Planning Colorado trip mid September [Archive] - Large Format Photography Forum

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DennisD

7-Aug-2012, 21:29

I'm planning a trip to Colorado in mid September. Will have about a week for exploring and have an open itinerary. I was considering going as far as Four Corners, but could go in any direction.

I'd appreciate suggestions of places (towns, sights, scenic routes, or specifics about the well known parks) that forum members have found particularly colorful and/or interesting for LF photography at that time of year.

Thanks in advance for any comments.

Dennis

biedron

7-Aug-2012, 23:17

The San Juan Mountains - not sure exactly when peak fall colors will be this year, but mid to late September should be pretty close. I was in the area in July; it was nice then, but I was thinking it'd really be great in the fall.

Bob

David Lobato

8-Aug-2012, 02:14

The Grotto on Independence Pass is supposed to be beautiful, a friend speaks highly of it. Among my experiences; the area around Crested Butte has many aspen groves for excellent fall color. My suggestion is to drive the scenic loop from Durango to Cortez to Rico to Telluride to Silverton. Mesa Verde National Park is near Cortez and is well worth a day's visit. Great Sand Dunes National Park is a great place for LF photography.

civich

8-Aug-2012, 04:19

+1 for Great Sand Dunes NP - a massive dune field bordered by the Sangre de Cristo mountains. There may be a few patches of aspen color mid september.

Mark Barendt

8-Aug-2012, 04:22

Monument valley UT is just to the west of the 4 corners and truly impressive.

Mesa Verde is great too for all the cliff dwellings and such.

Silverton and Ouray are classics for high rugged colorful mountain stuff.

Durango has the D&SNG coal fired steam railroad which can be fun and goes to Silverton through some great scenery as well as the train itself as subjects. The train ride is long, my standard advice is to go with someone you enjoy because you are going to have plenty of time to talk. ;) If you leave at 8-9 you'll be back by 4-5.

If you aren't into long train rides the drive from Durango to Silverton via Lime Creek road is no slouch and the drive from Silverton to Ouray will typically make a first timer's butt pucker big time.

al olson

8-Aug-2012, 07:48

Dennis, it really depends on what subject matter you are looking for. We have trees and we have mountains. There are also ghost towns, old mine and mill structures, Anasazi ruins, etc. Around here (Pagosa Springs) the Aspens are usually in their prime the last week of September and the first week of October. Creede is usually a week ahead of us and Creede also has some of the best old mine structures along their Mine Tour Loop.

I should mention that they just finished filming The Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp as Tonto and for a while this summer the Mine Tour Loop was closed to tourists.

Because of the unseasonably warm temperatures in June the alpine wildflowers that are usually in their prime by mid July were past bloom this year. I mention this because the Aspens may be similarly affected.

North of Durango, along US 550, is also a great area for fall color. Going north to Silverton, take the road along the Animas River up to Animas Forks. There are many old mine ruins up the side gulches. The Forks has number of houses still standing. The Frisco Mill is a little farther up the road. The timbers are still intact and it is possible to walk around inside the mill structure.

Or you can take the road from Animas Forks over Engineer Pass. Much of this is a one lane shelf road that is not for people with vertigo. The pay off is a splendid view at the top of the pass where you can look across the basin and see a ring of 14ers from the Collegiate Range. This definitely requires a high clearance four-wheel drive vehicle and skid plates are recommended. Jeeps can be rented in Silverton or Ouray.

Down the east side of the pass are a couple of ghost towns that at one time contained several hundred people, but now only a few buildings are standing (Actually, there is only one cabin left in Capitol City which at one time was considered to be a contender for the state capitol). You can reach Lake City which, although not a ghost town, contains some of the old western Victorian architecture. You can do the return trip from Lake City to Animas Forks via Cinnamon Pass. Top speed on these passes is about 5mph.

If you are looking for Anasazi ruins there is Mesa Verde (already mentioned), Chimney Rock, the ruins around Dolores, or you can cross the border into NM and tour Chaco Canyon. There is camping available, but the nearest motel is about an hour's drive. Likewise, south of Farmington there is Bisti with an interesting vista of hoodoos.

Let us know what your interests are and we can provide you with better information.

DennisD

8-Aug-2012, 10:28

Thank you to all of the above people - biedron, David, civich, Mark and Al for your suggestions.

My interests are varied - I especially like colorful landscape subjects, old towns & their buildings, mountain scenery, ruins, dunes etc. Your suggestions cover all these and more. I'm hoping to get some good fall color - aspens and such and also hope to drive a mountain pass or two. I'll do some additional research based on your input. Sounds as though the southwest quadrant of the state offers the variety I'd enjoy. Thanks again to all.

