Downtown Loveland sits along Lincoln Avenue in northern Colorado’s Larimer County, roughly 45 miles north of Denver and 15 miles south of Fort Collins. The district is nationally recognized for its dense concentration of public sculpture, earning Loveland the nickname “Sculpture Capital of Colorado.” Independent restaurants, craft breweries, and the century-old Rialto Theater anchor a compact, walkable grid that draws both Front Range day-trippers and overnight visitors.
What is Downtown Loveland known for?
Downtown Loveland is best known for its public art program, with more than 150 sculptures installed on sidewalks, plazas, and parks throughout the city, many of them concentrated along Lincoln Avenue and in Benson Sculpture Garden at Mehaffey Park — making it one of the highest per-capita public sculpture collections in the United States. The Loveland Sculpture Works foundry and the annual Sculpture in the Park show, held each August in Benson Sculpture Garden, reinforce the city’s identity as a working arts community rather than simply a gallery town.
- 150+ permanent public sculptures citywide, heavy concentration downtown
- Benson Sculpture Garden at Mehaffey Park, free and open year-round
- Annual Sculpture in the Park show each August
- Historic Rialto Theater Center on 5th Street, built 1920
Best things to do in Downtown Loveland
The top activities in Downtown Loveland include walking the Lincoln Avenue sculpture trail, catching a performance at the Rialto Theater Center, browsing First Friday Art Walk galleries, and sampling Colorado craft beer at local taprooms along the main corridor. The Loveland Museum on Lincoln Avenue offers rotating exhibitions on regional history and fine art, providing cultural context for the sculpture program.
- Walk the Lincoln Avenue public art corridor
- Visit the Loveland Museum on Lincoln Avenue for local history and fine art
- Attend First Friday Art Walk, held monthly downtown
- Tour Benson Sculpture Garden at Mehaffey Park
- Catch live theater or concerts at the Rialto Theater Center
Where to eat and drink in Downtown Loveland
Downtown Loveland’s dining scene is concentrated along Lincoln Avenue and the surrounding blocks, offering farm-to-table Colorado cuisine, craft breweries, and independent coffee shops within easy walking distance of the sculpture corridor. Grimm Brothers Brewhouse, inspired by German fairy-tale themes, is one of the city’s signature craft breweries and operates in the Loveland area.
- Grimm Brothers Brewhouse — German-inspired craft ales
- Independent coffee shops and cafes along Lincoln Avenue
- Farm-to-table and New American restaurants on and near 4th and 5th Streets
Where to walk in Downtown Loveland
The most rewarding walk in Downtown Loveland starts at the Loveland Museum on Lincoln Avenue, heads south past street sculptures and gallery storefronts to the Rialto Theater Center on 5th Street, then loops west toward the Big Thompson River Corridor trail, which connects downtown to riverside green space along the Big Thompson River. The entire downtown core is flat, compact, and comfortably walkable within 20–30 minutes end to end.
- Lincoln Avenue sculpture walk from 1st Street to 6th Street
- Big Thompson River trail access west of downtown
- Benson Sculpture Garden loop at Mehaffey Park, north of downtown
How to get to Downtown Loveland
Downtown Loveland is accessible by car via US-287 (Lincoln Avenue is the main artery) or US-34 from Interstate 25, with free surface parking widely available throughout the district. Bustang Outrider bus service operated by the Colorado Department of Transportation connects Loveland to Fort Collins and Denver’s Union Station on the Front Range route, and the FLEX regional bus line links Loveland to Fort Collins and Boulder.
- US-287 / Lincoln Avenue — primary auto route through downtown
- I-25 Exit 257B via US-34 East — main highway approach
- Bustang Outrider — state-run bus to Denver Union Station and Fort Collins
- FLEX regional bus — Fort Collins to Boulder via Loveland
Best time to visit Downtown Loveland
Late summer — particularly August — is the optimal time to visit Downtown Loveland, when the Sculpture in the Park show fills Benson Sculpture Garden with hundreds of works and the weather is warm and dry with low humidity typical of Colorado’s Front Range. February draws visitors for Loveland’s famous Valentine’s Day re-mailing program, a tradition since 1947 in which cards are hand-stamped at the local post office, reflecting the city’s long-running identity as the “Sweetheart City.”
