Mid-April in Colorado is a transition point. The snow is pulling back from the Front Range, the Cache la Poudre is picking up speed, and wellness stories across the state are reflecting that shift — from more people getting back outside to harder conversations about mental health in our smaller mountain communities.
Front Range Trails Are Opening Back Up
Across Northern Colorado, most lower-elevation paths have melted clear, and conditions are right for getting back into regular outdoor movement. Horsetooth Mountain Open Space near Fort Collins offers routes from easy strolls to challenging scrambles with sweeping views. Loveland's Devil's Backbone and Bobcat Ridge are drawing steady weekend traffic again, and the paved Poudre Trail remains a solid flat option for walkers and cyclists easing back into mileage.
For whitewater fans, the Cache la Poudre River is already running Class III–IV in stretches, and that will only pick up as melt accelerates over the next few weeks. Parking lots at popular trailheads are filling earlier than they did a month ago — the season is fully underway.
Mountain Town Mental Health in Focus
A significant wellness story out of Southwest Colorado this week: therapy demand in mountain communities is climbing sharply. The Colorado Sun reported that the Tri-County Health Network in San Miguel County had already spent over $106,000 on adult and children's therapy sessions by April 1 — a 65% jump from the same window last year.
Mountain health professionals cite the "winter-that-wasn't," financial pressure, and seasonal loneliness as key drivers, and they are seeing more men in particular struggling through the offseason. It is a reminder that Colorado wellness is not just about altitude training and trail miles — community care matters just as much, and spring is when a lot of that strain becomes visible.
Community Events Across the State
Down in Colorado Springs, the Colorado Springs Gazette published its weekly wellness event roundup, including the Raise the Woof Concert benefiting Sunrise Service Dogs on April 18 and the Swings for Wings Charity Golf Tournament on April 24.
Closer to home, Loveland has a Pancake Breakfast & Plant Sale on the April calendar, and the City of Loveland Farmers Market returns to Fairgrounds Park starting June 7. Plant-sale season is a small but dependable marker that spring routines are settling in.
What It Adds Up To
Spring in Colorado asks a lot of the body — longer days, drier air, more sun exposure, and new demands on muscles that have been indoors for months. It also asks something of our communities: checking in on the people around us, not just our step count. A balanced approach to wellness in April 2026 looks like both.
Stop by The CBD Store in Loveland if you want to talk through what might fit your routine as the season picks up.
