Fall Foliage Reports - 2009

It's getting to be that time of the year again, believe it or not (wasn't it just wildflower season?). Please post what you are seeing and where - images would be great, too.


EDIT: This again is the placeholder for our yearly official Fall Colors thread. Let us know what is happening throughout our entire region.

RichieV

Sticky thread time!

yep, dump the wildflowers and pump the leaves!

Some aspen changing color at high elevations in Rocky Mtn Natl Park.

Yeah Bill, I noticed pretty much all the aspens at or above 18,000' in Rocky are at or past peak right now.

Man, Todd, you are one of the rare people to be at 18,000 feet in Rocky AND see aspens.

When I was up in Medicine Bow this last weekend many of the small aspens were turned but I didn't see any full size trees that were even starting to turn yet.

There were also a few starting to turn off hwy 40 between Emprie and I-70 -- I think that hillside turns early...

A friend of mine who works in Aspen tells me nothing going on there yet, including some of the passes.

Thanks for the info Bob, I was considering going out to Maroon Bells this wknd. Sounds like I should probably postpone it till the following wknd.

No color change in Tucson

Todd, yeah I think they are flying south for the winter.

Colors coming on strong near home (Peak-to-Peak and Golden Gate Canyon). Things will be early in some areas, anyway.

Drove up over Cameron and Rabbit Ears Passes this past weekend, and Aspen above ~9000' were beginning to turn. Willow was really starting to show its color up there, too. (Not so much the willows around Golden Gate Canyon...) Ferns weren't yet ready, but should be much better this weekend along Rabbit Ears...

Lots of signs of turning colors along the foothills, too - ground cover and sumac are showing some nice color already.

Went up Taylor Canyon Road on Tues morning....colors are getting good there. Here is an image I got while on the way back. Also went up to Crested Butte and noticed that colors are starting to change on Whetstone and some up Gothic Rd. I didn't go up Kebler, but am planning on doing that on Saturday.

Keep the reports coming everyone, thanks!

Anyone have any reports of color change already beginning in the Tetons?

Nice image, Kelly!

Does anyone know if the Buffalo Creek area has seen any color change?

Thanks, RichieV!!

Not much happening the Tetons as of last Tuesday (9/8) - just the very smallest aspen showing some signs of turning.

i live in crested butte ....saw two yellow leaves on ohio pass road. this morning ...

nothing worth taking picture of so far around gunnison c butte......

in 12 days it should be much better not before

Went for a hike up to the Lake Helene area today. The leaves are changing around bear lake (RMNP) area and over to glacier gorge. Nice areas away from the lake on the trail up and over to Beirstadt. Below about 9000' there is little action happening.

Went up Kebler Pass this morning. Right at the beginning of the road, there's a little bit of changing aspen among the pines. But further up the road, before the views of Marcelina mountain appear, many of the aspen have lost their leaves, and many are brown and about to fall off. On a more (possibly) positive note, most of the aspen up and down the Beckwiths still have green leaves, so hopefully, there will be good color through there soon.
Oh, and by the way, this image was taken when I went up Gothic Rd. a few days ago. I'd say this was worth shooting. (Sorry to disagree w/you, Jean, about "nothing worth shooting" ) This image may not be the greatest, but it does show that there is already some good color happening in the Crested Butte area. And some of the trees, although not aspen, around the gunnison river, are showing some nice color, as well.

we got some snow on the peaks last night( Teocalli and all the peaks on the east of 135)....i just drove from Gunnison to Mt Crested Butte....only some very very small patches of yellow here and there ....

Was up on Buena Vista this weekend. Was surprised to see so much yellow already. It seemed hit or miss - some groves were between 60-90% yellow, others were just starting. Same pattern between BV and Kenosha Pass along 285. Didn't see much color between Kenosha Pass and Denver though.

Here's a taster of Bear Lake this morning: http://stephentrainor.com/2009/09/13/september-at-bear-lake. I was up there on this same weekend last year and the colours are definitely further along this year.

I was up in RMNP over the weekend and on Saturday hiked Flattop/Hallets. Started hiking at 4am with a little light snow falling at Bear Lake and some more snow at the top which stuck around for a little bit. This morning/afternoon a little dusting of snow on Longs in the distance. The aspen around Bear Lake are starting to change a little as mentioned by Stephen above and with his image.

A few aspens near treeline are starting to change in the Sneffels Range. Hardly 1% though yet. Patience... patience....

On 9/11 there was a surprising amount of color along the rims of the Black Canyon though still a ways to go before peak. On 9/10, about 1/2 the aspen groves were beginning to change around Gunnison and there was hardly any color NE of Black Canyon, along Hwy. 92 on 9/12.

Here are a couple good threads to keep an eye on too, from the 14ers.com. Those folks do a lot of good hikes and climbs, so seeing some good stuff.

Fall Color Reports- 14ers.com

Maroon Bells specifically thread

Other links: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/recreation/fallcolors/

And: http://www.9news.com/weather/outdoors/fall_colors/

The La Sal mountains are off to a good start and even have a dusting of snow on the higher peak after the series of storms that rolled through over the past two days.

I drove over the Independence Pass today and the colors are spectacular. The east side is a beautiful mix of yellows and greens with the yellows predominant. My sense is the east side is farther along, but it may be what I'll call the vista effect. I think the peak will certainly occur within the week.

Photographed the Bells this morning. The area is certainly not as far along as Independence Pass. The handful of photographers in attendance had some good atmospherics from the rain on Monday night. The best sky color was well before official sunrise. Jeff, nice meeting ya.

