DENVER, Colo. — Plan an awe-inspiring trip through Colorado this fall, and experience the Centennial State in all its golden glory. Soak in the scenery as the aspen leaves show off their brilliant yellow, red and orange hues, and take advantage of Colorado’s mild-temperatures, sunny days and bluebird skies. Enjoy hiking, biking or horseback riding on colorful trails or experience signature fall events like Pueblo’s Chile and Frijoles Festival and Breckenridge’s Oktoberfest. Fall photos and memories can be captured during a fall drive along scenic roads including Colorado’s 26 Scenic and Historic Byways.
Golden Adventures:
- Go Birding at Pawnee National Grassland (Ault): On the state’s eastern plains, dramatic windswept vistas welcome visitors to Pawnee National Grassland, an expanse of nearly 200,000 acres where they’ll spot many bird species unseen elsewhere. The conservation area is home to Colorado’s state bird (the lark bunting) and unique high-plains bird species. Other Colorado critters such as pronghorns and swift foxes are also found throughout.
- Raft Bighorn Sheep Canyon (Canon City): A rafting hot spot, Bighorn Sheep Canyon lives up to its name with ample opportunities to see Colorado’s state mammal. From the canyon, upstream from the Royal Gorge near Cañon City, visitors see trees flamboyantly brandishing fall colors along the Arkansas River. Various outfitters can set visitors up with whitewater excursions or riverfront camping trips. Wildlife viewing of red-tailed hawks, mule deer and sheep are part of the journey.
- Ride the Rails to the Top of Pikes Peak (Colorado Springs): What’s better than a view from the top? The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway, America’s highest railway, takes guests up Pikes Peak topping out at a height of 14,115 feet and offering stunning Colorado mountain views and some of the country’s best fall foliage landscapes.
- Hike the World’s Largest Flat-Top Mountain (Grand Junction): Among Grand Junction’s spectacular red cliffs and winding canyons, visitors can marvel at the 11,000-foot Grand Mesa, the world’s largest flat-top mountain, which boasts more than 300 lakes. At 350,000 acres, the Mesa is graced with deep forests of aspens set against Colorado pine, spruce and fir and offers breathtaking ranges of fall colors. Crag Crest Trail offers a high alpine hike atop the spine of the Mesa, perfect for fall color viewing.
- Fish at Lake San Cristobal (Lake City): Enjoy the state’s second largest natural lake against the backdrop of vibrant aspen trees. This deep blue jewel is rich with trout, and the area’s best kept secret is that fall is the best time of year to go fishing, as fewer anglers are out and fish begin to bulk up for the winter. After a long day out on the water, visitors can head to the south end of the lake, in the Red Gulch Day Use Area, for dynamic views.
- Saddle Up at Sundance Trail Guest Ranch (Red Feather Lakes): A short two-hour drive from Denver, Sundance Trail Guest Ranch is a cowboy heaven nestled in the Rocky Mountains. One of the smaller and boutique ranches, visitors can create an autumnal adventure with add-on activities such as horseback riding, fishing and disc golf. A hot tub, western-style meals and limitless cookies await. An added bonus? The ranch is pet-friendly—so Fido is welcome to tag along for free.
- Bike Gold Level Trails Amongst the Golden Leaves (Snowmass Village, CO): Tucked into one of the most beautiful and accessible parts of the Rocky Mountains, Snowmass is the launching pad for accessing over 75 miles of ultra-scenic mountain biking and road cycling surrounded by brilliant gold aspen leaves. The destination and surrounding Roaring Fork Valley is a International Mountain Bicycling Association designated IMBA Gold-Level Ride Center.
- Soar Above The Leaves in A Hot Air Balloon (Steamboat Springs): Offering stunning views of the Steamboat Springs area, the Flat Top Mountains and Hahn’s Peak, an inactive volcano, Wild West Adventures in Steamboat offers incredible fall hot air balloon rides. Early morning flights include a champagne ceremony after the flight and a personalized flight certificate.
Epic Fall Road Trips:
- Highway of Legends (Trinidad and Walsenberg): The majestic mountain ranges in southern Colorado are full of outdoor recreational opportunities such as hiking, biking, fishing and boating, and the Scenic Highway of Legends can lead visitors there. Start in Trinidad or Walsenburg for an 82-mile scenic drive through quaint small towns in picturesque valleys of Spanish Peaks Country. Travelers will find trails filled with color and the most unforgettable mountain scenery, with glimmering lakes and little eateries along the way. Trinidad and the surrounding area offer many fun fall events including parades and music festivals, or just enjoy a stroll through town and peek in the many unique shops in the historic downtown area.
