10 day Colorado Road Trip in Autumn (Fall Foliage)

If you’re dreaming of vibrant golden fall foliage, towering snowcapped mountains, and crisp autumn air, a 10 day Colorado road trip in autumn is the perfect Fall Foliage trip.

Autumn is a beautiful season, especially in the USA. The Fall in Colorado is nothing short of magical, with its golden aspens, crisp mountain air, and scenic landscapes transforming into a kaleidoscope of colors. It is an absolutely beautiful time of the year to visit Colorado.

Last year, we went on a 10 day Colorado road trip to Fall Foliage to see the famous golden yellow Aspen trees. It was a fantastic trip where we visited various parts of Colorado, including 3 National parks. We visited in the last week of September. Most of the leaves turned golden at the time, which was an amazing sight!

We flew from Newark, NJ, to Denver, Colorado, where we picked up our car and started our epic 10 day Colorado Road Trip.

In this travel blog, I will share all the places we visited along with a detailed itinerary and travel tips. Just note that I have not included Rocky Mountain National Park, Steamboat Spring, and the Telluride area in our road trip itinerary. If you have extra days, I suggest including these places as well.

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How to get around

The best way to plan this road trip would be either renting a car or a camper van. We rented an SUV which we picked up from the Denver Airport.

I highly recommend using RentalCars.com & Discovercars.com to compare prices among various car rental companies. They also have an excellent cancellation policy in case you want to change your east coast fall trip.

We would suggest renting AWD or 4×4 as there are a lot of gravel roads to drive though we avoided the big boulder gravel mountain roads.

We used Google Maps for navigation, and it worked perfectly. Always download the offline map because the network might not be reliable in the national park area.

When to visit

For fall foliage, I would suggest planning between the last week of September and mid week of October. However, it is hard to predict the peak foliage so would suggest checking the Fall predictions before you plan for the trip.

We visited in the last week of September. At the time, the Aspen area was at ‘peak’ however south Colorado was at ‘just changing’.

Budgeting for the trip

Flight – It would depend on the place you are flying from and the season you are traveling in. Summer is the busiest season and the flights are costlier. You might get better deals if flying in border/off season. So would suggest checking this flight website for estimates. We flew from NYC and it costed around $300 – 500 round trip per person. Even cheaper if you get a deal or free if you use credit card points.

We usually check Skyscanner or Google Flights for the best price comparison.

Rental car – You can find car rental for $50-100 per day. I would suggest booking 2-3 months in advance to get a better deal. Just a tip – check the rental car’s condition before picking it up.

Hotel – We budget around $150 to $200 per night for decent hotels. Read the reviews before booking any hotels. We usually do a price comparison before we book – Booking.com, Expedia.com & Vrbo.com. If you want to save some money and love nature, you can try camping. If you are not on the free campsite, it costs around $20-30 per night for a camping site. 

Food – We budget around $50-60 per day for the meals. We prefer hotels with breakfast to save time. If you want to save more, you can book a hotel with a kitchenette or Airbnb or Vrbo where you can cook your own breakfast and dinner.

Road trip snacks – We budget around $50-100 (depending on the length of the road trip).

Water  Usually it is fine to drink tap water. But we always check with the hotel before drinking. If it is not advised to drink tap water, we buy a gallon of water from the supermarket.

Others – We budget around $100-200 for miscellaneous things. The budget also depends on what activities we have included in our itinerary.

What to Pack

The weather was not the same for all the regions we visited, but it was mostly on the colder side. Here is the list of things I would suggest to carry –

• Jacket for women (here)
• Jacket for men (here)
• Beanie (here)
• Woolen socks (here)
• Performance socks for hike (here)
• Hiking Shoes for men (here)
• Hiking shoes for women (here)
• Hiking pants for men (here)
• Hiking pants for women (here)
• Sweater (here)
• Rain Jacket (here)
• Umbrella (here)
• Sunscreen (here)
• Sunglasses (here)
• Reusable Water Bottle (here)

Road Trip accessories (Rental Car Edition)

• USB car adaptor (here)
• Car Power Inverter – If you like to charge Laptop and camera in a car. (here)
• Phone Cable

Hot Spring accessories

• Swimsuit (here)
• Travel towel (here)
• Dry Bag (here)

Here is the 10 day Colorado Road Trip Itinerary

Here is how we spend our 10 days chasing fall foliage around the Colorado. We have also included 3 national parks which we wanted to visit in this trip.

Day 1 – Fly to Denver

We flew from NYC to Denver, picked up our rental car, and drove to Georgetown. We booked a beautiful lakeside property for the night. We chose to stay in Georgetown as we wanted to start the road trip from the famous Guanella Pass.

Where we stayed – Georgetown

Day 2 – Drive to Aspen

We drove from Gerogetown to Aspen exploring – Guanella Pass (Gerogetown), Kenosha Pass, and Independence Pass (Twin Lakes). As we drove on this scenic road, we stopped in between to admire the stunning views. Finally, we reached the beautiful town of Aspen in the evening.

Where we stayed – Aspen

Day 3 – Aspen & Maroon Bells

Aspen is a beautiful town. The main reason we included Aspen in our road trip is to visit the picturesque Maroon Bells. The most popular viewpoint is from the shores of Maroon Lake, a pristine alpine lake with the backdrop of Maroon Bells, a series of uniquely bell-shaped, wine-colored peaks. During Autumn, this place becomes a photographer’s paradise. A permit is required to visit the Maroon Bells.

In case you are not able to grab a parking permit or shuttle reservations for visiting Maroon bells, you can book an early morning private transportation. However, this is an expensive option.

