Everything you need to know about fall colors in Colorado
Fall is a special time of the year in Colorado for so many reasons but catching views of the aspen trees is often a bucket list item for many people. There's nothing like standing in the crisp mountain air as you take in the vast scenery of a gold mountainside. If you get really lucky there might even be a dusting of snow on the peaks above you along with some pops or red and orange mixed in with the gold.
The science behind the annual color display is all about the shorter days and what happens inside the leaves of plants and trees. The production of chlorophyll, a compound that keeps a leaf green, slows with less sunlight. With less chlorophyll present the carotenoids and anthocyanins inside a leaf take over, allowing the colors of fall to be revealed, including red, orange, yellow and purple, depending on the type of tree.
While the weather isn't responsible for the color display itself, it does play a very big role in how vibrant the colors will be and how long the color show will last. To preserve the fall color as long as possible, we want to avoid abrupt changes such as intense snowstorms and hard freezes. Wind is also a big enemy, especially as leaves near or reach peak color.
Ideal weather to get the best fall color possible would include crisp nights, mild and sunny days with light wind and just a few weak storms passing by that drop light rain. A perfect case scenario would produce a light dusting of snow above the tree line.
Fall color in Colorado will start showing up in late August and early September above 9,500 feet and can sometimes reach a peak by the middle of the month in the northern mountains. The colors will gradually lower in elevation and latitude over the course of a few weeks, reaching places like Denver, the Front Range and southern Colorado by early October.
Colorado's southern mountain ranges will often have fall color well into the month of October. The lower you are in altitude the longer the color will typically last if the weather cooperates.
