How can you not be drawn to a place called “Loveland”? Further, when it’s referred to as a Sweetheart City, your romantic soul is simply drawn to Colorado to see what it’s all about. Here are just some of the many reasons to love Loveland, from their devotion to Valentine’s Day to their passion for art.

There’s so much to see and do in Loveland, Colorado. Save this article to Pinterest to help you remember it all. Photos by Richard Haro or Courtney Drake-McDonough. Cover image by Richard Harow. Graphic by Real Food Traveler.

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Where to start (and end) your visit to Loveland

Loveland Visitors Center – first for information, then return because you will have fallen in love with Loveland and will want to get locally-made items such as clothing, housewares, and souvenirs (but not tacky). Plus, you’ll want to buy and etch a special padlock to leave a little bit of your heart on the sculpture outside.

Join so many others in locking your love to the popular LOVE sculpture outside of the Loveland Visitors Center.

Visitors put pins in the map at the Loveland Visitors Center to show where they’ve come from to see the Colorado city. Photo by Courtney Drake-McDonough.

Embrace Loveland’s Valentine Season 2023

Loveland’s big claim to fame is that it’s a mecca for helping people express their love. And it’s launching its 77th Valentine season in 2023. People can send their valentine’s cards to the city of Loveland to have a collector’s stamp (also known as a “cachet”) and postmark stamped on them after which it’s mailed off to the intended recipient. Each year, a new envelope artwork and verse are created. My husband always sent the Valentines he purchased for me and each of our kids to Loveland to have that extra special touch added. We appreciated his sweet cards even more.

Loveland receives approximately 100,000 Valentines each year from all 50 states and 110 countries around the world for their Valentine Re-mailing Program, making it the largest of its kind. Each envelope is stamped by hand by sponsors and volunteers each year.

To get this special 2023 collector’s envelope artwork and postmark on Valentine’s Day cards you select and want to send out, package pre-addressed, pre-stamped Valentines in a larger First Class envelope. Send the envelope to Postmaster – Attention Valentines, 446 E. 29th St., Loveland, CO 80538-9998. Once received, Valentines will be removed from the larger envelope and hand-stamped before being re-mailed to intended recipients.

You can also purchase a specially-designed 2023 Valentine card that features a row of black and white mailboxes with one open to reveal a red heart. The verse says: “From the City of Loveland, Right to your door, A card full of love, And a little bit more. To you and your loved ones, Good wishes and smiles, From the Sweetheart City, Across the miles.”

The Valentine cards can be purchased online at Loveland.org for $10 (which includes the card, printing, processing and postage) from Jan. 18 through Feb. 9 on the chamber’s website, www.Loveland.org. All cards purchased through Loveland.org will automatically go through the re-mailing program.

All international-destined mail must be received in Loveland by Feb. 2. All U.S.-destined mail to states outside of Colorado must be received by Feb. 7.

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Other ways to share the love in Loveland

The Valentine Re-mailing Program isn’t the only way to participate in an authentically-Loveland Valentine season. Here are the highlights of other activities:

Loveland Lights at Chapungu, Feb. 1-14.
The dramatic but peaceful Chapungu Sculpture Park in Centerra will be adorned in red and pink lights and sweetheart-themed décor. It’s a great blend of art, nature, and romantic strolling. This free event is open 5-9pm, every night.

The Loveland Sweetheart Festival, Feb. 10-11.
The free celebration in Downtown Loveland includes live music, art installations, local brews, and interactive activities at four venues. Stop at the Valentine Flea Art Market for live performances, food trucks and kids’ activities. Experience the Arts Alive block with interactive raku firing and ice carving demos or paint a tile for the Loveland community mural. At the Rialto Theater, 14-time Grammy Award winning musician Dan Tyminski, featuring Gavin Largent, will perform on the 11th.

The Loveland Sweetheart Festival. Photo by Richard Haro.

2023 Sweetheart Classic Race – Feb. 11
The four-mile course takes participants over diverse terrain and views, from downtown to River’s Edge Natural Area. Come as a couple or look for your future running partner.

Colorado Eagles Hockey Sweetheart Game and Group Wedding – Feb. 14
The game, held at the Budweiser Events Center includes opportunities to win tickets and a gift bag to the game; witnessing a pre-game, group wedding; a Kiss Cam and other surprises. That group wedding happens on the ice for a limited number of couples looking to get married or renew their vows. The package they purchase gets them a customized ceremony, photos, gift bags, cupcakes, a lock to “lock their love” on one of Loveland’s famous LOVE or HEART sculptures, and more.

Group weddings and vow renewals happen in various settings, depending on the year. This one took place in front of the iconic “LOVE” sign outside of the Loveland Visitors Center. Photo by Richard Haro.

2023 Loveland Valentine Wine – Starting Feb. 1 while supplies last
Sweet Heart Winery, a charming place in a beautiful setting, has produced a limited edition 2019 Merlot from Lodi, California that includes specially-designed label art. Purchase the wine online or at the winery after Feb. 1.

