Tour Fort Collins' coolest treehouses

There's a reason behind each story a reporter writes. 

Sometimes it's to educate the public, to tell them about a change in their community or to entertain and enlighten them.

Other times — like this one — the reason is that said reporter never lived their childhood dream of having a treehouse. A tragedy, I know. 

I blame my father's complete lack of handyman skills, likely coupled with his fear of hitting his thumb with a hammer and — doubled over in pain — tumbling from the shaky branch of a 20-foot tree.

Alas, a childhood treehouse was never in the cards for me. But that's OK. Because after I put out a call for neat tree forts in Fort Collins, I received dozens of responss. And as I hopped from treehouse to treehouse, I got to live vicariously through the kids who once called these treehouses home.

More:11 historic homes of Fort Collins and the people who lived in them

There's the baby pink cottage that looks like the home of a fairy tale princess and an expansive (and intricate) treehouse that looks like the creation of someone shipwrecked for years on a desert island. Then there's the tidy little perch near City Park that once had its very own backyard tunnel and underground basement (they just don't make 'em like they used to).

In the end, it's OK that I never had my own treehouse. Getting to tour Fort Collins' best tree forts turned out so much better. Sorry, Dad.

This overlook at Avogadro's Number

Where: 605 S. Mason St., Fort Collins

If you've ever graced Avogadro's Number's back patio for a beer after work or outdoor show, you've likely seen the mammoth treehouse built in its corner. Complete with steps and a large, almost wrap-around balcony, this little treehouse offers a fun way to watch Avo's from above. 

This sweet cottage in the trees

Where: Just west of the Thunderbird East subdivision 

Looking like it popped right off the pages of a fairy tale book, this little pink cottage gave a new purpose to the dying apple tree in Don Spangler's backyard. While renting out the home, Spangler said a tenant proposed the idea of making the tree home to a little treehouse. They designed and built it, even repurposing an old bed's headboard and footboard into the sweet balcony railing.

More:Tiny homes, big questions

This tower among the trees

Where: Located near the Red Fox Meadows Natural Area

Climbing up to this treehouse is no joke. Built 30 feet up in the air, this one-time summer project is known for looking over its neighborhood, with windows, a custom door and water-tight, asphalt-shingled roof.

This intricate show stopper

Where: University Acres neighborhood

Like something out of The Swiss Family Robinson, no detail seems to be left out of this backyard treehouse in University Acres. With an expansive porch featuring delicate roped sides and an open air feel, its owner says plenty of passers-by stop to peek at the rustic masterpiece.

This elevated little hobbit hole

Where: The Lexington Green subdivision

Hobbled together like something out of a J. R. R. Tolkien novel, this little treehouse looks like one with its tree, with its shingled sides and small balcony.

This quirky 'gniazdo'

Where: Fort Collins

Built by Patrick Mahoney and his daughter, this hanging treehouse is a little different than your traditional tree fort. It was constructed of PEX tubing, rope, plywood, rope climbing slings, carabiners and a sofa back cushion, and is covered in a waterproof tarp during rainstorms. Not an all-season treehouse, this little hideout dangles when weather allows and goes by the name gniazdo, which means "nest" in Polish.

This storied little lookout

Where: East of City Park

This tidy white and brown overlook now peeks over trees from a corner lot near City Park, but according to its current owner, its story predates its present-day perch. Almost 60 years old, the little hideout was built in a tree next door to where it is now, and it was used by a brother and sister who lived in the home. When the boy became a teenager, he and his friends apparently spent one summer digging a tunnel through the backyard and underneath the tree, creating a sort of basement below the tree (and treehouse). After the children grew up, the treehouse's tree began to decay and droop. That's when it was purchased by its current owners next door and put on stilts in their backyard. 

This beauty in the mountains

Where: OK, OK, it's in Red Feather Lakes (but still!)

Every treehouse needs a slide, right? This beauty overlooking Cameron Pass features a slide, fireman pole, climbing wall and dumbwaiter.

More:Your summer bucket list: 40 Fort Collins things to do

Rules for building

Looking to build your own treehouse? Here's what the city says: According to amendments to the 2012 International Residential Code, work that is exempt from a permit includes one "elevated" playhouse per lot not exceeding 64 square feet of floor area or six feet in height (as measured from the floor of the structure to its highest point).