When and where to go leaf peeping in Colorado

September is here, and shades of yellow and red are starting to emerge from the foliage.

Dr. Dan West, a Colorado State Forest Service entomologist, said this year "is a little bit of a mixed bag." He describes it as a "tale of two states," with strong leaf peeping potential on the Eastern Plains and struggles with drought that may affect colors on the Western Slope.

"For the folks who love to go out and walk the river drainages and see the colors out on the eastern plains," Dr. West said, "it should be a great year for that."

West said that if you picture the state divided into thirds, from top to bottom, he predicts the top section, north of I-70, will peak around the weekend of Sept. 20-21. Then, leaves will peak in the central band of the state near the end of September, followed by peak conditions in Southern Colorado at the beginning of October.

"If you go to the same cabin or to the same location every single year," West said, "I think that this year, (the color change) could be a few days earlier, just because of some of the drought stress that we're experiencing in Colorado."

But he said the 30-day forecast is looking good for leaf peeping, with average to above-average temperatures, sunshine, and mild weather.

"Those sunny, blue sky days are what we really want," Dr. West said, "because that sunshine burns off the green colors that we see in the leaves and it leaves us with those baked-in yellows and oranges that are underneath."

"We don't want any of those super cold nights where we get freezing temperatures that cause cell death," he added. "We really want those above-average temperatures and average or below-average precipitation."

That way, the colors change gently and the leaves stay on the trees for maximum viewing pleasure.

Here are two key resources to help you plan your leaf-peeping adventure: a map of suggested viewing locations across Colorado and a prediction map of peak leaf-peeping dates.

Hover over orange dots for more information. Best used on a desktop device.

NOTE: There is new, strict parking enforcement on Guanella Pass. Park with caution, obeying all posted signage.

When to expect peak fall colors across Colorado

Fall foliage prediction data courtesy smokymountains.com. While predictions cannot be 100% accurate, this tool is meant to help travelers best estimate peak viewing dates and locations.