I was rained/clouded out for sunset at Capitol Peak on Sunday and Monday evenings The colors are well behind the Bells. I have been trying to get a sunset there for I don't know how long. Sounds like the joke about the definition of schizophrenia. Just have to keep on trying!

Bill Speaks

Any further updates of the Tetons, namely Oxbow Bend?

Yes, I'd love to know about the Tetons as well. I'm heading up there Sunday for a week. I'm scared it isn't going to be quite as colorful as I'd hoped for..

There was some decent color around Breckenridge this past week. Even got some nice coating of white on the peaks after the storms on Saturday.

Unfortunately it appears I'm missing another photo season in CO to spend a week at a contaminated site in New Jersey... This has not been my year so far

...a contaminated site in New Jersey...

Brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department!

I am contemplating a trip to Crested Butte this weekend since next weekend is out for me. Anyone have any updates on the fall foliage in the area? Are there areas that are turned better than others? I'm there only a short time and want to make sure I'm hitting the best areas. Thanks!

Julie, I was there last weekend and the Kebler and Ohio Pass areas had just started turning. Gothic Road was farther along, so the colors may be pretty good this weekend.

Bill

What are conditions in Steamboat area, especially north of Clark? I will be there Sept 26-Oct 3.

Teton inquiries ... Teton area web cam: http://bit.ly/sLjBY

It's still unusually warm here (and nothing but dry sunshine and warm predicted for the next 10 days or so). The transition to fall seems to be coming a bit late, weather-wise. And so, there has been little going on in terms of fall colors. Last first hand report I heard from the Tetons was from Saturday: a few isolated spots of color were just beginning to show.

I'll second Jesse's Teton comments. Heard from a local today - color change has begun, albeit slight. The Oxbow Bend area has begun a little sooner but still about a week or so out from hitting peak.

Color change in the Park is sporadic at best - more advanced in patches and slower in others....typical for the Park. It does look like it will cool off a bit come Monday of next week, which should begin to speed things up....even a slight chance of light snow at higher elevations.

Already seeing the Maples start to go at the very tops of high canyons along the rim in Arizona. Coconino County (as well as most other counties in AZ) maintain update pages throughout the season.

Interesting, I've never seen this part of the Weather.com site before. Not sure how much stock to put into it, what what the hey!

Weather.com Fall Colors Map

a week at a contaminated site in New Jersey

The state tree there is the monitoring well stickup. (any other environmental consultants in the audience?)

Anyone been over McClure Pass lately? Someday I hope to catch the ferns there with good color.

Kenosha Pass is at or near peak colors. It was 31F at 8am 09/18.

Wondering about Peak to Peak Hiway and RMNP.

Bill Brennan

RMNP is looking pretty good, but will probably be a lot better in a few more days, possibly best by next weekend.

heavy rain hail and thunderstorm this afternoon in crested butte...lots of leaves already on the ground...should have some nice colors around the 25 ...27

I was in Woodland Park, Cripple Creek and Victor Friday.
In Woodland Park, I was in the Catamount Ranch area, and it's still mostly green with spots of color.
On highway 67 towards Cripple Creek and Victor, mostly green, but north of Cripple Creek, some spots with lots of color.

I did notice some places where the leaves look like they went from green to dead, with no stops in between.Hopefully the weather expected to hit the front range this week doesn't cause more of that.

Bill said Kenosha as at peak or near peak, based on a photograph I just saw on 14ers.com from Friday at Kenosha still has a good bit of green in places. Everybody must remember one persons idea of peak is not the same as another.

Drove yesterday and today to the Wild Cherry TH, located on the west side of the northern Sangres.

Kenosha is basically peaking. Yea there's still "some" green left but not much. The stretch from Kenosha to Fairplay look pretty nice too, not quite as far along as Kenosha. The Boreas Pass Road looks to be in good shape.

Buffalo Peaks area needs another week.

Ponchoa Pass/Mount Ouray is looking nice. Expect peak in 4-5 days.

The stretch of Sangre peaks from Ponchoa Pass to Cottonwood needs another week. The Major Creek/Cotton Creek drainages need 4-5 days. The Wild Cherry (highest density of aspens on the west side of the Sangres) will peak in 4-5 days, however it looks great right now.

I drove the Kebler Pass road today and most of the aspens are still green. However some have lost their leaves. The aspens around Horseshoe Park were lacking their brillant color and some of the stands near the road were void of leaves. Some of the best yellow color was just west of Horseshoe Park on either side of the road.

North of Mount Crested Butte, there was good aspen yellow color along Gothic road and as viewed from the road as you descended the road right before Gothic mountain. In Crested Butte there are groves of yellow aspens. Ohio Pass is showing some good yellow color in certain areas.

Joe Smith

That would be Horse RANCH Park.

I would agree with Ron that RMNP is looking good and it is getting near peak around Bear lake. Just plan on spending a lot of time in PS eliminating all of the other photogs scattered amongst the rocks and around the lake.

Just got back from RMNP. One of the few places I didn't go is Bear lake so I can't speak for that one. There are patches that are turning and looking pretty good, but I still saw lots of green throughout the park. Probably will look pretty good starting next weekend.

Keep the reports coming folks! But let's see some pictures! We're visual people here! Even quickie snap shots are OK, just to show the colors!

as far as yesterday best places to go around crested butte

Peanuts lake, Washington gulch, Slate river , higway 135 between Crested butte and CB South....

Kebler pass to Paionia all green trees or trees already without leaves....

Dollar lake ( above lost lake ) was the best i saw yersterday...

