North Central Fall Color Drives

NORTH CENTRAL FALL COLOR DRIVES

Breckenridge: Take the long way: U.S. 285 over Kenosha Pass and then down into South Park. At Fairplay, turn right on Colorado 9, which you'll take over Hoosier Pass into Breckenridge.

125: Over Willow Creek Pass between Granby and Walden Colorado

135: Between Crested Butte and Gunnison

Boreas Pass: between Como and Breckenridge

Castlewood Canyon: Colorado 83 in Franktown Chaffee County: Take U.S. 285 to County Road 162 south of Buena Vista, past Mount Princeton Hot Springs, to St. Elmo in the Collegiate Peaks vicinity.

Colorado 67: Between Divide and Cripple Creek

Colorado 76: Between Divide and Cripple Creek Colorado

Cottonwood Pass: Colorado 306 between Buena Vista and Taylor Park

Deckers: Woodland Park to Sedalia on Colorado 67

Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park: Trail Ridge Road (US 34)

Flat Tops Country: Between Buford and New Castle

Gold Camp Road: From The Broadmoor to Cripple Creek

Golden and Golden Gate Canyon State Park: Take Colorado 46 all the way through the park to the Peak-to-Peak Highway (Colorado 72).

Grand Mesa: Colorado 65 east of Grand Junction and north of Delta

Guanella Pass: between Georgetown (I-70) and Grant (US 285)

Independence Pass: Take I-70 to Glenwood Springs, then drive south through Aspen on Colorado 82 to U.S. 24.

Kenosha Pass: U.S. 285 southwest out of Denver to South Park

Maroon Bells: from Aspen, Maroon Creek (Forest Route 125) to Maroon Bells (no cars, you'll have to go by bus or by bike)

Monarch Pass: US 50 from Salida to Gunnison

Morrison and Evergreen: Head west through Morrison and up Colorado 74 to Evergreen.

Peak to Peak Highway: Colorado 119, 72, and 7 between Black Hawk and Estes Park

Poudre Canyon: Take I-25 north to Fort Collins, turn north on Colorado 14 and then west out of town and into the mountains. Drive along the Cache la Poudre River all the way over Cameron Pass to Walden, then go south on Colorado 125 through the Routt and Arapaho national forests back down to U.S. 40 at Granby.

Rampart Range Road: Between Sedalia and Woodland Park

Steamboat Springs: Elk River country north and Buffalo Pass east

Tennessee Pass/Vail: US 24 from Leadville to Vail

Trail Ridge Road: (US 34) through Rocky Mountain National Park SOUTHERN COLORADO DRIVES

SOUTH CENTRAL COLORADO FALL COLOR DRIVES

Cochetopa Pass: Between Saguache and Gunnison

Cucharas Pass: Colorado 12 from Trinidad to Walsenburg

Kebler Pass: Gunnison County Road 12 over Kebler Pass between Crested Butte and Paonia

Lizard Head Pass: Colorado 145 between Dolores and Telluride

National Scenic Byway: Colo. 96 from Pueblo to Westcliffe Navajo Trail, US 160: Between Pagosa Springs and Cortez

Platoro Reservoir: South of Del Norte and west of Conejos

Slumgullion Pass: Colorado 149 between Lake City, Creede & South Forkouth Fork

The list above was taken from the 9News website.

I would add the following to the list above;

Owl Creek Pass: Hwy 50 from the town of Cimmeron, Cimmeron Rd. to P77RD and on to Silver Jack Res., about 1 mile past Silver Jack turn right onto Owl Creek Pass, this good dirt road will eventually take you to Hwy 550 (Million Dollar Highway) about 2 miles North of Ridgeway. This road offers spectacular views of the Un- comphagre Range and Wilderness. It is good any time of the year, but fall will add colors that will blow your mind.

Phippsburg to Meeker: Hwy 131 to Phippsburg and County Rd 15 West is a dirt road all the way (should start this trip with a full tank of gas from Phippsburg) to County Rd 132, to County Rd 8 to Meeker with a stop at Trappers Lake along the way. This whole area is heavily forested with Aspen. This is a very long road trip, but spectacular in the fall.

Stagecoach: No road names or numbers on this one, it starts as a little dirt road with a sign ‘Stagecoach’ and starts off of Gore Pass. This is a rough dirt road that follow a mountain ridge to a resort/development named Stagecoach, winds through Lake Catamount and ends in Steamboat Springs. This is an aspen-pine mix and can be very good or very boring depending on weather conditions and how the aspen turn. I seen it both with beautiful yellows and deep reds to nothing but black leaves. Considering the road, this would be far down on the list.