A couple weeks ago I ventured through the Colorado mountains with my Mom + little sister for our first annual Leaf Peeping road trip! Something I haven’t done since I was a little kid living in CO, and boy did it bring back memories. We seriously had the best time exploring, taking pictures {something all 3 of us really enjoy} and just connecting with one another with limited cell service/interruptions.
I know many of you saw the trip through my IG story lens, but I wanted to break down the itinerary in a more concise way. This was a pretty quick Colorado fall mountain drive itinerary, but honestly it was perfect for us – and something you could easily pull off if you’re a quick flight away from Colorado OR if you wanted to tack this on to a longer trip where you’re doing other things.
I do want to note that determining the best time to execute your Colorado fall mountain drive itinerary is probably the trickiest part. I ended up booking my flight about 2-3 weeks out, and paid close attention to IG location tags, as well as local news + leaf tracking websites to determine where in the state had the best foliage at that specific time. At any given time between mid/late-September through mid-October, somewhere in the state has killer foliage, just be sure to track as your trip approaches and have more of a flexible schedule to switch things around if need be.
2 DAY COLORADO FALL MOUNTAIN DRIVE ITINERARY
DAY 1
- Depart Colorado Springs early morning (around 7:30AM) | headed to Montrose
- Stop in Buena Vista for lunch on Main Street at Simple Eatery featuring Spoon it Up {located inside the Trailhead store}
- A little detour to Railroad Bridge Campground – super cute and scenic road with tunnels, a river, railroad tracks and lots of beautiful fall foliage
- Railroad Campground for pictures of the railroad bridge
- Cascade Falls
- St Elmo to feed chipmunks – one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had! Just made sure you pick up some unsalted sunflower seeds {with shells still intact} on your way to visit the Chipmunks. That’s all they’ll eat…trust me, I know from experience ha.
- Stopped and took LOTS of pictures on the way down from St. Elmo {Mt. Princeton}
- Dinner in downtown Gunnison
- Arrived in Montrose around 11PM
- Stayed at the most darling AirBnb Heritage River Cabin
DAY 2
- Woke up in Montrose
- Breakfast at Light House Coffee Shoppe & Eatery
- Amazing Chai
- Shopping on Main Street in Montrose {Colorado-ology, Antiques Store + Truduste}
- Covered Bridge Ranch
- Drove to Buena Vista through Monarch Pass
- Stunning views of the Blue Mesa Reservoir
- Not much fall foliage for our drive, but there would be a ton when in peak season
- Dinner at House Rock in Buena Vista
- Stayed at the Best Western | would highly recommend the Chateau at Fox Meadows if it’s available
DAY 3
- Drive back to Denver for evening flight out
Big thanks to Toyota for providing us with the new PriusPrime for our mountain travels!
Photos by your’s truly