Dennis

eric black

8-Aug-2012, 10:32

You might be a touch early for the fall colors- but its been a really dry year so who knows? Stressed trees might just get ready for winter early- Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a pretty good location for just about everything on your list with the exception of dunes

John Kasaian

8-Aug-2012, 12:31

Flat tops, Estes Park, Buena Vista, Ouray--all good. Take a dip at Glenwood Springs while you're at it:)

Raymond Bleesz

9-Aug-2012, 06:48

Dennis--More than likely you will be using I-70 to travel West out of Denver--immediately, you will hit, Historic Georgetown, the Silver Queen of the West---small community, Victorian buildings, mining/railroad heritage, jeeping, then into the Vail valley for the scenics of the Gore Range, perhaps hitting the Flat Tops out of Dotesero or the Colo River Rd downvalley, & on to Aspen & the Maroon Bells, Independance Pass--then west to Grand Junction to hit Colorado National Monument (red rocks) in Fruita--that's more than a week for sure--then perhaps going south towards Telluride/Silverton/Durango. Or backtrack from Fruita & hit Steamboat (ranching scenics) & into Rocky Mt National Park (elk, scenics).

September is a good month--for climate change, colors, temps, some snow up high, rates are starting to drop--you just will not have enough time to do it all---so hit a spot & stay awhile--there's more to each of these locals than you can cover.

Raymond--
Edwards, Co--in the Vail Valley

DennisD

9-Aug-2012, 18:22

Eric, John and Raymond -thanks very much for your ideas. There's a lot to consider and, as Raymond suggests, I'll try to concentrate on specific areas. It's also more enjoyable that way.

Now to hit the "books" and maps - online of course !
My appreciation to all.

Donald Miller

9-Aug-2012, 21:40

Eagles Nest Wilderness north of Silverthorne, Independence Pass east of Aspen, Engineer Pass and Cinnamon Pass west of Lake City.

Eric Biggerstaff

10-Aug-2012, 07:59

You can almost throw a dart at a map and find a good spot in September.

The Aspen area has many wonderful spots including the Grottos, Independence Pass, the Maroon Bells, Castlecreek Canyon and McClure Pass. The town of Marble is also cool.

In the Montrose area, go to Black Canyon and then take Owl Creek Pass Road over to Ridgeway, from Ridgeway head to Last Dollar Road that takes you the back way to Telluride. Along the way you will pass the most famous, and photographed, stacked fence in Colorado. In Owl Creek, you can stop at Katies Meadow which is where John Wayne and Robert Duval shot it out in the famous gun fight scene in True Grit, it has great view of Chimney Rock.

In the South that time of year is great and the The Great Sand Dunes, the best light is very early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Be prepared for a tiring walk at altitude in deep sand but it is fun. Medano Creek should be low at that time so it will be easy to cross, but it is fun in it's own way and the kids and I love to play in it. Then travel down to Durango and photograph along the way.

I actually find Rocky Mountain National Park not all that interesting but Lumpy Ridge just outside of Estes Park is neat and there are some nice scenes in RMNP, just crowded!

There are a TON of places, the challenge will be taking the time to slow down and actually make some nice images. So, don't try and cram too much in.

David Lobato

10-Aug-2012, 10:22

I second the previous mention of Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction. It's a great place to go with a camera.

Kevin J. Kolosky

14-Aug-2012, 14:01

I was just at Sand Dunes 2 days ago. I would agree that it would be best to get there early in the morning. I didn't get there until about noon and the light was quite harsh. Nevertheless, the place is something to see for sure.

If you are looking for a lot of variety in your photography, take old Route 66 as far west as you care to drive and go slow through all of the small towns with your eyes wide open. If you look carefully you will find all kinds of neat stuff from yesteryear.

Kodachrome25

14-Aug-2012, 14:45

FYI, I live at 8,000 feet on the Western Slope, the leaves on both the aspens and scrub oak have started turning not less than three weeks early, by far the soonest I have ever seen it. Even locals who have been here 40+ years think we are right on the doorstep of a major climatic shift and judging by the nasty-a$$ dirt filled winds we have gotten in the past 5 years that seem to get worse by the year, I have to agree.....

Quite hazy today too, must be from all the wonderful fires we are having out West...

John Schneider

15-Aug-2012, 12:37

Monument valley UT is just to the west of the 4 corners and truly impressive.

As Monument Valley stretches more into Utah (the Navaho tribal park goes just over the border) it more properly becomes Valley of the Gods, and it worth a trip if you're going that way. If so, make a side trip up the shelf roar to Moki Dugway, which was built for mining trucks. It has made a list of the 10 most dangerous roads in America, which it isn't by any means (although it climbs steadily, it's wide and well-graded with gravel, although there is no guardrail of course). It's certainly not even as dangerous as the road up say Box Canyon above Ouray to Yankee Boy Basin (another must see).

DennisD

15-Aug-2012, 19:48

Thank you for all your replies.

It's truly helpful to have such a wealth of input, but now, plenty of tough decisions to make and more careful planning required.

Based on all the great suggestions I'd like to extend my trip - a month or two might work just fine !

Joseph Dickerson

19-Aug-2012, 10:42

Dennis,

Ann and I were in Gunnison for a couple of weeks last fall and the color on the Ohio Pass road was great. We were first there in mid September and found that we were too early. We headed down to Moab and came back to Gunnison in October, I can give you dates if you're interested. Got some great fall color shots the second time around.

