Fall in the Colorado Rocky Mountains is special! After the Summer tourists leave, things get much quieter except for the aspen and cottonwood trees… They explode with a wild abandon of color. You want to see them and the kids want to play. Here’s how to make everyone happy with a Fall foliage family getaway in Colorado. This plan had been kid tested and approved. So, get out of town this Autumn and enjoy the great outdoors!
Photo Courtesy of: Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park
Fall colors in the Colorado high country comes early. The peak weeks are usually the third and fourth weeks of September. Sometimes, it spills into the first week of October. Relax! Colorado even has a hotline to find out what the Fall colors are doing at 800-COLORADO.
The drive from the Front Range, Denver et al, is loaded with Fall foliage colors itself. The aspen trees begin to go off up high and as the season continues, the cottonwood trees join in along the river banks. Take a little extra time and drive over Independence Pass instead of through the Eisenhower Tunnel. It is totally worth it. And, because it is Fall it will be much quieter on the roads too.
When you arrive at our hotel in Glenwood Springs, on the western slope of the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains, don’t tell your kids what they are in store for ahead of time. Instead surprise them when they find out they are staying at a hotel that was virtually conceived for them! We have a kids indoor water park that is exceptionally unique. Families say it is the highlight of their vacation. So it will take the heat off when you say its time for more sightseeing.
Best of all, great leaf peeping can be had while keeping the kiddos on their toes. Right next door to us is the Adventure Park. You ride a tram up the mountain just steps from your room. From there it can be as wild or as mild as everybody wants it to be. But the main attraction in the Fall is certainly the view up there of the Autumn leaf colors! You could easily spend an entire day at the Adventure Park too!
Next up, rent bicycles and ride the canyon for more great vistas at a much slower pace than when you drive through in a car. See what we are doing here? Keeping the kids happy makes for great getaways while you get that leaf peeping in that they might otherwise call, “boring!”
Want more Fall foliage colors? Our staff at the front desk are locals through and through and each of them probably have a different favorite leaf peeping drive, from the Maroon Bells up in Aspen to the wildness of the Flat Top Mountains. That is only two. There are many more. Perhaps too many to see in one season. But that’s ok. Because the next time you say, who wants to go to Glenwood Springs, you’ll have everybody on board with your plan. We can even package up your stay with Adventure Park tickets, or? Did we mention the worlds largest hot springs pool is here?