COME TO LIFE | Fall Color Experience Fall Color Autumn is one of our best-kept secrets. Soak up our golden season by adding these activities to your trip itinerary. September is the ideal month to bear witness, but you have to time it right. When one area’s color fades, another is just changing. The best strategy: Select travel dates in advance, but not destinations. Then go wherever the color is best. INDEPENDENCE PASS: A winding road with groves of aspens that runs between Aspen and Twin Lakes and is ringed by 13,000-foot peaks. There are plenty of Instagram-worthy pull-offs, nearby hikes and even an old ghost town to visit. GRAND JUNCTION TO GRAND MESA: Head east on I-70 along the Colorado River, where cotton woods phase into yellow. At CO 65, go east and then south to the Grand Mesa, where glowing aspens stretch forever. Scenic Drives These leafy routes get you close to gorgeous fall foliage. COTTONWOOD PASS: Head down Cottonwood Pass Road west of Buena Vista. You’ll enter an aspen-laden valley and see the fickleness of fall — one slope all gold, another patch still a shade of summer green. DALLAS DIVIDE: Head west from Ridgway on CO 62 over the Dallas Divide to Telluride. Lining the route are unimpeded views of the Sneffels Range, with an apron of aspens at its feet. KEBLER PASS: Head west out of Crested Butte on County Road 12. The ruddy colors of the Ruby Range make for a radiant contrast with the golden aspens below. CO 17: From Antonito, drive up the serene Conejos River Valley, where pinyons give way to aspens. Some of the oldest and tallest aspens in the state can be seen near La Manga Pass. CONTINUED ON PAGE 28. FALL FESTIVALS We celebrate the gold rush every autumn weekend. Here’s a sampling of our fall events; visit COLORADO.com/Events for more. Estes Park’s Autumn Gold and Elk festivals • Crested Butte’s Chili & Beer Festival • Fruita Fall Festival • Salida Bike Fest • Trinidad’s Artocade • Morrison’s Ciderfest • Boulder’s Fall Fest • Pueblo’s Chile & Frijoles Festival • Paonia’s Mountain Harvest Festival • Cedaredge’s Applefest • Aurora’s Punkin Chunkin • Oktoberfests in Breckenridge, Longmont, Vail, La Veta, Durango and Denver NEAR TELLURIDE 26 1-800-COLORADO ANDREA SHAVER.
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2022: Page 26
