A Brief History of Drake
Drake is an unincorporated Larimer County community along U.S. Highway 34 between Loveland and Estes Park. Its post office opened on December 14, 1905, providing a dated milestone in the settlement’s history. The surrounding Big Thompson Canyon later became the setting for the devastating flood of July 31, 1976, when intense rainfall sent destructive floodwaters down the river corridor. Drake’s story belongs to this wider canyon landscape, where communities, roads and river crossings have repeatedly faced the challenges of living beside a mountain river.