While we enjoy the last days of Summer, as many of us tree-huggers know, Autumn comes early each year to the mountains. As the daylight fades, we look forward to a yearly alpine inferno of vivid colors - no equinox required!

Among the steadfast evergreens, verdant aspen leaves burn into brilliant gold over hills carpeted with grasses and shrubs of pale blondes and deep reds and violets all at once. Within mere days the forested mountainsides and lush valleys transform into cascading rainbows that shame the sunrise. This marvelous annual display of Mother Earth’s more flamboyant flare rightfully attracts many locals and visitors from all around the world alike - and its ephemeral nature leaves many of us wondering when we can best appreciate this wonder.

While predictions often appear in great numbers as early as Winters previous, predicting peak foliage timing proves challenging and largely unpredictable; time and time again with many factors to consider, forecasters regularly update their predictions. And Colorado’s historic drought this year has wrought special consequences on our beloved park with color changes observed much earlier on the calendar than typical. 

According to explorefall.com, various weather channels, and our favorite Estes eccentrics, we're already in the midst of peak Fall as of this post’s publication. Rather than the usual early October timeframe, expect peak colors to flourish mid-September this year and spare a wish of snow for next.