2023 Loveland Valentine Coffee
In partnership between the Loveland Chamber of Commerce and Top of the Lake Coffee, this year’s Sweetheart Blend is Butter Toffee coffee. It will be sold at the Loveland Visitors Center.

Hungry for more? Enjoy these Valentine’s Day tips and recipes.

Looking ahead to more reasons to visit:

August 11-13, 2023, Sculpture in the Park is the largest outdoor, juried sculpture show in the United States. Drawing international talent, the show transforms Benson Sculpture Garden into a major art-lover’s draw with more than 2,000 pieces of sculpture by 160 sculptors from around the world.

November 2023 – Jan. 2024, Winter Wonderlights lets visitors stroll the already beautiful sculpture garden and makes it festive with 175,000 lights, live activations including ice sculpting, music and dance plus appearances by Santa and light shows.

Reasons to love Loveland any time of year:

Despite living in Colorado, we had never spent a decent amount of time in Loveland. So we took a weekend and explored. Here are our recommendations:

Where to stay:

The Embassy Suites by Hilton Loveland Hotel Conference Center & Spa was a great place to call home while we were there. The really clever design of the suites, each of which surrounds a huge atrium overlooking the dining area, means that bedrooms are away from the hallway. That reduces the chance of noise during the night while providing expansive views out the bedroom windows. Take advantage of the complimentary hot breakfast which includes a made-to-order area for eggs in any form and pancakes. Take our advice and have their green chile ladled over an omelet for a very Colorado breakfast. The hotel is right by the Budweiser Events Center and a short drive to shopping, restaurants, walking/biking trails, and sculpture parks.

Enjoy a good night’s sleep followed by a hot breakfast included with your room rate at Embassy Suites Hotel in Loveland. 

What to see:

Stroll historic downtown for lots of independent, small businesses, charming architecture and public art.

See so many sculptures! While there are multiple places to see Loveland’s varied sculptures, we loved the Benson Sculpture Garden, a sprawling and pretty park with a wide variety of styles of sculpture. Allow plenty of time to roam here so you can stop and really enjoy as a piece strikes your interest. Chapungu Sculpture Park is another, with more than 80 African stone sculptures carved by artists from Zimbabwe. There are also self-guided tours of heart sculptures and murals that, simultaneously, provide a way to get to know the lay of the land.

The Loveland Museum is a must-see, telling the very unique history of Loveland (it includes sugar beets and alabaster!) with creative and immersive displays that let you literally step into history. There are also revolving, and thought-provoking displays so check out the website to see what’s new.

Interactive exhibits explain the role of sugar beets in the city’s history at the Loveland Museum. 

Where to eat and drink:

Vatos Tacos + Tequila is a casual but hip and friendly place where you order at the counter, then grab a table to await your order. Be sure to order the chips and roasted salsa, the elote corn and, after a burrito or some street tacos, the churros with chocolate and soft serve ice cream.

The Black Steer is an institution in Loveland, having opened in 1966. Taking a hint from the name, you won’t be surprised to know it’s a steak place. But there’s also seafood, salads, and pasta. Famous for putting Chex cereal on their salads as croutons (brilliant!), we suggest doing it up right with steak, baked potato with all the fixin’s and even a lobster tail, to really gild the lily.

Loveland’s historic Black Steer restaurant serves steak, seafood, burgers, and more.

There’s a big variety of restaurants in Loveland, most of which are independently owned so check them out here. We wish we’d had more time to try more of them but that just gives us other reasons to return.

Sweet Heart Winery is just a short drive out of town into a pretty, rural area with rolling hills. Their tasting room offers wines by the bottle, glass, and flight plus a small menu of food to enjoy while you sip. Take advantage of the back porch seating and also the firepit area, even in chilly but sunny weather because it’s just such a lovely place to sit and relax.

Cheer the home team:

The Colorado Eagles, an American Hockey League team, calls Loveland and The Budweiser Events Center home. Take in a game while you visit or maybe catch one of the many other events that go on there, including concerts. Grab dinner first at Blue Bar & Grill. The close proximity to the Embassy Suites means you can stay parked at the hotel and walk over.

Loveland’s Budweiser Events Center, ready for ice hockey action with home team, the Colorado Eagles.

We packed a lot into our weekend visit to Loveland and left knowing we’d only scratched the surface of all there was to do and experience. When you visit, allow time to really immerse yourself in Loveland, Colorado (ideally during Valentine season but really, any time of year) and find out why there is so much to love.

To learn more about Loveland, Colorado, visit the Visitors Center website. 

-Story and photos (except where credited otherwise) by Courtney Drake-McDonough, publisher and managing editor of Real Food Traveler.

Please note: As is common practice with travel writers and travel websites, we were hosted for portions of our visit to help facilitate this article. But, as is always the case, our opinions are our own.