With balmy Denver temperatures spiking toward a 119-year record, roads into the mountains were clogged Saturday with autumn sightseers headed for golden aspen groves in places like Lizard Head Pass.
“It’s a perfect time for a road trip through Colorado,” said Carly Grimes, spokeswoman for Colorado Tourism. “The leaves are peaking right now.”
Weekend temperatures were pushing into the mid- to upper 80s in Denver, giving city dwellers great incentive to take a day-trip through the Rockies, where they can find spectacular views and relief from the heat, Grimes said.
The high temperature Saturday was 87 degrees.
“That’s a good 15 degrees warmer than normal for this time of the year,” said Bob Koopmeiners, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Boulder.
The record for any day in October was set on Oct. 1, 1892, at 90 degrees, he said. He was predicting that temperatures wouldn’t surpass the record this weekend.
Grimes said it will be in the 70s in the mountains, where prime “leaf peeping” will last for another week. It’s great weather for a fall picnic, she said.
“The trees are really popping. It’s my favorite time of the year,” said Grimes, who lives in Breckenridge. “It’s a shame it’s such a short season. It only lasts about two weeks.”
She said some of the larger aspen groves are in Aspen, Telluride and Snowmass Village. People across the West are road-tripping to Colorado to see golden mountain scapes, she said.
She said Boreas Pass between Park and Summit counties is “like an aspen tunnel.”
The Colorado Tourism website offers many recommendations for autumn sightseeing road trips, including:
• U.S. 160 between Pagosa Springs and Cortez in southwest Colorado.
• Colorado 125 over Willow Creek Pass between Granby and Walden in the northwest.
• Gold Camp Road from Colorado Springs to Victor in south central Colorado.
• Fall River Road from Interstate 70 to St. Mary’s Glacier on the Front Range.
The website also recommends rail trips including the Pikes Peak Cog Railway and the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
