Kineo Mountain via Seven Bridges Trail, September 2026

When I first hiked to the summit of Kineo Mountain via the Seven Bridges Trail back in the late spring of 2024, I knew I wanted to come back sometime in the fall.  The trail passes through a beautiful aspen grove that I hoped to see covered in golden leaves.  Despite the lengthy drought, I decided to give it a shot this past weekend.

At lower elevations the aspens were still fully green.  I'd hoped to see some fallen leaves adorning the cascades along North Cheyenne Creek, but flowing water is still pretty no matter what.

An early start ensured that the creek was still shaded, which allows for slower shutter speeds, which gives you nice, feathery water.

I was pleased to see the creek still running briskly.  Recent rains undoubtedly helped in that regard.

After a tougher-than-I-recalled section of the hike past the seventh bridge, the aspens I remembered came into view.

The drought appeared to have cut down on the amount of foliage, but I seemed to hit it right at the time I like -- just before peak, when the leaves are a mix of green and gold.

My new Nikkor 10-24mm lens does a fantastic job with sunbursts, and the morning sun was still low enough for me to shoot some.

Straight up into the canopy is a classic fall foliage shot.  I got one with a sunburst...

...and one without, which I think I prefer with the convergence of the trunks.

The day was really perfect -- sunny but too hot, which I was grateful for since my water bottle had somehow managed to get caught on a branch, fall out of my backpack side pouch, and spill most of its contents on the ground.  So it was a dry hike for me.

I loitered in the aspen grove for a while, looking for interesting compositions.

Is this an interesting composition?  Probably not, but I still like the simplicity of the trunks.

My plans to fully retrace my 2024 steps changed when another photographer recommended a detour to another small aspen grove with a mossy forest floor.  So instead of summitting Kineo again, I found myself amongst fallen yellow leaves covered with water droplets lying on a lush, green carpet.

Yeah, I could work with this.

The dense mixed grove resulted in some of the leaves being beautifully illuminated, as if by a soft spotlight.

Sweeping vistas are a great way to experience fall foliage in Colorado.  Intimate scenes like these have their own special beauty.

I got what I had hoped for, covering the 5.51 miles and 1,617 feet of elevation gain in 2:46 of "moving time," as AllTrails has thoughtfully added to their hike statistics.  That's out of a total time of 3:48, which means I spent roughly an hour just enjoying the autumn scenery!