Was up at Kenosha Pass scouting around. There is still a good bit of green on the east side of the pass. This was taken Saturday evening (9/19).

-Jeff

I agree with Ron's assesment of RMNP. I was up there yesterday with my grandson, and the stand at Bear Lake is really good right now, but the rest of the park is a few days away. This shot was up the trail a ways above the stand at the rock field.

any additional Teton updates?

Went backup towards Cripple Creek and Victor today. Some good patches of gold along highway 67, and some nice spots along CR81 near 67 (good view of the west face of Pikes Peak) but probably a week away from peak, unless the forecast wet/cold weather accelerates things.

Also was in Aspen area this past weekend. Got halfway over McClure and flipped a u-turn and headed back toward Aspen it was still so green or gone...East side of Independence Pass is definitely popping right now-nice stands around Twin Lakes area and up near South Elbert TH. We'll see what this cold front does...sorry no photos yet...

I was up in Snowmass, Aspen, Independence pass this weekend and so far the posts are pretty accurate. I would however say that Maroon Bells is already loosing leaves. There are several patches of Aspen where the leaves have already fallen. I compared my shot today to the shot on http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/whiteriver/rangerdistricts/aspen_sopris/mb_scenic_site/index.shtml which was taken on the 16th. The East side of IP is very good, especially from Mile Marker 80 to Twin Lakes.

How are the colors down by Ridgway, Owl Creek, Dallas Divide, etc.?

A quick shot from Mt. Evans road today. It seems like maybe 70% has turned.

Just returned from a day in the Tetons. Oxbow Bend area is starting to show some nice color on the hillsides, but mostly green along the river. Cottonwoods along the entire length of the Snake River are going gold. There is little to no color in the cottonwoods on the flats (Antelope/Mormon Row). There is very little color going on around Jackson Lake. Pacific Creek Road had some very nice pockets color, but still plenty of green. Shadow Mountain had a surprising amount of peak color. Overall, a mixed bag. Lots of green, but I saw nice pockets of prime color everywhere I went. Undergrowth, shrubs, and other low vegetation is all very colorful from Yellowstone to the Tetons. Next weekend should be very good - but there's stuff to shoot now if you're headed out this week.

Thanks for that report Jesse. That's the first detailed report I've heard from there. Hopefully, there'll be some good stuff left when I get there on the 30th!

The wife and I took a Sunday drive from Durango to Silverton yesterday. Silverton is definitely worth a visit right now. The south side of town, which traditionally turns early, is close to peak right now. There's lots of great color on Kendall Mtn as well. The hillside north of town still has a good week or so before peaking however. I didn't get any further north than Silverton so I can't speak for those areas.

Guy, any chance you hit Lime Creek road on that little jaunt up north? Still a possible destination for me this year.

Just got back yesterday from the Crested Butte area. In general, it may be an optimistic 50% turned. Some have already lost leaves though. Kebler road had a few pretty areas and as someone mentioned a few posts ago, the Dollar Lake region was pretty nice. Gothic road had some very beautiful aspen groves as well. Ohio pass had some nice color and the aspens around the little old ghost town or ranch were beautiful. Worth the drive. I think the best trees I saw all weekend though were actually east of Gunnison near Monarch pass! Lots and lots of various colors and entire mountainsides covered with peak color.

All in all, it was an ok trip. Wish I would have just ventured over to Independence pass instead and focused my trip there but maybe next time right?

Thanks, Jesse!! Leaving on Wednesday and will be there thru 10/3.

Lots of green still around Crested Butte - I agree with Julie - best colors I saw were also in Monarch Pass - really bright areas of color there.

The area around Bear Lake in RMNP was looking nice on Saturday (at least a ton of photographers and tourists thought so). Bierstadt Moraine is coming along with nice patches here and there, but I suspect things might be better next weekend if they last that long. There was snow up there this morning.

Brent....I didn't drive on Lime Creek Road, but I made a point of looking down on the areas it traverses while I was driving. The area adjacent to the northern half of the road is starting to turn...maybe 25% (and that might be generous). The area surrounding the southern half is still pretty green.

Thanks Guy! Appreciate the info!

Went up to Telluride on Sunday to catch le BonTaj Roulet.
From Rico to Telluride, the aspens are still mostly green, with some nice patches of yellow.
Will have to concur with Guy S. on his side of the San Juans...about 25% autumnal adornment. I predict that peak season will occur right on time starting from roughly Sept. 30 to Oct. 4 (+/-)
The best display of aspens were downstream of Rico towards Dolores should anyone venture there early.

its snowing in crested butte !!

Not much happening on the western slopes of the La Platas. I had good luck there last year, but still treen so far. Any of you guys/gals out shooting tuesday 9/22? Would love to meet up and shoot. Looking to head towards Monarch Pass or into Crested Butte. Lemme know

Here's a link to some fall shots from a few days ago in the Arkansas Valley area....most notably St. Elmo west of Mt. Princeton: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/574733096EWqrzs

A friend of mine just returned from the Dallas Divide area and his experience pretty much parallels my own around Telluride (see above). Mostly green with patches of yellow, and forecasting the same time frame for peak colors.

I drove over Boreas Pass this past Saturday (19th) and the Como side was pretty much at Peak, Breckenridge side was close. Here's a sample of the Como side as you start to climb up.

Love that shot, Nick!! TFS

For our NM contingent: I drove up to the Santa Fe Ski Basin this afternoon. The Santa Fe aspens have started, but aren't far along at all. Maybe 10-15% at best. The understory's looking pretty nice though. This weekend might be okay, but a week later should be much better.

