Sorry to be a Debbie Downer but quite a bit of Colorado is within severe drought maps and conditions may not be very good this year. I drove the Kebler Pass - Crested Butte - Ohio Pass - Gunnison loop yesterday. The Aspen appear to be drought stressed on Kebler but look good on Ohio Pass. A bit south, Owl Creek Pass (my favorite spot) is burning within the boundaries of the Gold Mountain Fire. It's a big burn and it was shrouded in smoke (I looked directly at it from the north rim highway along the Gunnison Gorge).
There's hope though...we still have good loops: Million Dollar Highway to Durango-Mancos-Lizard Head Pass-Telluride has some great foliage and there aren't any fires at the moment in that area. Independence Pass - Aspen are also good options.....but, predicting what'll happen in late September, which used to be relatively easy is kind of hard now. If we get some late summer monsoon moisture conditions might improve.
Two weeks ago I was in the Creede - Lake City area and it has been drought affected as well.
I would plan on coming, keep up on conditions via the internet and adjust your trip accordingly.
Well, reports are mixed but it looks like Deb's Meadow, Chimney Rock and Courthouse Ridge in the Ouray/Ridgway area have either burned in the last day or are about to. It also looks like the way up to Silverjack is also on fire. With that in mind, I'd suggest planning on staying more central - Crested Butte and Aspen over Ouray/Ridgway/550. If you do want to head more SW CO, the perhaps Telluride as a base would be better.
That said, I think it's a bit early to be making plans as we have so much to see yet. Fire season is just starting, the drought is real and massive, but El Nino is supposed to deliver an interesting monsoon season. On the one hand, it may deliver higher than normal moisture to those areas, but it is more likely to deliver more than usual lightening instead. As I'm co-leading a workshop in October that is supposed to be based out of Ouray, I'm pretty interested in what's happening as well.
Hi - Following up on this post from a couple months ago now that we are getting closer to Southwest Colorado's fall foliage season. For those with current knowledge or who will be in the area in the next ten days or so... Fire impact? Drought stressed aspens still the case? Does recent moisture offer any improved outlook? If so and if it's still worth the trip (in my case from California), is an earlier than normal peak still expected? If the outlook still remains dim, I'm open to heading elsewhere and bumping this trip to 2027. Would also be interested Utah's Wasatch area aspens, so same applicable questions if anyone can offer help there. Thanks to any contributors.
