2013 Map of Laporte

About this map

The Cache la Poudre River and its complex network of irrigation infrastructure define this Larimer County landscape. Settled at the foot of the Roosevelt National Forest, the communities of Bellvue and Laporte are surrounded by a legacy of water management visible in the Munroe Gravity Canal, Poudre Valley Canal, and Charles Hansen Canal. These engineering feats, alongside the Little Cache la Poudre Ditch, sustained the agricultural operations of family-named holdings like McMurry Ranch and Kramer Ranch. The terrain transitions from the high peaks of Bonner Peak and Cloudy Pass down into the narrow corridors of Log Canyon and Rist Canyon. Conservation and utility are paired here, with the Bellvue State Fish Hatchery sitting just south of Watson Lake, while the Milton Seaman Reservoir captures the flow of the North Fork Cache La Poudre River as it enters the valley.