DENVER (KDVR) — It’s time to get your camera ready, grab your favorite fall sweater and sip on your favorite pumpkin coffee or beer.
Fall color will mostly be on time, with peak color arriving by mid-to-late September. As always, a stretch of abnormally cold weather could alter this timeline a few days.
The prolonged drought across Western Colorado could push some leaves to peak early.
When you can expect to see fall colors:
- September 15-30
- Steamboat & Flat Tops
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- September 17-Oct. 1
- Aspen
- Grand Mesa
- Gunnison
- Sawatch Range
- September 19- Oct. 3
- Northern San Juan Mountains
- Southern San Juan Mountains
- Sangre De Cristo
- October
- Denver
The Farmers Almanac predicts that peak fall color will arrive in Colorado on Oct. 5-14.
Meteorologist Chris Tomer says he thinks the fall color in Colorado will closely follow the drought tracker this year.
Where to see fall colors:
Within 1 hour of Denver:
Guanella Pass
Peak to Peak Highway
Rocky Mountain National Park
Winter Park
Kenosha Pass
A look at fall colors from Guanella Pass in the past:
Taken at Guanella Pass, please visit my website denverphotocompany.com for more images. 
Taken in Guanella Pass 
(Photo: Tanya Zutis – Guanella Pass) 
aspen changing 
This photo was taken in Guanella Pass on Sept. 25, 2015 
Aspens are in full color right now on Boreas, Guanella, Kenosha, Shrine, Vail, Weston and Tennessee Passes. Tom Frickell, Aurora 
Dan Hammock 
Weekend drive thru Boreas Pass and Guanella Pass along with Kenosha Pass. Steve Gonzales 
Weekend drive thru Boreas Pass and Guanella Pass along with Kenosha Pass. Steve Gonzales 
Weekend drive thru Boreas Pass and Guanella Pass along with Kenosha Pass. Steve Gonzales 
Fall colors along Guanella Pass Road on Sept. 16, 2012. (David Harpe) 
Fall colors along Guanella Pass Road on Sept. 16, 2012. (David Harpe) 
Fall colors along Guanella Pass Road on Sept. 16, 2012. (David Harpe) 
Fall colors along Guanella Pass Road on Sept. 16, 2012. (David Harpe) 
Fall colors along Guanella Pass Road on Sept. 16, 2012. (David Harpe) 
Fall colors along Guanella Pass Road on Sept. 16, 2012. (David Harpe) 
Fall colors along Guanella Pass Road on Sept. 16, 2012. (David Harpe)
Within 2 hours of Denver:
Vail
Tennessee Pass
Breckenridge
Hoosier Pass
Fairplay
Grand Lake
Fall colors from Vail taken in the past:
Pati Palumbo, Vail, Colorado, along bike trail 
A cloudy Sunday afternoon at Piney Lake near Vail, Colorado. 
Ken Weber Photos taken Saturday, September 19, 2020 on Vail Pass at the Vail Pass Rest Stop. 
Ken Weber Photos taken Saturday, September 19, 2020 on Vail Pass at the Vail Pass Rest Stop. 
Fall Color in Vail. Credit Azad
Within 3-4 hours of Denver:
Steamboat
Rabbit Ears Pass
Buena Vista
Aspen
Independence Pass
Monarch Pass
Grand Mesa
Fall colors from Aspen and Steamboat taken in the past:
Jamie Rogers, Steamboat Lake State Park, fall color change with a bright blue sky 
Historic Moore Barn in Steamboat Springs Colorado with mountain slopes filled with fall color on warm autumn afternoon 
Gary M. Smillie, Yampa River near Steamboat Springs on Oct 3, 2018. 
Steamboat Lake 
Wayne Law – This photo was taken on McClure Pass right above the turnoff to Marble. This is one of our most favorite places to go to see fall colors and the mixture of the scrub oak and aspens provides a wide variety of colors. 
Jamie Rogers, Alta Lakes, Beautiful golden Aspens this fall alond the drive up to Alta Lakes in Telluride. 
Aspen trees 
Fall Colors of 2014, Aspen Colorado. 
Fall Colors of 2014, Aspen Colorado. 
Hi, i took this picture of the solitary aspen leaf on the Argentine Trail in Silver Plume yesterday. 9/28/14. 
Old cabin nestled in the fall Aspens 
The fall Tree and then the Snow on the Evergreens outside of Aspen 
Fall Colors at peak in Aspen Colorado 
Fall Colors at peak in Aspen Colorado 
Fall Colors at peak in Aspen Colorado 
Fall Colors of 2014, Aspen Colorado. 
Jamie Rogers (@captaincoloradophotography), Golden Aspens along a stroll in Snowmass Village, CO. 
Getty Images 
Jamie Rogers (@captaincoloradophotography), Autumn road in Aspen, CO this fall. 
Jamie Rogers (@captaincoloradophotography), smoky skies over the fall color and peaks found along Cast Creek Rd in Aspen. 
Jeremy Janus, Maroon Bells: Aspen-Snowmass Wilderness, this is a shot of the Fall colors that I took on our hike through Maroon Bells yesterday
Last year, fall colors arrived slightly earlier than normal and didn’t last long. The colors weren’t as vibrant as normal. In 2019, fall colors arrived later than normal.
