Busy Trail @ Kenosha Pass

The last weekend in September has historically been the best time to hunt fall colors. Since this is the optimal time for fall colors, we decided to go to one of the most popular areas: Kenosha Pass. We woke up at 5:30 and I got a groggy Katie out of bed to get to the trailhead around 8:30. There were already hundreds of cars parked in the parking lot by the time we arrived. That's no exaggeration, the parking lot was packed and cars were parked all along the road. We ended up parking a quarter-mile from the trailhead before starting our hike on the Colorado Trail.

The Colorado Trail runs the entire length of the state, so we didn't make it to the "end" of this trail since that's not practical. Instead, we were shooting to hike 3.5 miles into the trail to get good views according to trail reviews. That distance, plus how far we parked from the trail resulted in a hike a little over 7.5 miles long. That's a long hike for us in the shape we're in, but luckily it only had about 1,000 feet of elevation gain making the hike not too difficult.

We knew this trail would be busy, so we tried not to let it affect the hike. But between that and unseasonably warm weather, this wasn't our favorite. This time of year should be chilly requiring at least jackets in the morning. But we started this hike in shorts and teeshirts and ended the hike with temperatures in the 70's which was hot in the sections with no shade. If it were a little bit cooler and a little less busy this would have been a great hike.

We stopped at this trailhead at the beginning of the month to scout it out. There aren't great aspen groves close to the hike, so we didn't get a good idea of what the hike would be during that short hike. But it was enough to make us come back to this area. The aspens were past peak in most areas, but we still got great views and great colors.