Gorgeous colo(u)rs Nick, glad you posted it.

Aspen are good above Sprague Lake in RMNP. Bear Lake still very good as of last night, with nice snow on Longs Peak...won't post image, as leaves are still similar to Paul's shot. Lower elevations still mostly green with some patches of yellow.

Grant, by above Sprague Lake to you mean the Bierstadt Moraine or closer to Bear Lake only?

Jimmie, was going to call you, but got caught up with business.

Monarch Pass is nothing like it was a couple of days ago - leaves dying and falling.

The few yellow areas around Crested Butte lost a lot of their leaves with this stormy weather, but there is still lots of green waiting to turn, especially in Kempler Pass which still has lots of green.

Rocky today, started to rain and snow more seriously after 3pm. These around Bear Lake area.

#2

#3

Bill, nice work! If these are you "snaps," what are you saving for the contest?

Jimmy Gekas, I will be in the Crested Butte area on Saturday and Sunday morning hopefully, I just replied to an e-mail from Harley. Hope to see both of you guys out and about. I'll be driving a red Mercury Sable, and I have to get a green ribbon, too.

Disappointing is the only way I can describe the colors I saw around Aspen yesterday afternoon. Driving up to Ashcroft just about all the aspens starting from the Conundrum road turnoff to the end of Castle Creek road have leaf mold. Colors are muted and some stands of aspens are already bare. The contrast to last year's brilliant abundance is stunning.

Driving to Maroon Bells, about a mile above the Welcome Station all the trees are bare on the mountain on the other side of Maroon Creek. The trees around the Bells parking lot are all bare. The good news is that the Bells are sweet---lots of snow on the mountain peaks, and as you can see from several posts elsewhere on the forum---the trees at lake level are healthy, mixed colors with still a lot of green---although some up higher are bare. I'll be checking out Capital Peak and Mount Sopris areas today.

Erik, I don't take good enough (landscape) pics to enter the contest. Or maybe I have some other secret pics that I can use?! Or maybe not?!

Unfortunately, I have echo some of Rod's comments about the aspens this year. I have seen a lot of bare stands, muted colors, and brown/black leaves throughout my drive from Durango to Ouray and then along much of Kebler. There are good stands here and there that keep me optimistic. Some of the smaller aspens looking bare with a few gold to orange leaves here and there is a neat treat to photograph for me. It is a different type of autumn show and I am trying to stay positive. Although I did not want to visit the Bells Crowd this year, I may have to if the light and clouds say so.

conditions on Fremont Pass on Monday, 9/21

About 20 minutes ago i drove by Kenosha pass, it was snowing and blowing. About 1/2 the trees are bare. Really dissapointing. So far everything I have seen has been either green or gone. I will be in Crested Butte in about 2 hours and will be there through Saturday. I will have a green ribbon on my green escape.

Anyone has updates from McClure Pass? it might be my alternative to the Bells but I'm still debating, it all depends on the weather.

Geez, Ridgeway/Sneffels has barely started to change as mentioned above and in Art's thread. Owl Creek Pass/Silver Jack maybe slightly ahead of that but not much. Kebler ever so slightly ahead again, and alot of that spot mold,. or whatever it is, on basically every leaf I could see up close.
Pretty disappointing.
Considering there is still about 70% that still needs to turn yet in these areas it will be interesting to see what it actually turns into. Hopefully some good color.

Maroon Bells was disappointing as others have pointed out. I left early looking for the few good patches along Maroon and Capital Creek Roads. Isolated good groves. Still a few green groves. This year, it's either "Green or Gone". I'll be in the C area through the weekend. If you look hard enough, there's good color - you just have to dig it out. I did manage to get some nice panoramas of aspen trunks for a client, so the day wasn't too much of a waste. The attached image was taken along Maroon Road.

Ken

Ken, any info on how the aspens are doing on the way to Cripple Creek and also in the Victor area.

Bill Brennan

A quick update from RMNP. Have been to Bear Lake Rd three times this week. As mentioned above Bear Lake is still looking good but the leaves are starting to show mold as of yesterday on a couple of them at the north shore. Elsewhere on the road it's progressing slower than imagined (peak at least after this weekend) except a couple spots.

Is it too late for Kenosha?

Edit - Just saw your update Jim C. Thanks.

RichieV

Going to Kenosha Sat morning, will update when back.

Here is what I saw on the west side of Kebler Pass this morning. Ohio Pass didn't look too bad but was also really green. Going to McClure now.

We're leaving heading over to the ridgway area, probably camping at the state park there. I'm going via McClure Pass and may stay in that area for a few days. If any of you are near the Ridgway State Park campground next week, feel free to stop by. We are in a small Pop-up trailer and a Silver Tacoma 4 door (with a green ribbon, of course). Hope to run into some members.

The best trees and color that I found in the Aspen area the last two days was at the Capital Peak overlook---still a lot of green, one area in the middle that appears to have some leaf mold, but mostly healthy trees and maybe 4-5 days away from peak. The forest below Mount Sopris appears mostly healthy too, but still mostly green.

Another shot of the west side of Kebler...still 70% green. This was the most colorful section.

Bill, I understand the aspens around Cripple Creek and Victor are pretty good now and should stay that way for the next 10 days.

Ken

Made a trip to Grand Mesa to check out the colors. Here is a quick panorama to show you what
I found.

http://artlund.smugmug.com/Other/My-Smug-Mug/9621577_ZQxzN#660708250_sb8wc-O-LB

I drove up the North Side, across the top and down the South side to Ward Creek Reservoir.
The only thing I found to photograph was ground cover. There was a combination of green treet,
browning trees, and trees without leaves. It was very dismal. I will not go back again this year.