- Kebler Pass (Crested Butte): One of the most famous drives for leaf peeping is the drive over Kebler Pass to Marble and the Crystal River Valley as the drive is home to the largest aspen grove in the United States. Head north on Whiterock Avenue out of Crested Butte and continue on this road as it turns into County Road 12. One of the best places to stop and take in the views is across from Horse Ranch Park. This stop offers breathtaking views of the scenic landscapes of the Anthracite Mountain Range. The pocket of reds, yellows and golds in this area is one view not to miss.
- Kenosha Pass (Conifer and South Park): TV fans recognize the name South Park from the eponymous animated series, but only the most dedicated fans know that the show is actually based on the writers’ experiences growing up in Conifer, not South Park. This drive connects both of these areas via high-altitude Kenosha Pass, which is wide and well maintained, with easily navigated turns. It is one of the best drives in Colorado to view autumn’s leaves — vibrant reds and glowing yellows of the aspen woodlands are a striking contrast to the ponderosa pines and Douglas firs around Conifer. The pass eventually spills out into the high grassland basin of South Park, where unobstructed views of the Mosquito Range peaks appear in the west.
- Top of the Rockies Scenic & Historic Byway: At elevations around 10,000 feet, leaves change first in Leadville and Twin Lakes, usually peaking mid- to late September. The Top of the Rockies Scenic Byway offers spectacular views of golden aspen groves and large glacial lakes, especially from Twin Lakes to the summit of Independence Pass. The Leadville Colorado & Southern Railroad rides up into the San Isabel National Forest, where the mountains are ablaze with yellow, orange and red. Halfmoon Packing & Outfitting offers horseback, wagon and stagecoach rides as well as overnight trips featuring some of the most spectacular mountain views in the area. Visitors can soar high above the valley on the Top of the Rockies Zipline to experience fall foliage at an elevation of 11,200 feet with views of Colorado’s highest peaks. Leadville’s Cemetery, Ghost, and Safari Tours offers a new view on Leadville’s history and its past residents.
Haunted Hot Spots:
- Ashcroft Ghost Town (Aspen): Once home to two newspapers (even Denver only has one!), 20 saloons, a school and many private homes, Ashcroft faded before the turn of the century. Only 10 miles from Aspen, take a guided tour of a dozen or so buildings preserved by the Aspen Historical Society, including the jail, livery stable and a couple saloons.
- Black Monarch Hotel (Victor): In the late 1800s during the town of Victor’s heyday, what was then called the Monarch Hotel served miners and international travelers as the Gold Rush fueled their indiscretions. Today, visitors enjoy this renovated boutique hotel and its paranormal activity. Those working the hotel bar have reported strange sights that they cannot explain, including a woman’s silhouette in the window when no one was there and the sounds of women laughing and men yelling in the middle of the night. Victor is the site of the Colorado Labor Wars, innumerable Gold Rush era murders and industrial accidents, so it’s said ot be one of the most haunted cities in Colorado.
- Hotel Colorado (Glenwood Springs): This 1893 Glenwood Springs accommodation is known as one of the state’s most haunted thanks to the paranormal activity that takes place under its roof. Both guests and staff have reported getting goosebumps at the sound of a woman wailing, and the lights are known to flicker unexpectedly. Hotel Colorado’s eeriness is ramped up by the fact that the basement was once used as a crematorium for World War II military personnel. The hotel is currently undergoing a multi-million-dollar restoration including all guest rooms.
- The Oxford Hotel (Denver): Denver’s oldest boutique hotel, The Oxford, is located in the trendy Union Station neighborhood. This 123-year-old hotel is also known for its haunted past, from tales of locked bathroom stalls to sinks that turn on and off during the night, and a real mystery lies behind the door of Room 320. The hotel’s Cruise Room bar is known for its martinis, its iconic Art Deco style — and a mysterious postal worker. Bartenders routinely report a man walking into the bar wearing an old post office uniform. He always orders a beer before muttering “the children, I have to get the gifts to the children.” Then he appears to drink the beer and leave.
