Colorado Road Trip (Page 2): No he was talking about Colorado National Parks including Rocky Mountain NP. Because people are travel starved from a year in hiding due to Covid the...

tomad Loc: North Carolina

cameraf4 wrote:

Thanks, Ralph. Should I assume that your comment was about the Hanging Lake comment from Lens Cap regarding the paid permit required?

No he was talking about Colorado National Parks including Rocky Mountain NP. Because people are travel starved from a year in hiding due to Covid the National Parks are busier than ever this year and many are requiring an advance entry permit just to enter...

don1047 Loc: Colorado

Check out Kebler Pass and Independence Pass, if they are still open.

marcust4747

I live in Colorado.. late Oct might be late for prime Fall colors. Starting in the northern part of state (Steamboat to Vail) and also high elevations like Leadville prime colors start about week 2 of Sept. the further south you go, the later the color arrive. My favorite is a loop up Poudre Canyon thru Walden to see the moose, over to Steamboat when the colors can be amazing, spit for lunch in old town steamboat at one of the patios. Then head south coming out near Vail and Beaver creek go east to Dillion and back toward Denver, to Georgetown and Gunella pass and then continue back East on I-70 turning off at the Central City and Blackhawk exit. If you drive up the hill in downtown Central city past the Opera house and the Thomas House you will end up on the mountain side over looking Central City and Blackhawk. You can see the old mines spotted with golden Aspen everywhere you look. Sometimes these color are a bit later depends of how wet the year has been and how cold it gets at night. If you continue north out of town the are several old cemeteries. It’s a rough gravel road but well worth it. Central City has an event called the cemetery crawl during the week of Halloween.. if you get bored with Central City, go back down to Central City and continue thru Blackhawk. Turn left at the stoplight as you are leaving town. You will be headed towards Ward and Estes Park. About 15?minutes out of town you’ll see a large grove of red colored Aspen on your left. A lot of people stop to look so you probably can miss the travel on both shoulders of the highway. From there the drive is nice all the way to Estes with view of Aspen groves up the slopes of the south side of Longs Peak area. And don’t forget to stop for the tiny historical stone Catholic Church that will be on your left before Longs Peak. There also some nice views of Aspen and split rail fence along the highway, East side after pass Longs Peak and heading toward Estes. As you drop down into Estes Park there are several views looking down into the valley with many colorful groves. Then there are many pull offs in the Park. Take the south entrance into Rock Mountain National and head for Bear lake. There are amazing views and groves along the way before the bear lake parking lot.. try the Sprague lake turn off and you can set up great shots from East side of lake looking toward the peaks. Do it in the early morning for best lighting, mid day is too flat and too late in the day and too much contrast if you want to see details in the west peaks. There is also some groves if you go back to the main roads heading west toward Fall River road.. just a couple of miles before the turn off to Fall River there is a parking lot and across the road looking west there is an old Aspen grove that is quite colorful. It’s fair flat and an easy walk to get set up.
As I mentioned in the beginning.. the Aspen are much later in southern Colorado.. so C. Spring, Manatou Springs, the Sand Dunes and southern route to Durango and Silverton prime viewing is usually mid to late October. Hope that gives you some options.. also check the most current fall color maps that are available to view on line for projected prime time for fall foliage. It’s accurate

byjoe Loc: Stillwater, OK

If you are near Rye Colorado, I recommend a stop at Bishop Castle. Interesting stop especially if Mr. Bishop is on site.

Wags Loc: Mequon, WI

cameraf4 wrote:

It's been a while so I thought I'd check with &quo... (show quote)

While in Grand Junction, stop at the Two Rivers Winery.

OneShot1 Loc: Wichita, KS, USA

I'm currently in Breck. Drove to Leadville and on to St. Elmo today. Lots of signs about road closures on US 50 out Gunnison way. You might check on that.

St. Elmo is a pretty cool ghost town. Good road paved and unpaved about 15 miles west of Nathrop. 10K feet elevation. General store is open.

Timmers Loc: San Antonio Texas.

cameraf4 wrote:

It's been a while so I thought I'd check with &quo... (show quote)

I loved Pagosa Springs, just 32 miles over the border from New Mexico border. The hot springs it is named for are just amazing! it is also in a huge valley among the mountain peaks. Just up from the ski resort is a place referred to as communication top, it was an amazing view, one 4th of July it was snowing around noon. Engineer's Pass was great, BUT, do NOT believe the idiot Park Rangers! Going over the pass, we actually came close to death! We were in a completely fitted out Tahoe. It had a 1/8 steel plate on the underside. Several times were grinding on rock with only one wheel on the ground.

Unless you have the vary best pullet proof tires do NOT drive into the National Forest, the roads have rock that will slice open tires. I'd love to show images but I did figure images (not allowed here) but the final upper meadow was so gorgeous, the last area for Aspen trees, then only pine trees. The National Forests are amazing places to visit with the right vehicle and people.

People are idiots, not once but three times we used heavy chain to pull people out of snow drifts not cleared on back roads. One time an elderly set of couples almost did not make it due to hypo thermia. It is fun but serious exploration!

