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!

Castlewood Canyon 2025

After seeing beautiful fall foliage at Pancake Rocks and on my road trip around southwestern Colorado, I was still hungry for more. So last Friday morning I made the short drive to Castlewood Canyon State Park.  I made it early enough to try and catch a sunrise, too.

I made it to the Bridge Canyon Overlook in time to take in predawn light both to the northwest...

...and to the southeast.

Something I love about shooting before sunrise is how the colors change in both the sky and on the terrain as time passes. 

Then the moment comes, and the sun breaks the horizon, and the magic really happens.

Still not satisfied, I hiked the Inner Canyon Trail and caught steam rising off Cherry Creek.

Then it was repeatedly shooting the low morning sun backlighting golden leaves up and down the trail before I finally took my leave.

Conditions at the park were just past peak, which means I may have finally shot all of fall I'm going to get for this season.  But I definitely feel like I made the most of it!

Related Links:

• Castlewood Canyon 2023
• Castlewood Canyon 2010

Fall Foliage Road Trip 2025

The fall foliage forecast declared that most locations in the state would be past peak by the time my Fall Break and accompanying road trip with Danelle rolled around.  Forecasts such as this are further evidence that human beings are absolute hot garbage at predicting the future.

Pagosa Springs was our first destination, which meant a stop at Wolf Creek Pass.

This was my third time stopping at Wolf Creek Pass for photos.  And the third time the views were stunning.

Treasure Falls was next up.  It, too, never disappoints.  Late afternoon light certainly doesn't hurt.

Rain came in overnight, so my plans to shoot sunrise didn't materialize.  But Wolf Creek Pass was still worth another visit to capture its moodier side.

The view of Wolf Creek itself from just across the highway was also beautiful.

Overcast conditions often result in boring landscape shots.  Low clouds, however, can be really cool.

You know what else are cool?  Cows?  And this little herd found me fascinating.

I find the stretch of highway from Durango to Silverton in many ways more spectacular than the Million Dollar Highway from Silverton to Ouray.  Consider this photo Exhibit A.

And here I present Exhibit B.

Not that the Million Dollar Highway is hideous.  Crystal Lake may not have been especially crystal on this gloomy day, but water in a scene is nearly always a good thing.

Even better than still water is running water, and the day's rains had this cascade along the Uncompahgre River flowing briskly.

And with the recently fallen (and therefore still vibrant) leaves strewn along the bank?  This is quintessential autumn in Colorado to me.

We made one last stop outside Crested Butte to pick up some log furniture, where this unique piece of roadside art provided the perfect foreground element for the golden aspens and grumpy skies.

Past peak?  Not from what I could see!

Related Fall Foliage Links:

• Guanella Pass, 2024
• Gunnison County Fall Foliage, 2023
• Ohio Pass
• Crested Butte to Cottonwood Pass
• Carbondale to Crested Butte
• Ptarmigan Peak Trail
• Bear Creek Lake Park: October 2013

Pancake Rocks

I ran into a local on my hike at Lovell Gulch a couple of weeks ago, and while we were chatting he recommended Pancake Rocks for foliage.  When I get advice from a local, I typically heed it.  So this past weekend I found myself at the Pancake Rocks trailhead before sunrise.

The first couple of miles of the trail are fairly typical Colorado mountain fare -- beautiful, fairly heavily treed in, and moderately steep.  Then things started to open up and the vistas began to peek through.

Aspens grew denser, and I popped off the trail to shoot in the midst of this small grove.

The canopy thinned, the trail widened, and I could feel my destination approaching.

Your first sight upon arriving at Pancake Rocks is an overhang so deep it's practically a cave.  I got there early enough to have the sun bursting through the golden leaves.

It is not hard to figure out how Pancake Rocks got its name.  There are several stacks like this one dotting the area.

And the views?  Epic.

Fall seems like the perfect season to visit this spot, with the vibrant yellow aspens, red rocks, and deep, blue skies.

I spent nearly an hour exploring the space.  As the crowds began to arrive, I took my leave.

Two Grey Jays gave me the opportunity to feed them on my descent.  They figured out quickly I had nothing to offer, so I was lucky to get this shot before they abandoned me.

I started my hike before sunrise but made note of the creek I passed along the way thinking it might be worth a stop once the light was better.  I was right.

Water always adds something to a scene, especially when you can get even a little reflection off of it.

I heard two other hikers comment that they didn't even think the foliage was quite at peak yet.  Hard to believe given the spectacular color I witnessed.

The parking area had two other cars when I arrived at 5:45.  When I returned about five hours later, cars were lining both sides of the road as far as the eye could see.  Not hard to understand why, given this view to the west.

Once again, trusting a local pays off as I enjoyed some truly stunning foliage.  I covered 7.39 miles and 1,915 feet of elevation gain in a tidy 4:27:46, which as I mentioned included an hour of bliss at the rocks themselves.

Happy fall, y'all!

Lovell Gulch to White Gulch Loop

Wildflower season is over, and foliage season hasn't started yet.  But I still needed to get out to hike and shoot some pictures.  The Woodland Park area has been a favorite of mine of late, and that's where I found the Lovell Gulch to White Gulch Loop on AllTrails.

Bristly Beard Lichen adorned some of the trees.

The first few turning aspen leaves of the season had fallen, decorated with water droplets.

No wildlife to speak of other than a Fremont's Squirrel who just wanted to be eat in peace.

With still a week left in summer, some vegetation like this Woods' Rose were getting a head start on their fall wardrobes.

I didn't realize that wild roses put out fruit like this.

Most wildflowers had long since past blooming, but not this Common Toadflax.

The trail doesn't have much elevation gain.  But it's always nice when the roots provide steps on the ascents.

Not much in the way of sweeping vistas other than this one quick peak peek to the west.

The highlight of the hike was chatting with a local who advised a nearby location for "spectacular foliage" in a couple of weeks.  Until then, this preview from an aspen grove that just can't wait for the change of season will have to do.

Roughly 6.3 miles in about 2:40.  A decent pace without too many photo stops in comfortable conditions.  Now, bring on fall!