Aspens in autumn, with their bright yellow leaves fluttering about slender, tall white trunks, dazzle viewers everywhere, but in Colorado you can enjoy them amid the majestic Rockies. As days grow shorter and temperatures drop, aspens, like other deciduous trees, conserve energy by discontinuing their production of chlorophyll. In turn, green pigment dissolves, revealing warm colors. The temperature factor and Colorado's ever-changing weather make it nearly impossible to predict the gilding of the aspens, other than to point to somewhere from mid-September through the first week of October. The show typically lasts only a week, although moisture and cooler temperatures lengthen the golden season.
Call the U.S. Forest Service Fall Colors hotline at 800-354-4595 to check the weather report so you can see the aspen leaves at their best in the sunlight. Plan your aspen viewing trips accordingly.
Pack layers of clothing for unpredictable weather and cooling temperatures at higher elevations. Take hiking shoes for viewing aspen growing off the roads, camping gear if you want to stay a while and your camera for obvious reasons.
Board the Maroon Bells shuttle at Aspen Highlands Ski Area -- Fido can go too -- on a September weekend when driving into the Maroon Bells Scenic Area is restricted, or drive during the week. You'll see stands of gilded aspen reflected in Maroon Lake contrasting with dark green forest and the purple streaked Bells -- Colorado's most photographed mountains.
Camp at Maroon Lake. Your camping permit lets you drive into the scenic area any day of the week. Bask in the aspens' glow with the Bells rising center stage behind the lake. Reserve a campsite and pitch a tent or park your RV at Silver Bell or Silver Queen campground in the glacial Maroon Bells Scenic Area for up to five days.
Reserve a seat on the historic Georgetown Loop Railroad. Sit in an open gondola car for the best views as the steam engine locomotive chugs along through aspen and other groves up Clear Canyon Creek and over a trestle bridge in the Colorado Rockie's front range.
Drive the Peak to Peak Byway to Bear Lake. On the byway, view the groves from Black Hawk to Estes Park. At Bear Lake's 9,500-foot elevation, the colorful show may run from late September through mid-October. Walk the interpretive nature trail at Bear Lake, and view yellow-gold splashing down the mountainsides around you. Pitch a tent 2 miles from Bear Lake at Moraine Park Campground and listen for autumn's bugling elk.
