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Late September Colorado Trip 2012

philagony94xj

NAXJA Forum User
So I'm hoping for some tips on places to see during the month of September in Colorado. I have the week of Sept. 22-30 off and am making the trip from the Chicago area/ suburbs. I am figuring on arriving in the state on Sunday the 23rd, probably late in the day. I will only have a few days to site-see before I have to head back.

Where are some places I should see given the time frame I have? Is this a good time of year to see the Aspens changing color? I thought it would be, which is why I chose that week.

For now I am setting nothing in stone as far as plans, just getting ideas together for my route through the state.

Initial thoughts for things to see in the Colorado Springs area are Garden of the Gods, Cave of the Winds, and then heading over to the Florissant Fossil Beds. Then heading down to Cripple Creek area to see if I can catch the Aspens changing. I just figured these are all within a 50-75 mile radius, so it wont be too time consuming to see them all. I would like to camp a few nights, so if anyone knows some good camping spots in the areas I just mentioned, I would like to know.

Any input or suggestions are welcome. I know some of you local vets can direct me in the right direction to have one hell of a trip. :cheers:

Oh and I will be taking my WJ not the XJ. Specs are in the sig. I think it will be plenty capable for some fire/service roads.

Thanks in advance guys/gals.
Phil
 
Garden of the Gods and Cave of the Winds were impacted by the fire. My favorite area of Colorado is the San Juan's. I would go directly to Ouray, run Alpine Loop one day, then Black Bear/Imogene the next.
 
Garden of the Gods and Cave of the Winds were impacted by the fire. My favorite area of Colorado is the San Juan's. I would go directly to Ouray, run Alpine Loop one day, then Black Bear/Imogene the next.

Oh the fire got that close to C.S? I kept hearing that particular fire was close to the suburbs of the Springs, but I had no idea it was that close. Okay, well thank you my friend for the heads-up. I will look into Ouray then.
 
Garden of the Gods didn't burn. Neither did cave of the winds, although it was close. It's still only partially contained, so who knows. The pre-evac orders came within 1.5 airmiles to my house in downtown COS. The highway 24 corridor, from the springs to woodland park is still sketchy. Parts of the Mt. Shadows subdivision where ~350 homes burnt are under mandatory evac. I agree with Tom on Ouray, Silverton, Lake City, but Pikes Peak is worth a drive up. If you go to Cripple Creek, you can drive back to the Springs on Old Stage/Gold Camp Road. If the aspens are changing, it'll be crowded(comparitively) because of the good views.

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Thanks for the update Fred. The local radio said point blank that Garden of the Gods burned along with Cave of the winds. Good to hear.
 
That time in September you should see the beginning of changes by the end of your trip. When it starts happening, it starts fast. We were in Telluride the first weekend in Oct(like Oct 5th) last year and we were right in the middle of it. People were EVERYWHERE with cameras.

I agree with the above dudes, SW CO is where its at!
 
I went out in late april Phil, FOr sure check out Pike's, Garden of the Gods(If you can) and If you're near it, Rocky Mountain National Park. Pike National forest is also great.


One more thing....Need a Co-Pilot? :D
 
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