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A Week in the Most Magical Place in Colorado: Crested Butte in Fall

We usually head to Crested Butte every summer around the Fourth of July to play in the endless fields of wildflowers, but this year we had to make different plans. We welcomed a baby into the world at the end of May, and after some trouble with low oxygen on his first camping trip, we decided to push our Crested Butte trip to the first week of October and hope for peak fall color.

In the weeks leading up to the trip I kept wondering whether there would be any leaves left. There were reports of an early change and limited color because of the drought. We packed up the car anyway and hit the road early Saturday morning to beat the traffic.

We arrived with time to kill before we could check in to our Airbnb, so first things first: the Castles on Ohio Pass. As we came out of the pine forest and started down toward the viewpoint, we were in awe. The yellow and orange aspens were glowing under the midday sky, lighting up the Castles, and it is honestly one of my favorite views I have ever seen. Truly breathtaking.

Once we picked our jaws up off the ground, we headed to Kebler Pass, which was just as spectacular. We spent some time playing in the woods and catching leaves as they fell.

The last stop on our scouting trip was Gothic. It was interesting: some groves were orange, others still green, and some had no leaves left at all. The coolest part was the cows everywhere through the valley. They were cute, fuzzy brown cows, and it was funny to watch them completely ignore the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) "No Trespassing" signs.

The next morning I wanted to catch sunrise on Ohio Pass over the Castles. I arrived alone in the dark, got out of the car, put on a podcast, and watched the morning unfold. What a sight, and something special to witness.

The following morning I hiked around Horse Ranch Park to see some of the famous big views, and they did not let me down. We had storms and wind the night before, so the leaves had started to fall quickly by then, but it was still an unbelievable view.

When I got back, we took the older kids on their first horseback ride at Fantasy Ranch, just before Gothic, and then headed up and around the Snodgrass trail, where walking through the aspens felt magical.

The next day my son wanted to go back down to Gothic to "hike with the cows," so we planned to hit Judd Falls. On the drive down we found that all the cows were gone, and the leaves at Judd Falls were mostly gone too. We pivoted to the Beaver Ponds off Ohio Pass instead. It was a nice stroll through a beautiful aspen forest to some water with great reflection opportunities.

I have always said Crested Butte is the most beautiful place in Colorado in the summer, but I hadn't spent much time there in the fall. I can now say Crested Butte is the most beautiful place in Colorado year round. Instead of picking summer or fall next year, we might as well start planning for both.