Art Lund

Up here in Idaho on the west side of the Tetons. Maples are peak right now. Everything else is green or just starting. Tons of smoke from a huge fire in the Tetons right now. Also numerous controlled burns in the Swan Valley area which add to the haze.

I was up in the Cripple Creek/Victor area Thursday evening. There are some areas that have lots of color, but for the most part, things are pretty spotty. I think the upcoming week will probably see good color. I'm going back up there this weekend, and will see how things look.

Report from Santa Fe:

Went up to the Santa Fe Ski Basin today and it was VERY disappointing. While most of the trees are still green, its not the translucent, vibrant green of healthy trees. Its a flat milky green of leaves that have dried on the tree. Some trees tried to turn yellow but ended up with brown spots all over the leaves and the yellow is very dull. Most that have changed color have gone directly from green to brown. I don't hold out much hope for any Fall colors in the aspens in this area. Many of the Ponderosa have up to 50% of their needles turning brown and the Spruce and Fir also have lots of dead yellow/orange needles. Lots of dead trees too. It looked like a very unhealthy (dessicated) forest to me (like its been in an oven the whole summer) and that is sad. It used to be absolutely spectacular in the Fall. I hope this is just a bad year and not a sign of things to come.

We went to Mueller SP this afternoon. It is not ready yet. Some yellow but a ways to go. Maybe I am just spoiled because of the excellent show we had last fall with all the red aspen. We may try again next weekend. Edit: I agree with Bob F.

Thanks, Art, you saved me a trip to Grand Mesa. I was thinking of going next week because nothing else looks good at all. I was thinking because it wasn't as wet on the western slope this year, it might be better. I cut my trip short today and came home. Color was fair at Twin Lakes, Independence Pass, and the stand of large ones on the Aspen side were mostly still green. Maroon Bells was a huge disappointment. I shot at Crater Lake with a friend this morning and the lake is almost dry and the aspens are pathetic. This makes 3 out of the last 4 years as total busts in my mind. Heard from a couple of NPNers that Kebler is very poor also. Can't wait to hear others reports from other places around the state.

Was up at RMNP this morning. The trail up to Bierstadt Lake shows some promise aspen-wise. However, it's still really green. Maybe over the next few days this will turn to a bright yellow. Here's a quick snapshot of Bierstadt Moraine.


-Jeff

I wanted to try somewhere new this year, so yesterday I drove from the Denver airport up through Winter Park and camped somewhere on Hwy 40 before Kremmling. Got up before dawn and was treated to cottonwoods alongside the Colorado River swathed in mist - very cool! Unfortunately that was to be the highlight of the day. I drove through Kremmling over Gore Pass and on through Yampa and to Dunckley Pass. Gore Pass was downright depressing -- the evergreens were mostly dead, and the aspens all dull brown or dull green. The drive up the valley to Yampa was nice, with colorful cottonwoods, but Dunckley pass was a bust. So I turned around, drove back down 131 to I-70, took 24 down through Leadville and hooked a left on the Weston Pass road. Same story here - the aspens on the hillsides looked like there was a film of dirt on their leaves, and when I looked at them close up they were dried up and had black spots all over them. Even the green leaves looked dull and unhealthy. The willow (?) in the creekbeds was nice and colorful, though, and the sky sure was blue! At the summit of Weston Pass, I hiked up the old trail, straight up the mountain. Boy, I sure noticed that I was at 12,000 feet! I exited the other side of the pass on 285 near Fairplay and drove south on 285 to to Buena Vista. I couldn't find a room in Buena Vista, so I kept going. I drove up over Independence Pass and dropped into Aspen. It was getting dark, but honestly the aspens on the east side of the pass appeared to be the best I've seen so far. Not sure what I'll do tomorow - this is pretty depressing.

Stopped by Kenosha Pass today to see if anything was worth shooting. Every aspen tree I saw was either a) bare, b) yellow-brown leaves, or c) some murky green color. It was very disappointing. I even took the FS126 (4wd road) up around to the east, but every aspen tree I looked at was fubar.

...so I packed it up and headed back home. I had plans of overnighting at Kenosha then heading west to kebler/aspen/etc, but based on reports, I will be waiting a couple of days.

-Jeff

Here are a couple of photos that I took on Friday morning at RMNP before the clouds broke. This one is from above Bear Lake with about the last two good aspen left in that area.

After spending the last two years sitting on the sidelines, I'll try contributing, now that I'm officially a member. Photo comments welcome.

Olympus E-3, 14-54mm

Jim
Highlands Ranch, CO

I got to this group of aspen after climbing the hill across the road from the Glacier Gulch parking lot. I ran into another photographer from Washington that climbed straight up the hill and claimed it took him three hours to get to the same point that only took me twenty minutes. (Actually, we ended up right below the road and we both could have just walked up the road from the parking lot.) We did both take the easier road route back to the parking lot...

Photo comments welcome.

