Fall-orado – Your Guide to Epic Leaf Peeping in Colorado 🍁!

It’s officially fall, y’all! And although leaf peeping season has just started in Colorado I wanted to share some of my absolute favorite fall hikes and tips on how to dial in to what’s going down with our fall foliage before the season officially….drops (terrible leaf joke, bare with me 😏- I swear, it gets better from here 😂).

SO. First things first. When and what the heck is leaf peeping season? Well, in Colorado, it’s a magically wonderful time when our aspen tree’s leaves turn from green to gold. Then they turn brown, fall off and die, which isn’t quite as pretty and magical and means you’ve likely missed the peak peeps. But that won’t be you this year, because you’re here reading this VERY informative, albeit slightly corny, blog!!

Colorado’s leaf peeping season typically begins mid-September and ends mid- October – but this can be impacted by a variety of things including the amount of rainfall and severe weather shifts we have. We’ve also had years where snowfall and wind storms impact prime time peeping, so if you’re debating on holding off for “the best” color, I’d still consider going when things are even slightly before peak.

This sounds really, really cool, Kristin. Okay, I’m in…..now how do I find those prime time peeps? Well, I’m so glad you’ve asked. Here’s a run down of how I stalk that sweet golden good-good.

I’m an avid all-season hiker, so I make it a point to write down hikes I think will be peep-worthy when I’m out in the summer/spring/winter. What does that mean? Well, if the hike has an aspen grove, LISTED. You’ll find many of your popular summer hikes have aspen groves, so if you see ‘em, make a list for yourself for fall! Although you may not know exactly when they’ll change, various news sources typically distribute maps like this 👇🏼 to help predict when peak peeping will occur throughout our state. Unfortunately, like the weather, these often times aren’t reliable as they’re just doing their best based on history and current drought conditions.

That said, there are still so very many hikes I have yet to do in Colorado. And this isn’t really helpful for you this year if you haven’t been keeping tabs already. Because of that, I also rely HEAVILY on the experiences of others to help me determine what trails I’m going to do next. I’ve found there are many FREE, excellent resources when it comes to seeing the status of my precious peeps!

My first go to is always AllTrails as I’m on it anyways and it often has recent reviews of hikes and photos which is HUGE for seeing what trails look like in real, or nearly real, time – as posted by our fellow hikers. I think people do a good job of giving you other important information, like snow and trail conditions when applicable, so something to consider if you don’t already have it.

If I can’t find what I’m looking for there, I’ll look up hashtags like #aspentrees or #coloradofall on Instagram. Last year’s blogs by your favorite Colorado bloggers (ahem) are a great resource, too! This blog is built off my 2019 post, so if you’re here, you’re gucci mane.

In your hashtag hunt, even if the photos aren’t recent, they can give you a great idea of what the trail could look like during peak popping time…and because it’s older there’s a chance it may not be as popular of a hike as compared to what you found through your AllTrails hunt 🤷🏼‍♀️.

Because I care THIS much about my peeps (and really all my hikes), I also keep tabs on local Facebook groups and blogs. For trail conditions year round, I like the Women Who Hike Colorado group and Hiking Colorado. There are also awesome groups specific to leaf peeping that I am obsessed with and check daily – Colorado Fall Color Reports- OUTSIDERS and Colorado Fall Color Reports.

Just be prepared to share your spots, too! These communities rely on the group’s engagement, so if sharing isn’t your thing, this may not be for you. I’ve found these to be some of the more respectful Facebook groups and truly appreciate the contributors and those who run the pages 🙏🏻.

And if you STILL aren’t satisfied, there are about a million posts from various Colorado-based news sources over the years, all at your fingertips thanks to google!

Does that seem like a lot? Am I crazy? Maybe. Okay, definitely. But my hope is in compiling and sharing all this information on here it will help you guys spend a little less time on your hunt. I’m a lost cause and spend hours on this, so a few more isn’t going to hurt 🙈.

And here’s a nice, little not-so-secret: if you drive around Colorado mid-September through mid- October, you WILL find areas that are popping and if your goal is simply to peep or get a shot, you’ll have no problem finding groves.

Did you make it this far? Congratulations – here’s the good good.

My favorite fall drives:

🍁 Guanella Pass – Georgetown to Grant

🍁 San Juan Skyway – Between Ridgeway & Telluride

🍁 Trail Ridge Road – Between Estes Park & Grand Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park.

🍁 Kebler Pass – Between Crested Butte & Paonia. Home to the state’s largest Aspen grove! (unpaved but doable in a normal vehicle if you’re okay with mountain driving)

🍁 Independence Pass – Between Twin Lake & Aspen (does go down to 1 lane and vehicle length is restricted!)

🍁 Boreas Pass – Como to Breckenridge

🍁 Squaw Pass – Evergreen to Idaho Springs

If car rides aren’t your thing, there are also numerous train rides across the state that allow you to get that golden without lifting a finger…foot?

Fall train rides:

🍁 Georgetown Loop

🍁 Colorado Railroad Museum

🍁 Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad

And if hiking IS your thing…and it likely is if you’ve found your way here, here’s my list of fall must-peeps.

But before we get into that – I tend to not provide less popular hiking locations on Instagram for many reasons, but do share on my blog, which is obviously open to the public. If you choose to do these hikes, or really any hikes, please (pretty please) respect our lands and practice LNT while being a kind, courteous hiker. If you’re able – I’d have encourage you to always bring an extra bag & pick up trash. The trails do a lot for us – let’s do the same for them.

That said, here’s some of my must- peeps (all searchable on Alltrails – see, I told you that app was handy!), enjoy 🍁:

1. Abyss/Helms Lake (11.7-16 miles) – this out and back is my all time favorite and located right off Guanella Pass
2. Ice/Island Lake (9.5 miles) San Juans- not tons of aspens, but beautiful fall colors in the tundra
3. Booth Falls (4.2 miles) Vail area
4. Chicago Lakes (11.3 miles) – Mount Evans Wilderness
5. Crystal Mill (9 miles) – accessible with a high clearance, capable vehicle
6. Lily Pad Lake (3.3 miles) – Summit County
7. Old Dillon Reservoir (1.7 miles) – Summit County
8. Pretty much anything at Golden Gate Canyon State Park! Raccoon trail (3.4 miles & Horseshoe Trail to Frazer Meadows (3.8 miles) are my favorite for leaf peeping!)
9. Aspen Alley -(2.6 miles) Breck, not Ned
10. B&B to Reiling Dredge to Minnie Mine (3 miles) Breck
11. Kenosha Pass (however long you’d like!)
12. Devils Head Fire Tower (closed 2021 :()
13. Crater Lake at Maroon Bells (3.8 miles)

And on my to do list…

Ptarmigan Trail (4.6 miles)

Upper Piney River Falls (5.9 miles)

Eccles Pass (9.8 miles)

American Lake Trail (6 miles)

This trail list is by no means all inclusive and I’m sure you’ll find many, many more peeping spots on your hunt! I’d love to hear what your favorite fall hike is if you’re willing to share, drop me a comment or reach out on social! Now get out there and enjoy those magical leaves before they’re gone – happy leaf peeping 🍁!