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

df61743 wrote:

There is another spectacular train ride to be had if you get into southern Colorado. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railway operates between Antonito Colorado and Chama New Mexico.

Dick

Kinda looks like something I rode in Alaska. Thanks, Dick

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

jackm1943 wrote:

If you're into trains and railroading, check out the Colorado Railroad Museum near Denver. Includes a great collection of narrow gauge rolling stock.

Good suggestion, Jack. Thanx.

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

tomad wrote:

No he was talking about Colorado National Parks including Rocky Mountain NP. Because people are travel starved from a year in hiding due to Covid the National Parks are busier than ever this year and many are requiring an advance entry permit just to enter...

Hmmm. As a senior citizen, I have a Parks Pass. Will I need more for late Octobre?

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

don1047 wrote:

Check out Kebler Pass and Independence Pass, if they are still open.

Thanks, Don. The Kebler Pass Road was on my radar and I hope to give it a go. Hadn't heard of Independence Pass before. Thanks for the tip.

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

marcust4747 wrote:

I live in Colorado.. late Oct might be late for prime Fall colors. Starting in the northern part of state (Steamboat to Vail) and also high elevations like Leadville prime colors start about week 2 of Sept. the further south you go, the later the color arrive. My favorite is a loop up Poudre Canyon thru Walden to see the moose, over to Steamboat when the colors can be amazing, spit for lunch in old town steamboat at one of the patios. Then head south coming out near Vail and Beaver creek go east to Dillion and back toward Denver, to Georgetown and Gunella pass and then continue back East on I-70 turning off at the Central City and Blackhawk exit. If you drive up the hill in downtown Central city past the Opera house and the Thomas House you will end up on the mountain side over looking Central City and Blackhawk. You can see the old mines spotted with golden Aspen everywhere you look. Sometimes these color are a bit later depends of how wet the year has been and how cold it gets at night. If you continue north out of town the are several old cemeteries. It’s a rough gravel road but well worth it. Central City has an event called the cemetery crawl during the week of Halloween.. if you get bored with Central City, go back down to Central City and continue thru Blackhawk. Turn left at the stoplight as you are leaving town. You will be headed towards Ward and Estes Park. About 15?minutes out of town you’ll see a large grove of red colored Aspen on your left. A lot of people stop to look so you probably can miss the travel on both shoulders of the highway. From there the drive is nice all the way to Estes with view of Aspen groves up the slopes of the south side of Longs Peak area. And don’t forget to stop for the tiny historical stone Catholic Church that will be on your left before Longs Peak. There also some nice views of Aspen and split rail fence along the highway, East side after pass Longs Peak and heading toward Estes. As you drop down into Estes Park there are several views looking down into the valley with many colorful groves. Then there are many pull offs in the Park. Take the south entrance into Rock Mountain National and head for Bear lake. There are amazing views and groves along the way before the bear lake parking lot.. try the Sprague lake turn off and you can set up great shots from East side of lake looking toward the peaks. Do it in the early morning for best lighting, mid day is too flat and too late in the day and too much contrast if you want to see details in the west peaks. There is also some groves if you go back to the main roads heading west toward Fall River road.. just a couple of miles before the turn off to Fall River there is a parking lot and across the road looking west there is an old Aspen grove that is quite colorful. It’s fair flat and an easy walk to get set up.
As I mentioned in the beginning.. the Aspen are much later in southern Colorado.. so C. Spring, Manatou Springs, the Sand Dunes and southern route to Durango and Silverton prime viewing is usually mid to late October. Hope that gives you some options.. also check the most current fall color maps that are available to view on line for projected prime time for fall foliage. It’s accurate

I live in Colorado.. late Oct might be late for pr... (show quote)

Thanks, 4747. I expect I'll print-out your post and carry it along with me (memory problems ... damn old age). I really appreciate you taking the time to pass this info along to me. I hope to make good work of it ... if I don't drop my Nikon. Thanks again.

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

byjoe wrote:

If you are near Rye Colorado, I recommend a stop at Bishop Castle. Interesting stop especially if Mr. Bishop is on site.

Rye, Colorado. I'm kinda partial to sourdough myself. Never heard of the castle so I looked it up. Antoni Gaudí, eat your heart out. Looks amazing. We were in Barcelona with our friends in 2019 and Gaudi's Sagrada Família knocked my sox off. So naturally, I'm gonna have to try to stop by "your" castle. Thanx for the tip.

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

Wags wrote:

While in Grand Junction, stop at the Two Rivers Winery.

Hmmm, did I mention that I WILL be driving this trip? Nevertheless, the four of us on this trip love wine and wineries. Just warn any friends you have in the area that we will be driving through.

cameraf4 Loc: Delaware

OneShot1 wrote:

I'm currently in Breck. Drove to Leadville and on to St. Elmo today. Lots of signs about road closures on US 50 out Gunnison way. You might check on that.

St. Elmo is a pretty cool ghost town. Good road paved and unpaved about 15 miles west of Nathrop. 10K feet elevation. General store is open.

Thanks, OneShot. Am hoping that the situation will be much improved after 4 more months (but of course I hoped the same thing for our planned Baltic Cruise that this trip is replacing. "Man makes plans and God laughs"). Cross your fingers for me, and thanks.