Every year I rack my brain to come up with a good Colorado “leaf peeping” article and I think this year’s post is pretty good. Here are some awesome ways to experience Colorado fall to the fullest this year.
Zip line through the colors
What better way to experience the colors of a Colorado fall than to fly through the trees? This is the best way to get an up close and personal view of the yellow and golds that cover our state at this time of year.
Top of the Rockies in Leadville stays open until October, weather and trail conditions permitting. I believe this zip line excursion provides the best views of any zip line in Colorado and they are running a fall special.
Through September and October they are offering a free box lunch after every 9:30 a.m. Prospector Tour. Go to TopoftheRockiesZipline.com to learn more.
Train through the trees
Most of Colorado’s scenic train rides offer fall foliage rides and fall photography trips. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad runs 64 miles between Antonito, Colorado and Chama, New Mexico and passes through hundreds of groves of aspen trees. When I took this train in the spring, the aspens created tunnels of green, but I imagine this fall the train will be passing through tunnels of gold.
Go here CumbresToltec.com to book your ride aboard the Cumbres & Toltec.
Hike on a colorful mountain
Steamboat Springs lights up in the fall and one of my favorite hikes is on top of Mt. Werner. Take the gondola to the top and enjoy one of several well-marked trails. This is easy hiking with amazing views of autumn’s brilliance. Here is a link to trail maps at Steamboat Resort.
Another mountain hiking option is Snowmass. In Snowmass you can walk straight out the front door of your condo and jump on a number of trails with various difficulty levels. There are short, fun and easy loops like the Highline Trail or more challenging hikes like the Rim Rock Loop. Visit GoSnowmass.com for more info on hiking around Snowmass.
