September 27-30, 2020

By Tim Briese

Teresa and I went on one of our annual visits to the mountains to see fall colors during the last week of September. We didn’t know what to expect this year, with drought conditions for many months and extensive damage to aspens across the state in recent years from beetle and disease infestations, but we were not disappointed.

Mill Creek Trail: Sept. 27, 6.7 miles, 700’ elevation gain, 5:20 roundtrip time

First up, we wanted to go hike the spectacular Mill Creek Trail near Gunnison that we had explored in June. We drove over Cottonwood Pass the day before and stayed in Gunnison that night. Early the next morning we drove out to the Mill Creek Trailhead and headed up the trail on a beautiful late September day. We stopped at the wonderful spot we had seen last time at the edge of a meadow a mile up the trail with a great view up the valley.

a view up the mill creek valley

Shortly after that we crossed Mill Creek, which had far less water in it than it had in June and was easy to rock hop across. There were a few other hikers out enjoying this hike today but not many.

We continued up the trail for a couple more miles through aspen and pine groves, with intermittent views of the towers and pinnacles lining the valley above.

We turned around at the green gate about three miles up the trail and hiked back. The late sunlight in the valley was especially impressive glowing on the landscape.

We got back to the trailhead about sundown and headed back to Gunnison.

Judd Falls, Copper Creek Trail: Sept. 28, 3.1 miles, 300’ elevation gain, 2:40 roundtrip time

The next morning we drove up to Crested Butte and up the Gothic Road.

view of the gunnison river on the drive to crested butte

We were going to hike up the Snodgrass Mountain Trail but found it closed so we went on to the Judd Falls Trail. The aspen trees in the Gothic Valley were definitely impacted by drought and disease in many places but we did not fail to find some very nice fall colors.

mt. crested butte beyond groves of aspens

gothic mountain

We hiked the easy trail up to Judd Falls in the company of a lot of other folks then continued a ways on the much less busy Copper Creek Trail, and found splendid groves of yellow trees along this trail.

judd falls

on the copper creek trail

In the afternoon we drove up the Washington Gulch Road from Crested Butte, finding campers everywhere along the road just as I had seen here in July. We spotted a large grove of reddish-orange aspens, which are quite uncommon, perhaps the largest grove of them in that hue that we had ever seen.

the reddish-orange aspens, with gothic mountain above

looking up at the trees while walking around in the grove

As we arrived to walk around in the grove we came across a renowned local musician, Christina Carlson, who was setting up equipment at the edge of the trees with her boyfriend to record her singing "Autumn Leaves". We had a nice visit with them and then sat and watched as her beautiful voice filled the mountain air as aspen leaves fluttered down around her. That was quite a memorable experience.

christina and her boyfriend getting ready for the recording

Afterwards we headed over Ohio Pass in the late sunlight and returned to Gunnison.

Cimarron Valley: Sept. 29

Today we left Gunnison and headed west past Blue Mesa Reservoir and then went south off of US 50 on the road down to the Cimarron Valley to check out the colors there. We were definitely not disappointed. This has become one of our favorite areas of Colorado in recent years and the colors this year were at their prime and the best we had ever seen there. We slowly drove down the road stopping for countless photos, and exploring some side roads when they appeared.

a scene along the road shortly after we left US 50

view of precipice peak, in the center

a relaxing lunch beside the east fork of the cimarron river

After a wonderful lunch stop we drove to the Middle Fork Trailhead for a short hike then drove FR 858 over Owl Creek Pass, stopping for a walk through a magnificent yellow aspen forest along the way.

aspen trees along fr 858

we couldn't resist an enchanting stroll through these woods

view of chimney rock near owl creek pass

The Cimarron Valley held a dazzling display of color today, but effects of the drought were much more evident on the west side of the pass. We continued down the road to US 550 and returned through Montrose back to Gunnison once again. Today was a highlight of the trip.

Beaver Ponds Trail: Sept. 30, 1.6 miles, 200’ elevation gain, 2:40 roundtrip time

Three Lakes Loop: Sept. 30, 3.8 miles, 600’ elevation gain, 2:55 roundtrip time

We left Gunnison again this morning and headed north toward Ohio Pass. There is a huge aspen forest south of the pass, and we stopped along the way in the aspens to hike the easy Beaver Ponds Trail.

an ocean of yellow south of ohio pass.  the beaver ponds trail is down in that forest.

This hike is little more than a pleasant stroll, and what a stroll it was today, rambling through a magnificent aspen forest at the height of its glorious color on a clear and beautiful September day. With exhilarated spirits we slowly sauntered along soaking in the grandeur.

on the beaver ponds trail

The large pond at the end of the trail was very scenic and we walked around it before heading back.

on the trail back

There were quite a few other hikers on this trail, including a group of small schoolchildren. This trail is a must-see for aspen viewing, especially in the prime conditions that we had.

We continued north on the Kebler Pass Road and stopped for lunch in a splendid aspen grove before doing a short hike a ways up the Dark Canyon Trail. Then we drove the Lost Lake Road to the extremely popular Lost Lake area and embarked on the Three Lakes Loop trail.

lost lake slough, where the trail starts, with east beckwith mountain above

From the main Lost Lake Slough area the trail climbed up through the woods to the southeast to Dollar Lake, then it circled around to Lost Lake.

dollar lake

This hike turned into a bit more of an adventure than we anticipated because of inadequate signage, at least in the clockwise direction that we followed the loop.

view of lost lake slough below, with marcellina mountain beyond at the left

a waterfall along the way

Lost Lake was serene and pretty in the late afternoon sun.

lost lake

We hiked back to the trailhead and headed on down the Kebler Pass Road.

marcellina mountain stands majestically above the kebler pass road

We went over scenic McClure Pass on Highway 133 just at sunset and stayed in Carbondale that night. The next day we drove on to Aspen and over Independence Pass and returned home.