September 29, 2022

By Tim Briese

5.0 miles, 1000’ elevation gain, 3:45 roundtrip time

On our annual fall color viewing trip in Colorado my wife Teresa and I visited some of our old favorites - Crested Butte, the Beaver Ponds at Ohio Pass, the Cimarron Valley, and the Telluride area.

ohio pass

beaver ponds

cimarron valley

cimarron valley

We also included a couple of new places in our itinerary, particularly the Conejos River Valley in the south San Juans. From Pagosa Springs we drove down to Chama, New Mexico and took scenic Hwy. 17 over Cumbres and La Manga Passes toward Antonito, CO, with a side trip up the Conejos River Valley to Platoro Reservoir. The aspen colors were excellent here this year. We were surprised how few sightseers were here too, especially at this time of peak color. The place appeared to be a secret gem.

the conejos river valley

platoro reservoir

We took a few hours to hike up the splendid Roaring Gulch Trail that climbs up out of the valley. It appeared that no one had been on the trail for days. It climbed up through spectacular groves of colorful aspens. What an exhilarating treat, slowly hiking through a majestic aspen forest, surrounded by colorful trees! It was just what we were looking for.

on the roaring gulch trail

After enjoying this wonderful place we hiked back to the truck and headed for Alamosa for the night.