- Phantom Canyon Road (Cripple Creek): Not for the faint of heart, Phantom Canyon Road is a detour off the Gold Belt Tour byway and the former route of the Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad. The drive itself is thrilling as the narrow, unpaved road climbs 4,000 feet in elevation, twisting and turning through eerie mountain tunnels and the centuries-old ghost towns of Wilbur, Adelaide and Glenbrook. As travelers near Cripple Creek, they may spot the specters who give the road its name — particularly the ghost of a uniformed 1890s prison inmate who was spotted walking the railway days after he was executed.
Favorite Fall Flavor Festivals:
- Olathe Sweet Corn Festival, Aug. 6 (Olathe): This year’s 30th annual Olathe Sweet Corn Festival offers a full day of fun with lots of sweet corn to devour. A beer and wine garden will be present at the event in addition to booths from local vendors. There are also numerous activities for kids and adults to enjoy including corn eating competitions, games, facepainting and live musical performances.
- Palisade Peach Festival, Aug. 11-13 (Palisade): The renowned Palisade peaches are at their finest during Peach Festival weekend. The 54th Annual Peach Festival includes orchard tours, peach cuisine demos, peach eating contests, an ice cream social, BBQ throw down, a street dance with live music and much more.
- Rocky Ford Melons, Aug. and Sept. (Rocky Ford): Big melons are big business in the tiny agricultural town of Rocky Ford. Farmers ship juicy cantaloupe and watermelons nationwide. In August and September, roadside stands along Hwy. 50 are open for business. Each August the town hosts the annual Arkansas Valley Fair, during which time locals celebrate the diverse cultures of the area and outstanding agricultural community with horse races, stock shows, a carnival and rodeo, fiesta and Watermelon Days are also special parts of the celebration.
- Pueblo’s Chile & Frijoles Festival, Sept. 23-25 (Pueblo): To celebrate the city’s harvest of its best-loved crop, the Pueblo green chile, the Pueblo Chile & Frijoles Festival includes cooking demonstrations, musical performances, frijole-spitting and jalapeño-eating contests and more. Visitors can stop by the farmers’ market to find green chile creations that they can take home.
Fantastic Fall Events:
- Telluride Film Festival, Sept. 2-5 (Telluride): Each Labor Day weekend, the tiny mountain village of Telluride triples in size. Swells of passionate film enthusiasts flood the town for four days of total cinematic immersion, embarking on a viewing odyssey, blissfully spending entire days in flickering dark rooms. The Telluride Film Festival takes great pains to remain not a competition, but a celebration of the best in film—past, present and future—from all around the world.
- Breckenridge Oktoberfest, Sept. 23-25 (Breckenridge): Visitors break out their lederhosen and best Bavarian attire for Breckenridge Oktoberfest’s triumphant return to historic Main Street. After being canceled in 2020 and offering a modified, scaled-down event on the Riverwalk Center lawn in 2021, the 26th annual Breckenridge Oktoberfest will once again be held on Main Street, returning to a full-blown street party with live music, food vendors and plenty of ‘Prost!’.
- Elk Fest, Oct. 1-2 (Estes Park): The beautifully haunting bugle of a bull elk is unmistakable, and every October spectators head to Estes Park to experience the phenomenon. The elk gather there, at the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park, to show off for their ladies during the start of the rutting (breeding) season. At Elk Fest, visitors can learn about these beasts’ behavior, observe them in their natural habitat, participate in a bugling contest and see performances by American Indians. This year, The YMCA of The Rockies is also offering an Elk Ecology Class in which participants enjoy hands-on activities to learn about elk biology, herding dynamics, habitat requirements for survival and seasonal behavior changes.
- First Annual Tarantula Fest, Oct. 8 (La Junta): Each fall, large numbers of tarantulas skitter across the landscape in La Junta and southeast Colorado. While this phenomenon has traditionally been called a migration, it’s actually an annual mating ritual performed by male tarantulas who roam across the 443,000-plus acres on the Comanche National Grassland. The mating season starts once the temperatures cool at night, which is typically around the start of September. The first annual Tarantula Fest will be held in La Junta Saturday, October 8, and will include guided tarantula tours, an educational pavilion and much more.
For more information on places to experience Colorado’s fall splendor, visit www.COLORADO.com.