Olympus E-3, 50-200mm

Jim
Highlands Ranch, CO

I am asking for advice here. Currently I am at my daughters home in Loveland planning to leave Monday and work my way down through Central Colo, Kebler, etc to the Ridgway area and end up at Monument Valley on Oct 1st where I will do a Hunt's Mesa stay on Oct 2nd. However, reports indicate poor or late color in the areas I described. I have never been to the Moab, Ut. area or the Page Az. area and am considering heading to one of these two places directely instead of through Colorado, doing the Hunt's Mesa thing on the 2nd and going back into Ridgway the 3rd and seeing if anything looks good there to work. I could at least get a taste of one of these alternatives for future trips. Does this sound like a good plan or is this not a good time to visit these desert areas ( weather, crowds, etc)? Being from out of state I am trying to make the best use of my time and money.
Thanks in advance,
Joe Rogers

Like Jeff, Nick and I were at Bierstadt moraine on Saturday morning, lots of color still to come.

Hmm, a lot of these posts look depressing. I'm hoping the San Juans have some good color to offer later this week.

Drove into Cheyenne Canyon (COS) on Friday. A few maples turning. Lots of chokecherry going yellow. Lots of other stuff still green. Should be good in about a week and a half.

I was in the Sangres near Westcliffe this weekend. Lots of green aspen still, but patches of very good yellow that made it through the storms. Scrub oaks were beginning to turn down there and a few cottonwoods too..

As previously reported, Maroon Bells are in rather poor condition. Castle Creek Road has some okay colours lower down, but it rapidly deteriorates as you approach Ashcroft.

East side of Independence pass still had a little decent colour when we drove by on Friday evening.

A quick shot from the Sangres area I visited. Where the trees were yellow, they were like this. Of course there was also alot of green still in areas and the green had the dusty look that .

From a quick view of the area, I noticed that there were aspen groves turning along the Taylor Creek Drainage (Hermit Pass), Brush Creek Drainage and Horn Creek and some areas out Verdemont, though I didn't determine exactly which drainages.

Just got back from a whirlwind tour of Aspen/Crested Butte/Ridgway with Kurt Rinne. Most of what we saw mirrors other reports. Ashcroft looks pretty bad with lots of down leaves or leaf mold. There were pockets of good color with a lot of green still to turn. Capitol Creek/Peak has some nice color and healthy stands but still a lot to turn yet.
Kebler around Horse Ranch is a mixed bag. I think the NW slopes of Beckwith will be very nice by next weekend. Same with the Dallas Divide area, not a lot of color yet. You can get into some nice groves at the back of CR5, but many of the groves haven't started turning yet. I'm hoping next weekend will be much better but even that may not be enough time.
Some of the best color I saw on the trip was in the Cimmaron Valley. There are still groves that haven't completely turned but there are some great stands to work with. Here is a shot from the North end near the Cimmaron Ranch as an example.
See ya next weekend!

I'm sitting in a coffee shop in Ridgeway, and it just dawned on me this morning to set my camera to RAW/basic jpeg for the purpose of posting some simple recon shots straight out of the camera.

9/26, 27 Crested Butte:

-Between Marble and CB (gothic Rd) colors not quite at peak, but already lots of barren trees. Not really worth hitting at this point if you're on a schedule
-Kebbler Pass: Colors will probably peak within 2-5 days, good patches of color already, not too many barren trees.

9/28 Dallas Divide: Aspens near peak, further along than same time last year, scrub oaks at peak, dark rusty orange.

Here are some snapshots up to Blue Lakes:

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I'm confused... In the previous two posts Kalin says Dallas Divide is pretty much green then the next post says it's near peak? The scrub oak and aspen in Bryan's shots seems to indicate things are starting to look good..., but these aren't of the Dallas Divide.

Which is it?

No these pics aren't specifically of the Dallas Divide. The blue lakes area is at the base of the Dallas Divide. These pics were taken on the hills branching off of the Dallas Divide.

Kalin is not crazy; there are still green groves that haven't turned yet. It might just be that I have a different idea of what "near peak" means. I'm looking at the Divide right now though and it sure is a patchwork of beautiful colors.

Spent the last few days moving from Carbondale to Telluride. There's plenty to work with everywhere, but it's definitely a hit and miss landscape.

By far, the best color has been Cimarron as Kalin pointed out; and Telluride (Wilson Mesa, Last Dollar Road). Silverjack was looking very nice yesterday, with a lot of aspen near peak. The scrub oak north of Silverjack are crazy nice. Dallas Divide is looking good with a lot of color coming from the scrub oak, and a lot of aspen looking nice. You can find stands that are past peak, at peak, and just turning; so it's a mixed bag, but overall it's looking very good. Same goes for Wilson Mesa.

The aspen are MUCH healthier down south, showing lots of gold and a good amount of orange. There are still some stands that look bad, but far far fewer down south.

Haven't driven CR 5, 7 or 9 yet. But given the conditions at Silverjack and Telluride, I would expect the CRs to be healthy and starting to show well.

Here's a snapshot Jennifer took, just outside of Telluride.

Bear Lake is at peak right now, and several spots along RMNP are coming along nicely. Beware those crowds! Parking is as bad as I've ever seen it in the park and the rangers seem overwhelmed by the volume of the crowds.

Here's a quick shot from this afternoon... no clouds though ugh...

http://www.pezpix.com/photos/664433947_3a9vs-L.jpg

Lime Creek Road in the San Juans is coming around nicely. Things have been turning fast in that area and it's probably only a couple days from peaking. It's a nice drive now though. Unfortunately, Scout Lake (about three miles in from the south end) looks a bit ragged. The water level is way down and it's littered with unsightly dead lily pad stalks. Here's an unsharpened snapshot looking towards Engineer Mtn from the road.

Bill, I understand the aspens around Cripple Creek and Victor are pretty good now and should stay that way for the next 10 days.

