Help with a Fall Color Itinerary?

Hi all, I am planning a trip to Colorado for fall color and was wondering if you might be able to help with an itinerary. I will be traveling with my wife, so the trip will be part tourism part photography. We will need to stay in nice places and make day trips out from there. We're looking at around 10 days and thought we'd stay in Aspen, possibly Vail, and somewhere around Rocky Mountain National Park. We're fairly flexible as to the time, sometime in September, but early or later?

Any suggestions? I lived in Denver back in the late 70s, and have been to RMNP a few times since, but not for fall color. So, any suggestions on where to stay, places to go, time to go? Any help would be appreciated and if anyone's planning a trip to the Pacific NW, let me know and maybe I can return the favor.

Regards,
David

PNWNP Regional Coordinator

For the best fall colors, I might head to RMNP around Sept. 20-22, then make your way over to Aspen and/or Crested Butte, and then head to the San Juan Mountains if you have time. Aspen trees peak a little earlier in RMNP, so if you start there and make your way SW, you should find good aspen colors everywhere. As for nice places to stay, I can't help much there, as my definition of "nice" is a motel with fewer than 10 cockroaches.

Lots of great places to stay in Ouray, Telluride and Durango. I'd skip Vail and head to the San Juans for the last week in Sept. through the first week in October.

Vail doesn't have much in the way of aspens. The Aspen area is a bit better. But the big stands are around Ridgeway/Ouray and Crested Butte.

As for places to stay, I like the Water Wheel in Gunnison (near Crested Butte) and Box Canyon Lodge in Ouray. We've stayed at another place in Crested Butte and it was nice, but it seems they change ownership frequently there.

I would agree with everyone else - focus on Crested Butte and the San Juans. If you start in Denver, you could do a loop starting up I-70, stop in Aspen if you like, head over McClure Pass to Kebler Pass, hang out in Crested Butte, hit Ohio Pass, head past Blue Mesa Reservoir, take Owl Creek Pass to Ridgway, and enjoy the Ouray/Telluride area from there. If I had ten days in Colorado, that is exactly what I would do.

I travel a lot to the Western Slope for work, which means I have stayed in a lot of hotels out there (the nicest place I stay if I am paying is my tent!). I would highly recommend the Mountain Lodge in Mountain Village (a gondola ride from Telluride) and the Manitou Inn in Telluride (smaller rooms, but still nice). Telluride also has a lot of vacation condo rentals, but my experiences have been hit and miss with that option. These hotels are both reasonably priced for Telluride and are nice. In Crested Butte (Mount Crested Butte, actually), all of the Crested Butte Mountain Resort properties are nice (Elevation, Mountaineer Square, Grand Lodge). The Holiday Inn Express is a good place to stay in Gunnison. I typically stay at Orvis Hot Springs in Ridgway, but you should know that they have shared bathrooms and a clothing optional hot springs (not for everyone‘s tastes). If you get down to Durango, the Leland House is an excellent place to stay. The Redstone Inn is a decent place to stay, which would put you in close proximity to McClure pass. If you have any specific questions about these recommendations, feel free to email me.

I have to agree with Sarah. The best Aspen Groves are on the Western Slope. As nice as RMNP is, it's better for wildlife then Fall color.

Grant, Bill, Mel, Sarah, and Mike. Thank you all for some excellent advice, suggestions and ideas. I'll start working on our plans with this info.

Cheers,
David

A few additional places to consider as you plan your fall foliage trip to CO; the Peak to Peak highway between Boulder and RMNP; Kenosha Pass and Laveta Pass. Keys to success will be checking the reports; your picking the shooting spots and your spouse picking the places to stay. You will have a wonderful time.

Bill Brennan