Ask around about Colorado fall colors and you'll hear the same two answers: Kebler Pass and the Maroon Bells. Both are four or five hours from here, both are mobbed the last week of September, and both send people home thinking that's the only way to see an aspen turn. Meanwhile, the groves out our own windows are doing the same thing on the same schedule. Teller County's aspens usually go gold in the middle-to-late weeks of September — often a step ahead of the famous passes, because we sit high (8,000–9,500 feet across our six cabins) and dry. Here's the timing and the short list of places we actually send guests.
Why the window is so short
An aspen grove holds peak color for roughly a week. Not a month, not "October" — a week. That's the single most useful thing to know when you're picking dates, and it's why the honest answer to "when should we come?" is a range rather than a date.
Across the Pikes Peak region, the turn runs from about mid-September through mid-October, moving downhill as it goes. The exact timing shifts every year with how wet the summer was. If you want the best odds on a single trip, aim for the third or fourth week of September and plan to chase elevation: start your day at 9,500 feet, and if you've missed it up there, drop 1,000 feet and you'll often find a grove that hasn't turned yet. If you're early, go the other way — up.
The other reason to book that stretch: it's the calm between the summer crowds and ski season. Trails are quiet, restaurants seat you without a wait, and the light in the mornings is the best it gets all year.
The one drive everybody should do
Highway 67, Divide to Cripple Creek. Eighteen miles of switchbacks through some of the densest aspen stands in the county, and the road that regional leaf-peeping guides point to first. It's paved the whole way, takes about 35 minutes without stopping, and there are pullouts where the groves come right to the shoulder.
If you're staying in Florissant, make it a loop instead of an out-and-back: run south on Teller County Road 1 from Highway 24 down to Cripple Creek — a graded dirt road through ranch country and mixed aspen, fine for a normal car in dry weather — then come back north on 67 through Divide. Two completely different landscapes, about two hours with stops.
Go in the morning. Backlit aspen leaves at 8 a.m. are a different thing than the same trees at 2 p.m., and afternoon clouds build fast up here.
Where to walk into the aspens
- Mueller State Park, Divide. The densest concentration of aspen within an hour of Colorado Springs, and the north-end trails are where it's thickest. The Cheesman Ranch Loop (about 5.4 miles, moderate) weaves in and out of groves and meadows. Day pass runs $10–$15 per vehicle depending on your plates; the park is open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., visitor center 9–4. It's 15 minutes from our Florissant cabins.
- Lovell Gulch, Woodland Park. A roughly 5.5-mile loop with about 890 feet of gain, and the lower half is all aspen. The trailhead is off Rampart Range Road at the north edge of town — close enough to walk to from some Woodland Park addresses, and free.
- Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. Petrified redwood stumps the size of dining tables, ringed by aspen and open meadow. $10 per person, ages 15 and under free, good for seven days. Note that the monument takes cards and mobile payment only — no cash.
Local tip: The first snow of the season and peak color regularly overlap up here — one of our favorite mornings last fall was three inches of powder on trees that were still solid gold. Pack a warm layer and real shoes even for a "drive," because September nights drop into the 30s at our elevation and mountain weather changes faster than the forecast does. And fill the tank in Woodland Park or Divide; there's no gas between Divide and Cripple Creek.
What else is on the fall calendar
Colorado Springs Labor Day Lift Off — September 5–7, 2026. The 50th year of the state's biggest balloon festival, at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs. General admission is free. Balloons lift off at 7 a.m. each morning (park opens 5:15) and the evening balloon glow starts at 7 p.m. It's a couple weeks ahead of peak color, but it's a fine reason to build a long weekend around, and the drive down Ute Pass at sunrise is worth the early alarm on its own.
Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad — through the first weekend of October. A four-mile round trip on an open-car steam train through the old mining district, about 45 minutes with narration. Departures every 70 minutes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; $21 adults, $19 seniors, $14 kids 3–12, first-come first-served with no reservations. The cars are open, so dress for it — which in late September means a jacket you'll actually want.
Cripple Creek's Fall Fest takes over Bennett Avenue with hayrides, pumpkin carving, and the town's famous donkeys. The city hadn't posted 2026 dates when we wrote this; it typically lands the first weekend of October, so check the city's Fall Fest page before you plan around it.
Where to stay for it
Fall color is the one season where being in the trees beats being in town. Our four Florissant cabins put you inside the aspen belt — 15 minutes from Mueller, 20 from the Fossil Beds, 25 from Cripple Creek. The Kingston Stargazing Cabin is the one we'd pick ourselves in September: the nights are clear and cold, and the Milky Way in fall is as good as the leaves. For groups, Surrey Mountain Retreat (sleeps 12) sits near Highland House (sleeps 11) and our newest cabin, the Lion House — book two and the whole family wakes up on the same road.
If you'd rather be close to town, trailheads, and the Ute Pass drive down to the balloon festival, the Coyote A-Frame and our Spruce Cabin are minutes from Woodland Park — and about ten minutes from the Lovell Gulch trailhead.
One scheduling note from experience: the last two weekends of September are the busiest of our fall, and they book earlier every year. If those dates matter to you, don't wait for a color report to commit.
Planning a Colorado fall trip?
Late September fills first up here. Reserve one of our six cabins direct and save up to 15% vs Airbnb — same cabins, same hosts, no platform fees.
Browse Our Cabins →Featured photo: Intricate Explorer via Unsplash.