Name: Ultimate 4-Day Colorado Fall Foliage Road Trip Itinerary
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Ultimate 4-Day Colorado Fall Foliage Road Trip Itinerary

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Skip to contentWe’ve all seen those dreamy photos of Colorado’s golden aspens spreading across mountains and valleys as fall descends on the Rockies. They are a sight to behold, lighting up the mountainsides like fire.As Colorado residents (and lovers of autumn), we’ve spent a lot of time roaming around our state searching for the best places to view stunning Colorado fall foliage.In this post, we’ve put together a 4-day Colorado fall road trip itinerary so you can also experience the fall colors in Colorado first-hand. From the most scenic mountain pass drives to our favorite fall hikes, there’s something for every outdoor adventurer.Important Reminder: As it goes in all of the destinations we share, please practice&nbsp;good trail etiquette&nbsp;and remember to&nbsp;Leave No Trace. This means packing out all of your garbage (including toilet paper), being respectful to others, and following the established rules.Join our community for access to our free member resources!‘s usuallyRead next: Best Weekend Trips From Denver#1 campsite finder appGet a FREE 30-Day membership to The Dyrt PRO, one of our favorite apps for finding campsites.Perks include: • 5,000+ free camping locations • 1,000+ campground discount network • $0 extra booking fees • Get reservations at sold-out campgrounds, and moreUse the code BEARFOOT to get 30 days free!Make the most of your park entrance fee in Rocky Mountain National Park by stretching your legs on this 2.4-mile roundtrip hike.Views stretch back into Glacier Gorge toward the Continental Divide and Longs Peak, with aspens changing below. Get more trail info here.&nbsp;For other hikes in the Park, check out our guide on the Best Day Hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park.Lose some of the leaf-peeping crowds that flock to Maroon Lake near Aspen and become surrounded by aspen trees on this beautiful 12-mile out and back.Heads up, the road to this trailhead requires high clearance (~7 inches) 4WD for the last mile.&nbsp;Get more trail info here.&nbsp;This hike is a little backward, which makes it kind of fun. Start at the top of Molas Pass and hike down on the Colorado Trail to the Animas River and the train tracks of the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge railway.On the way, you’ll pass into the tree line (and through aspens of course) with close-up views of the impressive Vestal Peak.It’s four miles down to the river, dropping 3,000 feet in the process. Remember, you’ll have to climb all the way back up if you make it all the way down to the river!Check out some of the best hikes in Telluride while you’re there.Whew, there you have it! Twenty-seven hours of some of the prettiest fall colors in Colorado driving in the world, literally.READ NEXTIf you’re looking for more Colorado road trip resources, check out these blog posts:Are you planning a Colorado fall road trip? Where is your favorite place to see Colorado fall foliage? Leave a comment below!Check out this 7-day Mountain Collective road trip itinerary that includes 2 days of skiing at Alta-Snowbird, Jackson Hole &amp; Sun Valley, plus recommendations for where to stay &amp; eat on your vacation.Plan your trip to Zion with this Zion National Park travel guide, with info on Zion’s campgrounds, must-do trails, permits, park shuttle &amp; more.Discover the best hikes in Bend, Oregon from the high desert to the Cascade Mountains to make planning your Central Oregon hikes easy.Taking a trip the beautiful Hawaii islands? Here’s our bucketlist of the best things to do in Kauai for adventure-seeking travelers.Learn about the best natural New Mexico hot springs, including hiking distances, things to know, and a map.A recap of my week at Mount Cook, home to the tallest mountain in New Zealand, raging rivers, waterfalls, glaciers, and fantastic high alpine hiking, as well as a 4-day Intro to Mountaineering Course taught by Alpine Recreation where I learned the basics of glacier travel.Yessss! I’m happy to see the CT from Kenosha Pass to Georgia Pass make this list. Riding that sucker on the mountain bike is pretty much my favorite part of fall (ok, along with boots and scarves ….). Great itinerary!ReplyHey! I’ll tackle the warranted cliche first: the photos are amazing and I think Ben and Jenna did an awesome job with such the difficult task of capturing Colorado fall colors.A friend of mine was in Crested Butte for all of Sept. 2014 and the photos of the landscape and changing colors were unlike anything we have here in Thailand.This is one more post edging me to grab the pack and hitting up US hiking trails! Sweet.ReplyThank you for this! Very excited for our road trip in Colorado to see the fall foliage. I am coming all the way from Asia. I was wondering, if I wanted to do a drive this in reverse, from Denver to Vail via Craig (to stop by Sand Wash Basin) and then to Steamboat Springs and back down, is it worthwhile doing?ReplyColorado is a beautiful place to visit in holidays. These places are very beautiful. If you are looking for a road trip then Colorado is a perfect place for you. I like photos in this post. Amazing clicks.ReplyDo you have the driving directions available in Google map form? There doesn’t seem to be a link when I try to click on the image of the entire loop.ReplyThis looks like a great trip! Where would you recommend to stay at night along the way? Thinking of doing this drive for 10 days!ReplyGreat photos, and great places! I have yet to visit Crested Butte, but I continue to hear beautiful things about. I can’t wait to visit it this fall.To offer a suggestion – Palisade, CO offers beautiful fall views as well that complement their many wineries. And Palisade Basecamp offers a variety of lodging options as well. So, guests can take a great hike in the morning, experience some wineries in the afternoon, and sleep safely and soundly at their camping destination – Palisade Basecamp, while taking in beautiful fall views the entire time. And the best part is that the Western Slope tends to have a longer fall than the Front Range.You can check it out at palisadebasecamp.com.ReplyI love the opening scene on you home page: where was that taken?ReplyI absolutely love Colorado and everything about it! My fiancé and I have visited twice but during the winter months (Divide in December and Grand Lake in February). I really want to visit during the fall to see all the colors! We would be driving from Austin, Texas (we drive both times we’ve visited bc we bring our dog). It took about 14 hours to get to divide. Would this road trip be something we could do in 10 days and enjoy each place? Or do you recommend having more time?ReplycoolReplyHey, is Oct 2nd week too late for all these places? Any chance of the Trail ridge rd in Rocky’s NP to be closed by then?ReplyI am using this exact itinerary for my trip in September and I am so excited! Thank you for the detail!ReplyIn 2014 I quit my Washington DC office job in pursuit of happier, healthier life outdoors. As I embarked on my new chapter, I started Bearfoot Theory as a way to inspire other people to get outside. Today Bearfoot Theory is one of the leading hiking, camping, and van life blogs designed to empower you on your next adventure.MORE ABOUT MESign up for access to our free Member-only resources, packing lists, and itineraries

Skip to contentWe’ve all seen those dreamy photos of Colorado’s golden aspens spreading across mountains and valleys as fall descends on the Rockies. They are a sight to behold, lighting up the mountainsides like fire.As Colorado residents (and lovers of autumn), we’ve spent a lot of time roaming around our state searching for the best places to view stunning Colorado fall foliage.In this post, we’ve put together a 4-day Colorado fall road trip itinerary so you can also experience the fall colors in Colorado first-hand. From the most scenic mountain pass drives to our favorite fall hikes,...

Ultimate 4-Day Colorado Fall Foliage Road Trip Itinerary

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