There are several hiking trails in Maroon Bells and we did the Crater Lake trail, which is a 3.6-mile round trip moderate hike. The hike was covered with golden Aspen trees in the fall season. We really enjoyed the stunning views throughout our hike. Note that thunderstorms and hailstorms are very common in mountain regions, especially in the afternoons. So, plan ahead to start the hike early.

After Maroon Bells, we drove the Castle Creek road and enjoyed the breathtaking fall colors.

Note: Visit the famous Paradise Bakery in Aspen downtown. We tried the cookies, muffins, and gelatos which where really delicious!

Day 4 – Aspen to Montrose

We drove from Aspen to Montrose and tried to cover all the places in between. Our initial plan was to drive to Crystal Mill but later we came to know the last 5 miles from Marble to Crystal Mill is a gravel mountain off-road. We didn’t want to drive our rental car on a gravel mountain road so, we skipped it. However, we would definitely recommend doing the hike if you have time. We then drove a part of West Elk Loop (Marble – Paonia – Hotchkiss). This drive is absolutely breathtaking. Stop at Berg Harvest Mercantile and cafe in Paonia for amazing burgers & smoothies.

After reaching Montrose, we then drove to explore the least visited National park in the USA – the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. If you are in the area, would definitely include this beautiful national park

Where we stayed – Montrose

Day 5 – Montrose – Crested Butt – Ouray

We started early and drove to Crested Butt covering Blue Mesa Reservoir, Kebler Pass, Ohio Pass, and Lost Lake. This is one of the best places to drive, stop, and enjoy nature. After exploring the area we headed to Ouray. 

Tip – You can also visit Crested Butt directly from Aspen and swap day 5 with Day 4. If you plan to do so, book a stay near Crested butt for Day 4 and Montrose or Ouray for Day 5.

Where we stayed – Ouray

Day 6 – Million Dollar Highway

From Ouray, we visited Owl Pass. The road to Owl Pass has some amazing fall colors – absolutely stunning! 

We then headed back to Ouray to explore the town and nearby area. If you plan to spend more time in Ouray, there are many things to do – (1) Check out the Box Canyon, (2) go hiking or (3) take a dip in one of the hot springs. Also, there are several hotels where you can stay with access to their own hot spring or hot tub.

Considered one of the most beautiful roads in the USA, Million Dollar Highway (a part of San Juan Skyway) connects Ouray and Silverton. We drove this stunning highway and stopped along the way for some amazing fall foliage views. Also, If you love hiking, there are several hiking options along this route – Blue Lakes Trail, Ice Lake Trail, Red Mountain III, and more. 

We drove further from Silverton to Durango (part of San Juan Skyway). During this part of the drive, we stopped at various mountain passes, lakes, and overlooks to enjoy this beautiful time of the year. 

There are several off-road adventure tours you will find in this area. You can book Jeep tours for the experience.

Tip – If you want to hike or do more things between Ouray to Durango, We would suggest giving at least 2-4 days here.

Where we stayed – Durango 

Day 7 – Durango

We went for the historic train ride (the short one) from Durango to Cascade Canyon with the Durango and Silverton narrow gauge railroad. We opted for an open-air coach to enjoy the beautiful view. 

After the train ride, we tried some amazing crepes at Michel’s Corner Crepes which is just a 2-minute walk from the station. In the evening we walked in the downtown area of Durango.

Day 8 – Mesa Verde National Park & Pagosa Spring

We started early to visit another national park on our Colorado Road trip – Mesa Verde National Park. It is one of the most unique national parks in the USA, created to protect the culture and history of the Ancestral Pueblo people, who made Mesa Verde their home for over 700 years. 

We saw the cliff dwellings, which is the highlight among other things in the park. We wanted to do the tour of ‘Cliff dwellings’ but at the time it was not available.

After Mesa Verde National Park, we went to Pagosa Hot Spring to take a dip and relax. There are many options in Colorado for Natural Hot Spring baths, so would definitely suggest choosing any and having fun.

Where we stayed – Pagosa Springs

Day 9 – Great Sand National Park

On this day, we visited another national park—Great Sand National Park. Located in southern Colorado, this park features the tallest sand dunes in North America, set against the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

The day we visited was pretty windy, but everything looked beautiful, and we even went on a little hike. If you ever visit on a less windy day, I highly recommend trying out sandboarding and sledding for an exciting adventure.

We also visited Zapata Falls which is about 20 minutes drive from the visitor center. 

Where we stayed – Colorado Springs

Day 10 – Colorado Spring and flight back home

On our last day, we drove from our hotel in Colorado Spring to Pikes Peak. Known as “America’s Mountain,” this 19 mile scenic drive to the summit takes you up 14,115 feet, offering breathtaking views of the surrounding landscape. The Pikes Peak Highway is especially stunning in the fall, with vibrant autumn colors lining the winding road.

At the top, we felt a little dizzy because of the altitude of 14000+ feet. We explore slowly and rested inside the visitor center before driving down.

After that, we visited the Garden of Gods & then Paint Mines Interpretive Park.

Our flight was at night from Denver. After an amazing 10-day trip with lots of memories, we head back home.

Other things to know before you go!

• Our itinerary includes driving on gravel roads and mountain passes. I would recommend to rent 4×4 or AWD for the road trip in Colorado.
• There are no gas stations on these mountain pass roads so would recommend filling the gas or diesel up in the nearest town before heading to those destinations.
• There are lots of campgrounds in Colorado. If you love camping, I would definitely suggest to check it out.

Autumn is a beautiful time to visit Colorado especially to see the golden yellow aspen trees. Hope this blog inspires you to plan your trip to explore Colorado. Let us know in the comment sections if you have any questions, happy to help! or If you found our blog helpful, happy to know! 

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