Head West
Guanella Pass
Late September in Colorado is leaf peeping season! The 11-mile stretch of Guanella Pass Road between Georgetown and the Mount Bierstadt trailhead provides as-good-as-it-gets leaf peeping without leaving your car. Don’t miss the view of Mount Bierstadt and Mount Evans from the parking lot at the top of the pass, which has an elevation of 11,600 feet.
Chautauqua Park
The Colorado Chautauqua Association, a nonprofit organization, presents a variety of lectures, live musical performances, and silent films on a year-round schedule. The Colorado Chautauqua, located in Boulder, and started in 1898, is the only Chautauqua west of the Mississippi River still continuing in unbroken operation since the heyday of the Chautauqua Movement in the 1920s. Between these 26 acres of Association land and Baseline Road lies a 14-acre Boulder city park called Chautauqua Park. Take a hike, a picture or have a meal here and you won't be disappointed!
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park is an American national park located approximately 76 mi northwest of Denver International Airport in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is situated between the towns of Estes Park to the east and Grand Lake to the west. The eastern and western slopes of the Continental Divide run directly through the center of the park with the headwaters of the Colorado River located in the park's northwestern region. The main features of the park include mountains, alpine lakes and a wide variety of wildlife within various climates and environments, from wooded forests to mountain tundra.
St. Mary's Glacier Hike
The St. Mary’s Glacier trailhead is about an hour from Denver and a great way to beat the summer heat, as there’s snow above the lake year-round. The hike up to St. Mary’s Glacier ascends through a beautiful forest and ends with stunning panoramic views–the kind you expect from a perfect short hike in Colorado. If you walk around St. Mary’s lake then hike up the glacier, you will gain incredible views of the Rocky Mountains to the west. It is a quick hike–1.5 miles round-trip if you climb to the top. There is a $5 parking fee at the entry lot.