Hiking Kenosha Pass To "Leaf Peep" The Fall Foliage

Growing up in Alabama, I never understood what my parents meant when they said they missed how seasons changed in the northern United States. Now that I live in a state that experiences four distinct seasons, I finally understand what they were talking about. Colorado magically changes in the Fall.

Since my mom misses her seasons so much, I knew I wanted to take her to do some Colorado “leaf peeping” at Kenosha Pass when she came to visit me in September of 2020.Kenosha Pass is one of Colorado’s most popular places to see large groves of Aspen trees prepare to drop their leaves as the air turns colder.

​It’s only an hour from Denver and has extremely accessible trails, as it’s part of the 400+ mile Colorado Trail.

If you would like to read about everywhere I took my mom, including the Leadville Train and the Boulder Dushanbe Tea House, check out my itinerary blog post HERE!

​It was the last week of September, so I hoped that we would still catch some views of the changing leaves. The leaves can “peak” at any time, and the peak changes every year based on the weather, drought conditions, and wildfires. 2020 was a dry, smoky summer, and a cold snap had hit us earlier in the month. We had no idea if the leaves would still be around by the time we arrived.

Fortunately, when we started to get closer and higher up in elevation, everything started to change. First, the sun came out helping to raise the temperature outside by almost 20 degrees! Then, the leaves started to show out. The higher we drove into the mountains, the more changing leaves we saw. At this point, we were beyond excited to be arriving!

We pulled up to the pass and immediately parked in the first open spot we could find. It wasn’t very easy. Since it is such an accessible and popular spot, the lot fills up very easily very early.

​We actually parked on the south, far side of the parking lot and walked a small trail, through the woods, to the actual trailhead. ​​

​It was really nice to not be in a terribly crowded spot when we started, because we were able to stop and take as many pictures as we wanted without feeling like we were in someone’s way. We stopped and took a LOT of pictures. It was difficult not to!  ​

​It was one of the most beautiful areas I had ever wandered through. I felt like a child frolicking through the fallen leaves in awe of it all. My mother, too, was amazed. She just kept oohing and ahhing at every red leaf, loving the way the white bark contrasted against the bright blue sky, and gazing at the clusters of bright, yellow leaves. ​

We spent hours exploring. We made a nice loop from our car, to the actual trailhead, across the street to the campground, and back the way we came. When we got back to the car, we weren’t really ready to leave, so we grabbed some snacks and a blanket and walked back onto the trail.

We set up a little picnic on a small hill looking down onto the trial and pond with 360 degree views of the foliage. We sat and snacked still in amazement of the scenery. Neither of us could shut up about how stunning it was.

When we finally finished the hummus off, we packed it up and got back in the car. Luckily, we were going the opposite way of the heavy traffic and continued our journey to Buena Vista where the views and fun never really stopped! Kenosha Pass was just the start for us!

After Kenosha we continued down the highway to Buena Vista where we soaked in Mount Princeton Hot Spring and then road the Leadville Train! Read about our entire road trip HERE!

Similar Links:
Mount Princeton Hot Spring Resort and Spa
Staying at The Happy Hippie House in Leadville
Riding The Leadville Scenic Train Ride