. Ace Gillett's Subterranean Jazz Trio have a sultry sound that transports visitors to a time when men wore fedoras and women wore rhinestone headbands. This casual yet elegant scene is perfect for daters on the prowl. Ace Gillett's opens at 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and there's no cover charge to get in.
Tap and Handle
Tap and Handle is a low-key brewery with live music and outdoor seating. The bar's late-night hours and close proximity to the university means that a lot of young people kick back here. Tap and Handle has 74 rotating taps of ales and lagers, and its list of bottled beers and drafts is always growing to suit the eclectic taste of its audience. The kitchen can make all manner of fried goods to pair with your beer, and the bar also has free pool and darts to entertain folks.
The Crown Pub
Thanks to its authentic food and decor, the Crown Pub can make Colorado residents feel as if they're visiting a tavern in merry old England. You'll find many international dishes on the menu from Burmese chicken samosas to an extra spicy curry dish. The bar stocks over 30 single malt Scotches, 16 drafts of beer, and 20 bottled beers. This unpretentious gastropub welcomes everyone from students celebrating the end of finals to seniors enjoying an early-bird dinner.
Elliot's Martini Bar
Since 1997, Elliot's Martini Bar has whipped up craft cocktails infused with fresh fruits and herbs. From the tangy lemon drop to the indulgent key lime pie cocktail, this drink menu has a lot of sweet surprises in store for you. The shareable tapas are perfect for couples or new friends meeting at the bar, and the dessertinis offer a lovely nightcap that mimic your favorite desserts. Prices for Elliot's high-end drinks range between $9 and $11, but customers on a budget can visit during happy hour from 4:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. on weekdays to get a discount on their martinis.
Fort Collins Speed Dating
Speed dating events offer singles a fast and fun way to step up their flirting game. These events foster friendly conversations and encourage participants to get to know one another by going on a series of minidates. You have a chance to skip the small talk and create personal connections at a speed dating event, and many busy professionals prefer speed dating to swiping or picking up dates at a bar. Check Eventbrite’s calendar to find out when a speed dating event is happening near you.
Fort Collins Singles Events
You can surround yourself with dateworthy people by attending a singles event in Fort Collins. Certain groups may organize singles events around particular activities — hiking, knitting, swing dancing, etc. — while others may just throw a singles-friendly party for the heck of it. You can search Meetup by the keyword “singles” to find events that suit your interests and schedule. Whether you’re chatting at a bar or on the bike trail, you can use singles events to come out of your shell.
Fort Collins Singles Clubs
By dancing at a nightclub, singles can let go of their everyday worries and enjoy the company of energetic people who love to bust a move. It’s a great atmosphere to pick up a date. The music can help set the mood and get singles in the mood to party all night long. Sometimes couples lock eyes on the dance floor and stay glued together for song after song, and sometimes singles roam from partner to partner to see who can keep up with the beat. You can feel the excitement in the air at a nightclub and get swept up in the romance of the moment.
Fort Collins Chat Rooms
Chat rooms offer a dating free-for-all where singles can practice their pick-up lines on a receptive audience. These open forums are judgment-free zones, and singles often feel liberated by the anonymous nature of the conversations. They can feel free to be themselves and play the field in this virtual hangout. Meeting people in a chat room is a low-investment dating strategy, meaning you don’t have to fill out a profile, pay a fee, or even go outside to make something happen.
Fort Collins Personals
Speaking of low investment, dating personal sites offer a free and sexy alternative to the online dating scene. Singles don’t even have to create a profile or upload a photo to respond to the ads on these platforms. Dating personals serve as the classifieds section of the internet. You can peruse the local ads to see who’s looking for a hot date and whether someone strikes your fancy. Many singles are explicit about their desires, and that takes a lot of the guesswork out of dating.
Join in a Sports Activity
Sporting events can be exhilarating places to meet new people. You can get into the competitive spirit, loosen up, and share common interests until it’s time to take your shot and ask that special someone out. Whether you’re on the sidelines or in the center of the action, you can turn any playing field into a dating field with enough practice and determination.
The typical adult sports league holds weekly practices and games.
Fort Collins has adult sports leagues that run all year round and accept people of all ages, including seniors. You can play softball, volleyball, basketball, or flag football alongside members of the community. Most of these sports offer coed teams where men and women can mix things up.
The Edge Sports Center also runs adult soccer and flag football leagues on its indoor fields. The synthetic surf looks and feels like real grass, but players don’t have to worry about snow, slush, or mud ruining the fun.
Playing a sport can be a fantastic way to get active, stay healthy, and make friends who enjoy similar activities.
Enjoy Blue Skies & Hot Dates in Fort Collins
Over 165,000 people live in Fort Collins, which is the fourth largest city in Colorado, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find places where it’s positively raining men (and women).
A lot of singles wonder where they should go or what they should do to meet new people, and our dating experts have worked hard to shed some light on this matter. The dating resources on this list can help singles explore the social scene and build promising relationships. Every event, bar, and website can act as a lightning rod and unite daters who have a lot in common.
Sometimes it can take time for one’s dating forecast to change, but as long as you keep putting yourself out there and maintain a sunny disposition, you can lead the way to a brighter future. Good luck!
