This place is amazing and a really great place to take the family. Genius level creativity behind some of these sculptures, theyre very well thought out and detailed. My wife and teenage kids lived it so its an all around win.

Living in Fort Collins more than 5 years and only until now to find this gem! Super beautiful & amazing place! The artist is very talented to create this fairy land! Its sad to see people left their trash there as for a free admission park to public. I will bring in trash bag to pick up there on my next trip! Please appreciate the artists work and generous and keep it well!Great appreciation goes to the artist ️!

Its a great covid-19 activity. Its easy to social distance there from others. On the smaller side but very scenic. I drove from Denver today and was not disappointed!

So cool, free admission but donation kindly recommended. We met the creator of this fascinating zoo. A legend for sure, he has been creating these creatures all his life!

Beautiful walk and amazing art. I will definitely go back.

The most whimsical junkyard in Colorado. We spent about 30 minutes here and probably could have spent double that. Admission is free, but the robot accepts donations.

Wonderfully creative and awe-inspiring. Free to see with the possibility for donations if youre willing. Quite a few metal found object sculptures, and the owner/creator is often outside working on projects during the day. You could come here to take a picnic, or just to see these creations. This is worth coming to just to see what hes created. Truly a gem. Recommended.

Visited this place as a child with my grandparents and have so many good memories. Today I got to take my boyfriend and he loved seeing all the sculptures. The man who made these sculptures made pieces of art. They are so unique and beautiful in there own way. This place plans to be closing soon due to selling the property. This is an iconic piece of Colorado.

This place is super cool and unique! Check out other cool ones like these at Atlas Obscura!

I didnt see any signs about it closing down. Really cool place to walk through. Bathroom was out of toilet paper. Has a parking lot.

This is a quirky little place. Youll typically only spend 30-45 mins here. Super fun to walk around and pretty much always quiet.

The man who made all these sculptures out of old, rusty vehicle parts is so creative & talented! This is a grass roots folk art outdoor Zoo located at I-25 & Harmony Road in Fort Collins is FREE to visit. It features many metal dinosaurs, and other sculptures. The owner has a sign up saying donations are welcome...& you can feed your donation into the mouth of one of the sculptures. Allow 30 to 60 minutes to enjoy the many sculptures on his property. Just pull through the gate, park & enjoy.I stopped by here with my 2 grandsons, ages 5 & 8. It had been 2 years since I had been there with them. I was surprised to see the artist added a few new sculptues in the last 2 years.Go see it soon....the property is up for sale currently. I hope some museum or business buys his entire collection of quirky metal art sculptures so they can still be enjoyed by the public. THANK YOU sculptor for sharing your talent with us for so many years!

Such a cool place! So sad to see it go. Its been iconic my entire life.

Creativity and dedication 2 fun was amazing

The creations are awesome. The gentleman who owns it was nice and I formative. He is selling but I hope it sticks around, ace could use a sprucing but it has great potential. Has an area near the river that you can picnic

When we moved here in 1994 my family and I loved this place. I have many great memories of the creatures they created. I have recommended this place even this year to a few out of towners. Now reading these reviews I am heart broken to learn that it is gone.

Just a unique random collection and display of miscellaneous orom/metal parts welden into all sorts of animals etc. and its free to tour

Amazing! Such a great place to stretch your legs and enjoy some outstanding creative art. It says its closed Sunday, but we dropped by on a road trip stop and walked around just fine. My four kids ages 14, 11, 8 and 4 loved it. I loved it too! Make a donation to keep this place going.

This place was fun to see. Lots of great creations and exhibits. Kids had a great time!

Pretty cool. A lot of imagination went into the pieces of art.

Nice, funny, well made. Free, there is a donation box at the entrance. We easily spent 30min there.

I loved the Swetsville Zoo, but I also appreciate art. My kids liked it, but they had more fun throwing rocks in the river than looking at the sculptures. Maybe if they were a tad older theyd enjoy it more. The creativity and amount of time put into the sculptures is amazing. Its obvious it was a labor of love. Its definitely worth a visit if you have some free time as it is free and open to the public. Theres a donation box if you can spare a few bucks to help maintain the grounds. I hope this place sticks around.

We had fun! The kids were excited!

Our kids loved walking through to see all of the different sculptures...a lot of dinosaurs! Its a quick stop.

Ol Man Swet built a very unique metal zoo it is a must for kids of all ages

Great place to take a quick stop to check out some amazing local art sculptures.

A unique, eclectic roadside attraction that is well worth the visit. Free, although donations are accepted, and easily one of the most creative places youll find... Anywhere

Random little roadside stop. Love the weird and wacky so this place was a treat. Kudos to the artists involved.