Ken

Did a hike above Ouray today and got a view of all the aspens on the eastern side of CR5 (on the eastern end of the Sneffels Range). Here's a shot. I'd say about 50% turned, and looking pretty good as far as I can tell. Some of the aspens around here are dull, but based on what I've been reading here it's probably not nearly as bad as elsewhere.

I was working in the Dallas Divide area today and took a quick drive up CR 7.
Looking pretty nice, like Jacks photo. What a difference 5 days makes.

Wish I could have stuck around.

I concur, the Ouray / Dallas Divide area is looking very nice - much nicer then the other areas I have visited.

Yesterday we drove over Owl Creek Pass and the scrub and aspen were brilliant. ..went on to Last Dollar Road to find that it too was stunning , then all around Telluride today the aspens, cottonwoods and scrub were still peaking but glorious. I'm guessing a couple more days to peak. I have been in Lake City for a month and it was a very healthy, glowing gold here for about 3 weeks, especially Henson Creek Road and Nellie Creek Road. Leaves are all blowing off now. I never saw mention of Lake City on here but it started turning around 9/6 and was stupendous! I have so enjoyed reading your leaf reports and knowing where not to go. Thanks ! Kay Casady

Went into work late today and visited RMNP Bear Lake area for sunrise. The lake area and above is looking past peak to my eyes. Have to wonder if any of the leaves will remain after today's and tomorrows storms. Just a bit lower on the Beirstadt moraine the aspen are looking good. Some are still showing a hint of green. Should peak by this weekend, if not earlier, would be my guess. The drive down the hill in the morning sun was nice a golden view. Down lower in the park the trees are progressing nicely. Would post a pic, but I am late for work.

Should be good shooting this weekend if you are interested in heading up there instead of driving out to Ouray.

Steve, how fast it changes no? Last night I was there at Bear Lake one last time at sunset and it was still very good, but the winds got it overnight and literally this morning a mere 12 hours later, the whole spot felt past peak. What a difference overnite makes.

Here's the last shot from Bear Lake last nite... (I know I know, almost identical to the previous shot at that spot hehe)

http://www.pezpix.com/photos/666055758_q5XCi-L.jpg

Here are the Sneffels from last night: Sneffels Range.

It rained off and on all night around Ouray, and the mountains were covered with snow this morning - looks great! Unfortunately, it is also very windy - leaves, even branches are being blown down, so this might not last.

This morning I was up in the weather on the Alpine Loop road in Central Utah (American Fork Canyon). LOTS of rain, some snow - more expected later today and tonight. The maples and scrub oak are in full color and most of the aspens have started turning. There were several blown down trees at least partially covering the road.

I would say that the color is near peak - there are still good amounts of color from the maples and oaks, and plenty from the aspens.

Nathan

Kebler Pass yesterday, lots of trees have lost their leaves but still lots of color. Around Gunnison (50) there is loads of color with the cottonwoods and aspens. Course last night there was rain and snow and today and tomorrow lots of wind so...

Any reports from the Kebler and/or Ridgeway/Telluride area today would be greatly appreciated!
Especially considering yesterday's virtually rainless hurricane.

I was over Last Dollar Road yesterday morning and Ohio Road, Kebler Pass last night. I was very windy but Last Dollar was very good. I am new and will post a couple of shots when I figure out how. Dollar Road should still be very good. Ohio Road as others reported is fairly barren and only the East side of Beckwith is good. Most of the rest of Kebler has few leaves left. I would not bother with Kebler, further S is much better.

I second Chuck's request - any updates folks can provide after those winds will be very much appreciated!!

The wind took its toll - not just on the leaves, but there were numerous trees actually blown over. We even seen a stop sign down. Although things aren't as good as they were two days ago, there is still plenty of color around and photos to be had around Ouray / Ridgeway / Telluride, especially in the more protected areas. It is a bummer the wind came just as things were peaking.

Thanks guys!

I'll be in the San Juans Sat. afternoon, Sunday and Monday in a green Jeep with lime green survey flagging on the antenna. Hope to see some of you folks then!

Things still look great down here in Ridgway Roads 5 and 7 still nice, despite the wind, especially 5. Wow! . West side of Owl Creek Pass kinda rough, same with Silver Jack side. Lots of bare. A few good patches, but mostly gone. Headed over to Wilson Mesa now, hoping for good stuff. Remind me to tell you about getting stuck on Road 5 yesterday behind 6 downed trees! Wind was nuts!

I got to Ridgway today and agree Brent, looks like County rd 5 is still a gem! Dallas Divide looks pretty nice, and the underbrush is popping well, but there are a few scattered bare spots.

*Sidenote* - If you plan on shooting at the traditional Dallas Divide summit parking spot, brace yourself for a new fence that was installed right where all the photographers usually go. I dont know if the land owner (who I wont name here ugh) is enforcing the new fence line but just be aware that this looks like the beginning of a real conflict somewhere down the road )

Anyway, it looks like the weather should be mostly clear untiil Saturday night in the Sneffles area and then a series of small storms and clouds are due Sunday-Thursday.

If you see a big guy with a CU jacket driving a black hummer, that's my ugly mug, come say hi~

I've been in a bit of photo hiatus due to work and some other things, but I am really looking forward to getting down to San Juans for this weekend! I will be down there Friday afternoon through Monday in a Dark Blue Xterra. Hope to see some folks down there! Need to see if I have anything green...

Thanks guys for the updates after the winds.

The Colorado front range canyons are primed now! Maples, Birch, Oaks, Chokeberry, Currants and many others species are in their prime now.

