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LOVELAND, COLORADO: Go for the love, and the land

One of my fondest memories of 2024 will be sharing a sweet treat with my sweetheart in Sweetheart City, USA.

That sweet treat? A large Dutch Chocolate ice cream cone, purchased at Josh & John’s, a small chain of ice cream parlours in Colorado.

My sweetheart? That’s my wife Ruth, of course.

And Sweetheart City, USA? That’s how Loveland, Colo., refers to itself.

We first learned about Loveland last February, thanks to a television news report of what this pleasant northern Colorado community (pop. 80,000) does to live up to what people today anticipate of its name.

(A bit of history: Loveland was named after William A. H. Loveland, a 19th-century railroad executive in Colorado.)

During our time in Loveland, we learned more about what the city and surrounding region offer — to both visitors and non-visitors.

Loveland has been sharing love with the world since 1947, when local residents began a re-mailing program connected to Valentine’s Day.

When someone sends a pre-addressed and pre-stamped envelope inside a first-class envelope to the Postmaster (Valentine re-mailing program, 446 E 29th St., Loveland CO USA 80538), volunteers will hand-stamp the envelope with a unique Loveland cancellation, as well as a “cachet” — a special artwork and verse for that year. The artwork typically includes a “cowboy Cupid.”

The re-mailing program is so popular — about 100,000 cards are received annually — that before Valentine’s Day, a conference room at the city’s visitors centre “converts to Cupid Central,” according to Deanna Sloat of the city’s chamber of commerce. “For two weeks, this becomes the post office.”

The visitors centre is also home to what is touted as the largest love lock sculpture in the United States — the word “LOVE” is more than 30 feet wide and 10 feet tall, with the “O” actually a heart — and it now holds a lock with “RUTH & DONALD” on it. I got to do the engraving on the lock myself.

Another love lock sculpture in Loveland is on the south shore of Lake Loveland. It’s a heart with the Rocky Mountains and the lake as the backdrop.

Each February as part of the Loveland Hearts Program, lamp posts around Loveland are decorated with big red hearts, which display messages of love. It’s a fundraiser for the local Rotary Club.

A recent addition to Loveland’s celebration of love is the Sweetheart Festival, which takes place downtown on or around Valentine’s Day. The 2024 festival featured a Palace of Sweets, a Tunnel of Love, ice sculpting, live music, a fire show, and other performances.

Sculptures are a significant part of the art scene in Loveland.

The Benson Sculpture Garden is located on land which was donated to the city of Loveland for use as a wetlands area. Three ponds are surrounded by the peaceful garden grounds.

In the 1980s, a group of five Loveland sculptors offered to have a sculpture show on the grounds. That has become an annual show and sale every August, known as Sculpture in the Park.

Meanwhile, more than 180 permanent and thought-provoking sculptures are on display at the garden, which is free to visit.

We were fortunate to tour the Benson Sculpture Garden with George Walbye, one of those original five sculptors. Two of his works — “High Plains Warrior/Wind Song” and “D.R.’s Saddle” — are in the garden.

“I think so much of this park,” said Walbye, who is in his 90s. “I just love it.”

The garden also features an interactive play area for children.

Guided garden tours also are free, and can be arranged through the garden’s website.

More sculptures can be viewed at Chapungu Sculpture Park in the eastern part of Loveland. There are more than 80 sculptures at Chapungu (pronounced Cha-POON-goo), which were made by hand from stone imported from Zimbabwe. Admission is free.

For a peek at how metal sculptures are created, Art Castings of Colorado has resumed public tours after they were put on hold during the pandemic.

Many of the sculptures originally are made of clay, which then are used to make moulds to create the final metal product. Having that mould means that a piece of work can be duplicated, such as the dozens of small Woody and Buzz Lightyear sculptures (meant for Pixar awards) that we saw.

More significantly, when a life-size statue of baseball icon Jackie Robinson was destroyed in a failed attempt by thieves to profit from the metal, Art Castings of Colorado was able to use the original mould to create an identical statue.

Loveland is also home to many art galleries. The annual Loveland Art Studio Tour takes place over two weekends each October, with the public able to visit artists in their studios and galleries.

The Rialto Theater opened in 1920 as a venue for silent movies and vaudeville, and has had a number of uses and renovations over the past century. Today, it houses concerts, movies, an opera company, a choral society, and children’s films.

In front of the theatre is a sculpture of a filmmaker, “Persistence of Vision,” which is dedicated to Phyllis Walbye, the former arts editor of the Loveland Reporter-Herald.

The Rialto is on East 4th St., in Historic Downtown Loveland, with many food and beverage options nearby for a pre-show meal. Among them are Loveland Chophouse and Door 222.

Loveland Chophouse is a 1930s-style steakhouse (although Ruth and I ate and enjoyed chicken and pork, respectively). There’s a “speakeasy” room in the back (officially, the Roosevelt Room) for private parties. Gift cards are available, with the added bonus of $50 or $100 cards in the form of a silver bar.

Door 222 is next door to the Rialto, making it a busy place on a concert night (reservations recommended). Door 222 takes its name seriously — there are actual doors hung from the ceiling. Portions were large and tasty, especially the appetizers of stuffed peppadew peppers (the stuffing was goat cheese, with the peppers wrapped in serrano ham) and beer-battered cheese curds.

Another entertainment area downtown is The Foundry Plaza, which hosts events in the Sweetheart Festival and outdoor concerts.

Loveland is a convenient place to stay before making a day trip to the family-friendly Rocky Mountain National Park.

From Loveland, it’s a one-hour drive (mainly along Colorado Hwy. 34) to the eastern entrance to the park and the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. A fast-flowing small stream alongside the winding highway serves as a reminder of the change in altitude: Loveland sits at 4,982 feet above sea level, while the park entrance is at 8,200 feet. Some parts of the park are even higher, such as Trail Ridge Road, which at more than 12,000 feet is claimed to be the highest paved road in the United States. Note: Because of the weather at its altitude, Trail Ridge Road is open only from late May to mid-October.

At the Moraine Park Discovery Center inside the park, Jake Miller of the Rocky Mountain Conservancy explained that the park protects the Alpine Tundra ecosystem. “It’s a very fragile and important ecosystem,” Miller said.

During our visit, the highest we went was to Bear Lake (9,475 feet), where even in early June there was still some snow on the ground. In addition to the pristine lake and the evergreens surrounding it, we saw a cow elk. We also witnessed an entertaining swearing-in of a “Junior Ranger” as a young person prepared to learn about the importance of the park.

We had been told that we might see a moose at Sprague Lake (8,688 feet), and we were not disappointed. A respectful crowd gathered from a safe distance along the boardwalk as the moose enjoyed a drink of water from the lake.

In 2023, Rocky Mountain National Park ranked fifth among U.S. national parks in total visitors, with 4.1 million people attending.

Another natural setting just west of Loveland that appeals to hikers, mountain bikers, and adventurers is the Devil’s Backbone Open Space.

We stayed at TownePlace Suites Loveland, a modern and convenient hotel (part of the Marriott chain) in downtown Loveland. It is walking distance from many of the places mentioned above, such as Josh & John’s, the Rialto Theatre, and The Foundry Plaza.

Loveland is about an hour’s drive north of Denver on Interstate 25. Shuttle service is available between Denver International Airport and Loveland (Northern Colorado Regional Airport), and bus service is available from Denver’s Union Station to Loveland.

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