Very creative sculptures. There is an interactive musical sculpture by the river. Entry is free

The family and I enjoyed walking around the facility and seeing all the creativity!

Super cool place, a bit run down but we still throughly enjoyed stopping here. Totally think people should stop to see what folks did with metal.

Super cute roadside stop! There are a lot of sculptures and they are all intricate, whimsical, and clearly made by some talented artists. Definitely worth the stop!

This place is amazing for all ages of people. I have been coming here since I was little and still love it to this day. Whenever one of my relatives come into town I always show them this enchanting place.

Donation based entry to see welded creatures? One of the best attractions in Fort Collins that you cant find elsewhere.

Wish this place wasnt selling it has a lot of fun things to look at will miss this place when it leaves.

Remarkable spot to see artistic ability of Bill Swets! Also a place to take kids, a picnic lunch and enjoy the stream of water! Where else can you find a donation based art museum/ nature walk. Wheel chairs can be used to see most everything. And plenty of old large trees will give a nice shade canopy on the east side of zoo by water. Hurry before they take paradise and put up a parking lot. Land is up for sale

I think its a fun place to wander around. The sculptures are very interesting

Clever use of parts to make whimsical park for kids of all ages.

Came here a ton when I was growing up in Fort Collins. Perfect to get kids out of the house and off their phone. Its a magical world of metal.

Fun diversion if you like weird stuff.

Quirky, funny little free garden filled with whimsical creatures and scenes all constructed from scrap parts! (Owner is a welder). Great for kids, especially the metal musical gadgets!

You know when you go on a road trip and you find those hidden roadside attractions that is Instagram worthy? This is one of them! The Swetsville Zoo is a collection of sculptures made out of junk! I guarantee that you will find one you love with a quick 15 minute walk through the park. Not only is it a fun place, its peaceful, and a good spot to stretch your legs during a long drive.

So sad to hear this place will be closing up shop soon. Stop in while you still can as its a great way to spend an hour - all outside so try to hit it when its not super hot out. But theres plenty of shaded areas for those sunny days.

This mans creativity has no limit. Really interesting pieces of work. I took my 90 + year old mother for a car ride and we ended up here. While her ability the move is limited she saw enough of the artwork from the car to make the drive worth Wild. I appreciate the fact that we could drive and walk around for free at his exhibit, and if you want to donate so he can continue his work feel free to do so. I will be returning with friends from Ireland as I know they have never seen the likes of sculptures like this in their life. Whether you come alone or come with others or come with kids theres something there that will make you smile and be amazed.

This place was so fun! My kids loved it. Im sad we just now found out about it. Good luck on your future endeavors!

Love going here especially during the summer time. Wish he was still adding on to it.

We took our Grandkids to see this zoo in 2011. It was so cool and the owner is truly an artist. Such imagination!! My grandson and I stopped by this morning and it is run down (Google the article from 2009 in the Denver Post)but many of his original works are still there. Put some money in the donation box please. Enjoy!

Always cool to go check out the awesome pieces they create!

I love this place and I am so sad it is for sale. It has been such a staple to Fort Collins and I am sad to see it up for sale. The sculptures are so cool and every age can get enjoyment from here.

I literally smiled from the time I got out of my car until I got back in, my smile muscles hurt !!! This place is awesome . As the mother of a welder I can appreciate the hard work & ️ That went in to those sculptures. So worth the trip.

Amazing place and even more amazing owners. I recommend checking it out before it gets sold soon.

So interesting! I love the creativity. Id LOVE one of these creatures in my front yard.

So glad to see this zoo is still around! Just a reminder to visitors, please clean up after yourselves, there is no staff to pick up after you. I want to thank the creator, what a great place you have created! Thanks for sharing your creations with the public! I also want to thank his family for keeping it available to the public. Thank you for supporting your Fathers vision and generosity!

Oh, poor little Swetsville. Its still considered a piece of history around here, but man is it run down. Sadly, the improvements rely on donations and my guess is people just dont bother to put money in the pot most of the time. I mean, who really carries cash anymore? Its fun to walk around and see the old cob web and rust covered creations and throw rocks in the river. But there are so many areas I remembered going in as a kid that are now closed. Its cute enough for a free visit with young kids, though.

Unique, whimsical and fun. See it before it’s gone!

The creations are out of this world great!! A great display of imaginative things. The longer you stay, the more you see.

Free! Outside! Creative! Stroller friendly...a quirky fun place to visit. A nice change from a park. :)

This is a great place to go to see metal artwork. Great for kids and their imaginations, there are sharp edges so watch little fingers. There is no guide or fee but donations are recommended. Great local attraction.