I joined the insane crowds up at RMNP on Saturday and I can report that the whole eastern side of the park is well past peak. Most of the remaining green aspens are only turning brown before dropping the leaves. What looked promising last weekend is not happening or got blown away in last week's storms. I also drove the peak-to-peak highway back from RMNP and with very few small exceptions, the whole area is past peak with most trees bare. Also, Golden Gate Canyon State Park is past peak, with very poor color from the aspens that still had leaves. However, there were several reasonably good groups of bright color on the road from GGCSP toward Golden but nothing that I felt was photogenic.

Jim Bennett
Highlands Ranch, CO

Any updates on Woodland Park?

Just returned home from a disappointing day in the San Juans.
Rico to Telluride was abysmal, and the Dallas Divide area isn't far behind. The cold mornings and windstorm of last week wreaked havoc on the area. All that was left is green, dying or bare. I didn't even attempt to venture away from the highway, so I can't elaborate on the County Roads near and around Ridgway.
The only bright spot was the San Miguel River area between Telluride and Placerville. The cottonwood (?) trees are shimmering!

Better luck next year!

For those in the Colorado Springs area, I'm pasting this note I put into another section: "If you haven't had a chance yet, take a look at Old Stage Road up towards the Broadmoor riding stables. I was up there a few times last week, and there are pockets of nice color on the west side of Cheyenne Mtn. If you hike the MacNeil Trail, you will end up in some of those pockets. I only had my P&S camera the last time I went, but I'm going to go back up there when I get back home. "

I'm away on vacation, so I haven't been there since the last round of weather blew through, so conditions may be a little different. I'll re-check the area this coming week.

Spent all weekend up on County Rd 5 in Ridgway, shooting with Mike Renner, had a fantastic shoot with hardly any crowds, wonderful clouds and good color all weekend! Great times! John, you really missed out on some great color and compositions.

Was up on CR5 too - hard to say it was at its best (all the upper stands to the east of the view were gone). We also drove down to Dolores on the 145 from Telluride. There are still some nice aspen and other colours (cottonwood, scrub oak etc.) between mile markers 35 and 25 (on the stretch between Rico and Dolores). I'd reckon they'll last a couple more days yet. The Dolores river is very attractive too - this was my first visit down there.

My son and I were up on CR 5 on the 3rd too. In fact, if anyone found a Canon 17-40L near the fence overlooking the far eastern draw from the last open section before you go into the National Forest - let me know!

The color to the east and right around the meadow about 6-7 miles in was nice but the grand vista toward Sneffels was marred. We concentrated the morning on working inside the trees. I was hoping things would look better in the softer light of the afternoon so we headed to Telluride for lunch. I concur with John, the San Miguel Cottonwoods were great! Coming back across Dallas divide at 5pm, I was really shocked to see almost no color. The scrub oak looked like it had died while we were gone for the afternoon.
We headed back up CR5 to look for my lense and because that's were we saw the best color. Had some nice light before sunset but never got any sunset light on the cool clouds that finally graced us. We did have a neat moonrise though!

Bryan, I think I passed you a couple of times (Silver 4Runner with a rack on top), meant to stop you after sunset but we must have left before you did.

Follow up to my earlier post... Here's a sample of some of the aspen still remaining around the Dolores River. Some stands are gone, but, if you're prepared to shoot tighter compositions, there are some nice stands still there.

Hello all, just a quick note to say that the colors in Turkey's Eastern Black Sea Range are killer rıght now! They have both aspens and broadleaf trees together, and their scrub oak is much more brilliant than ours. Gümüşhane ıs an incredıble town, and people here are friendly like you wouldn't believe, took us mountaineering and all over. Unfortunately, I'm not getting many good landscape shots, as my time and transport are not my own. But I should have at least a couple keepers to share when I get back. Cheers!

Even on the front range there are still pockets of cottonwood color in places, if we could get a little better morning maybe.

#1
I drove over to Roxborough State Park Friday afternoon and found the scrub oak not quite peaked, while other trees were not at (or past) peak. If this storm doesn't ruin things, this may stay good for other week or two.

I did this first one in HDR because the sky and clouds blew out so badly.

Olympus E-3, 14-54mm using ISO bracketing and polarizing filter.

Jim Bennett
Highlands Ranch, CO

#2
Another shot from Roxborough State Park. Unfortunately, the tree changes much later than the rest of the photo. If much snow falls, the grass will probably get smashed down.

This is also HDR because of the sky and clouds.

Jim Bennett
Highlands Ranch, CO

#3

Last one from Roxborough State Park. This one is not HDR.

Jim Bennett
Highlands Ranch, CO

Still some decent (not great, but decent) color in the South San Juans south of Pagosa Springs. Here's a shot taken yesterday (10-10) at Opal Lake near the Blanco Basin.

Here's another one looking down into Blanco Basin.

10/12 - I just returned from Cedar Mesa and the cottonwoods are about 50% changed along Comb Ridge and further up on the mesa near the Kane Creek Ranger Station. There is a real nice mix of yellow and green.

There is some good color to be had in Bandelier National Monument right now. In Frijoles Canyon the box elders and willows are nice and yellow, the oak leaf sumac bushes are very red this year, and the scrub oak are red, orange, green, and yellow--sometimes all in the same leaf! Cottonwoods are starting to turn but they look like they are going directly to muddy yellow/brown this year. There are some nice areas to contrast deciduous colors with green pine needles. A couple of waterfalls and lots of Anasazi ruins offer additional subject matter. The colors will probably last through next weekend. Get there in the morning if you want a place to park! Lots of leaf peepers!