Fall, it’s my favorite season. The golden colors that absorb the light just right, the drop in temperature, the freshness of the air that hits your lungs, the warm sweaters, fireplaces, and pumpkin flavored everything. Fall is by far my favorite.
Every year when Fall hits I always want to go look at the Fall colors in the mountains. Colorado has a short Fall season so you have to travel on the weekends to different elevations to make it last longer, starting with the mountains. The higher the elevation the sooner the colors change. Most often the mountains will see a change in colors starting in the last 2 weeks of September to the first week of October. This is its peak season. Now just like at any elevation this can fluctuate a bit depending on how much rainfall we’ve gotten during the summer and how quickly the temperature drops as Fall approaches. Kenosha pass near South Park or Ptarmigan trail in Silverthorn are 2 of the best places to see the colors in the mountains. They’re simply the best because both have an Aspen forest you hike through completely surrounding you in golden color.
When the colors are starting to fade and the leaves start to fall in the mountains that’s when the foothills hit their peak of the seasons. The beginning of October is a great time to visit Evergreen, Conifer, Boulder Golden Gate Canyon, Echo Lake and Idaho Springs. All of these places have amazing landscapes and their own wonderful hikes. My mother and I drive up to Echo lake every year to look at the colors and on the drive, there are some great places to pull off and get some photos of the mountains with snow on them and the fall colors sprinkled on the mountains. Evergreen is also home to Three Sisters Park and Elk Meadow which shows some really spectacular views and some aspen trees sprinkled throughout.
Finally, at the end of October and maybe even the first week of November, you’ll find the Fall colors in Denver. What’s great about Denver is you don’t only get the golden leaves like you do in the rest of Colorado, you’ll find a few red/orange leaves in the mix adding so much more depth to any image. There’s plenty of places to find in Denver to take photos or simply enjoy the view but City Park and Wash Park are two of the best places.
While the colors of Fall may only last a short time, they can be enjoyed a lot longer when you make the trips to the mountains and foothills throughout September and October. And if you’re anything like me, the travels to the mountains for an extra long Fall are always worth it!
Drive to Echo Lake
Ptarmigan trail in Silverthorn
Kenosha Pass near South Park