Really neat place and the owners are really nice. Its amazing to see all of the parts that was used to make each sculpture.

The work that Mr. Swetz put into his sculptures is very impressive. It is very apparent that he put a lot of heart and soul into Swetsville over the years.

Interesting and eclectic selection of art

Very nice experience been meaning yo stop for sometime Glad we finally stopped enjoyable and not many things free these days. Thank you!

Quiet, unattended park of eclectic metal sculptures.My 5yr old got the creeps after about 15 minutes but we had the place to our selves which may have been why.Id go back when she has someone her age to explore with.

God bless this land and so grateful for the passion that is preserved here. I went solo but met like minded others and can’t wait to come back with friends! Thank you again

Simply amazing! As someone who has harbored a secret dream of becoming a welder to create artistic pieces like this, I am in awe!

A very cool part of Fort Collins history that any tourist or local should check out. Hopefully some day the city will memorialize it as a public park or something.

Really interesting sculptures. The kids liked the area where they could play

Amazing place. Great for kids. Recommend going before it closes!

Fun and unique!

Such a cute, eclectic place! Wish someone would buy the property to restore its glory instead of using the land for more, apartments, homes or hotels!

This place is truly a little treasure here in Colorado. To bad it will close once the property is sold. Wish Id of known it was here years ago.

Amazing place, someone spent a lot of time welding all of the creatures...

Always a fun little place to go to. The animals are so creatively made

Go while its still there! A true !

I really enjoyed walking around and seeing all sculptures. It isnt a very big park but it really does hold to true to the motto beauty is in the eye of the beholder.It was fun to see how junk was turned into master pieces. I enjoyed the humor of some of the sculptures. Very kid friendly park. Cant wait to go again.

This place is so stinkin cool! As an art lover and someone who loves to do free things with my kids, this place is a slam dunk! Plus last time we went the river was low enough that my kids enjoyed wading in the water.

Its a fun place...to show guests from out of state too.

A great road-side attraction that may soon be gone!

A lot of care, effort, sweat, and metal must have gone into this place. Our family loves our visits here bc of the creativity it sparks in our own imaginations... being outside, enjoying the amazing zoo creatures, the sound of the river. Bring some snacks or picnic here too. We are always sure to leave the recommended donation too.

I lived here for years before wandering over and Im so glad I did! Beautiful collection of metal statues and totally free to visit. Excellent way to spend 30 minutes or so on a nice day. Bring your camera, there are plenty of fun photo opportunities among the dinosaurs, dragons, and other various creative works throughout the park.

Like nothing youve seen before! Incredible creative lifesize art

Awesome place, but it has unfortunately been sold and will be redeveloped. :(

Ive been visiting Swetsville since the early 80s. I love the place dearly.

Cool place.

Such a fun place to visit and take company

Been going to this place since I was a baby, I love it. Its a great place to just go and clear your head and see some cool sculptures.

Interesting metal sculptures- you can walk around the property to see them. There are some musical ones down by the river. It is a little run- down and slightly creepy with all the abandoned buildings, but its free and worth the visit.

Loved the art..a short walk to view and enjoy metal made sculptures

Such a quaint little stop with tons of unique, hand made art exhibits. The creativity that went into these sculptures is really cool! Make sure you donate some money to keep the Zoo going and to payback for all the cool exhibits.

Cool little attraction to visit of you are in the area.

Its really too bad that theyre going AWAY because it was sold to developers- NEW OWNERS, PLEASE PRESERVE AT LEAST SOME OF IT, ESPECIALLY DOWN BY THE RIVER!

I found this place on Atlas Obscura while visiting my folks out in Colorado, and I’m so glad that I did. My mom, dad, husband and I all drove over on a cloudy, 40 degree day and spent about 30 minutes wandering around. Had it been warmer, we would have spent twice that. It is really just too cool what the owner has done with the most random things. There’s a lot of imagination, humor and creativity on display. It’s a great addition to the more traditional sculpture gardens in nearby Loveland. Be sure to throw whatever you can in the donation box so that the owner can keep it going.

Its just ok

Very unique...Sad its closing

Neat place to spend an hour or so. The kids enjoy running between the sculptures made from metal car/tractor/who knows parts. Take cash to donate in the box to help with maintenance of the lawn. And bring your camera!

Great place, hope it sticks around!

There is a variety of art work made from recycled materials.

I went here as a child, returned as an adult. Such creativity!

We came with relatively low expectations. But its free so what have you got to lose, right? We had a great time! Lots of unique artwork that is fun to explore and is fun for the kids.

Awesome place. Keep it alive and open!!