Tips to Seeing the Aspen Trees Change Color in Colorado

Written by Geoffrey Johnson

The state of Colorado is known for many things. Mountains with world-class skiing, rivers that provide world class water-sport activities, cities where if you so choose can buy world class marijuana, and quickly growing incredible capital city! But one of the best features of Colorado is that between the seasons of summer and winter, beautiful colors emerge across the state. In the spring the bright colors of wildflowers emerge. While in the fall, the green from the aspen trees start to change to a beautiful yellow, orange, and red hues. Many people flee the cities for a day or weekend, to travel to the mountains in order to witness this magnificent visual changing of the seasons. We’ve made a list of tips so you can see the best fall views for yourself!

Rocky Mountain National Park in the Fall

First thing is to know the right time. The colors will change sometime between September 15 and October 15. Different areas of the state will have different dates for the fall colors to appear. But sometime within that month, different areas will have a one-week time frame of beautiful changing colors. When the time of change is approaching there are many online resources that will let you know when the best colors are going to be out.

Have a place in mind to see the colors. There are many great places to see the changing colors of Colorado! Places like Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park and Maroon Bells over in the Aspen area, are two classic places to see the colors. But these locations can get heavy with traffic with others also trying to get a good sighting of incredible fall foliage. We recommend finding areas that are less popular destinations or locations a little further off the beaten path to get a more secluded and peaceful experience with nature. Besides, no one wants strangers standing in the foreground of one of their photos of this amazing painting created by nature. So, for best photo opportunities go out there where no one else is. Boreas Pass in Breckenridge is another absolutely incredible place to soak in some fall colors and even though it could be busy with other people also in search of these views, you can drive right to it and you won’t be disappointed.

While many large areas of Aspens can be seen just by driving with some pull offs here and there for some photos, we recommend going for a hike! There is no better way to experience the colors than to walk right into the forest! Take some time to really immerse yourself in the colors and find a good hike through a thick Aspen forest!

If you have never had the chance to see the Aspens change colors in the fall, do not miss your opportunity this year. Find out when the colors are expected to change and mark it down on the calendar. Make a day or weekend trip out of it and you will not be disappointed.