At Traces of the Past History Tours, we share the rich and complex story of our region through engaging van tours and on‑site experiences. Each tour brings you to historically meaningful places where the land, the people, and their stories come together. We believe learning should be both enlightening and fun, and we invite you to step into history with us.

For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples called this tri‑state region home. Centuries later, European and Euro‑American arrivals brought encounters that were often difficult and deeply consequential. The human story that unfolded here is one of resilience and conflict, triumph and loss—shaped by cultures meeting, clashing, and influencing one another.
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These stories continue to shape the place we call home today. Our tours offer a unique way to explore that legacy and connect with the traces of the past still visible across the landscape.

GOOGLE REVIEWS

TRIP ADVISOR REVIEWS

Mark was excellent! He knows his history and answered our many questions along the way! Informative and fun! We would highly recommend this tour!
Cheryl C. - 7/25

Our tour today was fantastic. Mark was so knowledgeable and made the history of this area come alive. I have lived here for almost 30 years and learned so much. Great job and look forward to doing another tour with him.
Steve F. - 10/24

I’ve visited Fort Collins many times over the years to visit family and friends, and usually have just a couple of days, this time I have several weeks and decided to dive deeper and try to learn more about the area. Mark’s history tour was great, he chose a few really interesting people from the area’s past and gave us an in-depth look at the stories behind some of the place names that are so familiar here. His love for history really makes his stories interesting and the characters come alive. His maps, artifacts and photos really add a lot to the authenticity of the tour. Thank you Mark!
Annie G. - 6/24

"It was an amazing and extremely informative tour. Mark was incredible and super knowledgeable in the history of this area. He brought artifacts along and shared an incredible amount of information. From start to finish he was cognizant of our needs and so polite. If you love history and want to learn about Fort Collins- I highly recommend this tour!"
Jean P. - 7/23

"As a history major, Mark was well-qualified to lead this tour. He took us to several sites in the early history of Fort Collins and shared many details of the early days here. He offered several maps and photos to help us understand the people and their times. He welcomed questions, and we finished the tour with a better grounding of the area and its history. Thank you, Mark, for an enlightening afternoon!"
Guest from Chicago, IL - 6/23

We thoroughly enjoyed the tour. Mark and Wendy were the best. We are all seniors and they made sure we were comfortable and planned the tour to please us. (The four of us were the only tourists) Mark was a wealth of information. It was a great 2 hours.
Rose A. - 4/23
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