Gunnison is close to Crested Butte and Slumgullion Pass, so there's some variety of subject matter as well.

JD

DennisD

19-Aug-2012, 15:55

Thanks, Joseph, for the information. I'm thinking I might be a little early for the best color, so if you can provide dates that were good for you that might be helpful. However, some have suggested that the fall color might arrive early due to the lack of rain - i'll have to keep checking !

Joseph Dickerson

19-Aug-2012, 17:54

Deennis,

I just checked the metadata on my digital images and the best ones were done the last week of September and the first week of October. I have a friend (George Lepp) who was teaching a fall color workshop for Canon and I was doing some scouting for him. He later told me that the color got even better after I left, but maybe he was just pulling my chain. :rolleyes:

But we discovered it can be good one place and awful just down the road a few miles. Two years ago I had great color in New Hampshire, nothing much in Vermont and the best color of the whole trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Judging by my one trip (so far) to Colorado it starts at higher altitudes and works its way down. But I've seen that theory down the crapper in the eastern Sierra so who knows.

I think is sort of a crap shoot to be honest. But the Colorado Rockies are so incredible it's just great to be there.

Have fun,

JD

Erik Larsen

19-Aug-2012, 18:19

Dennis, you might keep an eye on this forum for advice on fall colors and time.
http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/bbs.cgi?a=vf10

Regards
Erik

SergeiR

19-Aug-2012, 21:05

Well.. it looks like i will be there just week ahead of you (i am hitting Dune/Pagosa Springs/Durango/Silverton/Ouray/Moab on 31-6th), so we shall see.. I used to live in Durango for few years and travelled all around 4 corners and up, and quite honestly - never can truly predict when colours will come up. It depends on so many random variables, that it can go anywhere from early September to late October (yup). Altitude, location, rainfalls play huge role in it :) I just cant stand Texas heat any longer, got to get out. Rockies are great even without all the colouring.

Drew Wiley

20-Aug-2012, 10:22

The basic loop in the San Juans via Telluride, Silverton, Durango, down toward Mesa Verde
then back around toward Moab - or visa versa - will give you a sampling of a remarkable
range of things: fabulous aspen, peaks and waterfalls, Indian ruins, mining ruins, and red rock formations etc. As already noted, the timing of fall color is variable from year to year,
with this one being on the dry side. Some parts of the route are rather touristy, and some
rather quiet except for the incidental cattle drives, if you want a bit of old Western flavor.
But I've never been in that part of the world in Sept or Oct when I'd call it actually crowded.

Kodachrome25

20-Aug-2012, 16:16

Dennis, I am really hoping that by the time you come out, the fires out in Cali, Utah, Nevada and Idaho will be less invasive in terms of smoke. It has been as bad as I have ever seen it in my lifetime, I don't even want to hike it has been so bad just to breathe it in...

Here's to hoping!

Bill_4606

22-Aug-2012, 18:11

If you're going to be around the four corners area and want to visit Anasazi ruins off the beaten path check out Hovenweep National Monument. I was there several years ago and the only living things around we're coyotes and me. Lots of photography opportunities. Easy access in good weather. It's on my bucket list to return to with my 4x5. There's good information via your favorite search tool.
Also, directly North, you can stop at Canyonlands and Arches on your way to I70 then a quick stop to drive the loop in Colorado National Monument will pack a lot of experience into a short time.
But above all... Have fun!
Bill

Drew Wiley

23-Aug-2012, 15:09

Black Canyon of the Gunnison is near that loop too.

Leszek Vogt

26-Aug-2012, 21:15

If you're nearby Flagstaff there is bunch of aspens on the north end of town. As to Anasazi ruins, there are couple good ones near Kyenta...one called Betatakin and Keet Seal....not sure of spelling. The second one is not so easy to reach, it's 9 miles of a hike...so if you're considering such you may just stay there over night. But, as it already been mentioned, the whole area is incredibly beautiful and I could easily spend 6 months nearby and not get tired of it. Utah has 6 spectacular natl pks in this area....need I say more ? Word of caution if you are going into Canyonlands....the road make up, at least when I was there, was this mud or should I say funky butter....and you mix this with rain...and it's easy to change zip codes. Enjoy your trip.

Les

DennisD

26-Aug-2012, 22:12

Thank you to everyone responding to this thread. The response is quite overwhelming !

I check in regularly and want to express my appreciation to all for your thoughtful suggestions.

Dennis

SergeiR

8-Sep-2012, 11:10

last Saturday, past Engineer Pass (so i would say about 8k height)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8451/7956771166_607e875dee_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sergeistudio/7956771166/)
Autumn creek (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sergeistudio/7956771166/) by Sergei Rodionov (http://www.flickr.com/people/sergeistudio/), on Flickr

Sunny slopes were all in colour.. Shady ones - still kept green.

Fair warning - its getting kinda nippy at night times already :) If you feel like camping.. Also that area had notices about recent bear attacks. Which i personally don't believe (i met them nose to nose many times and never been attacked - they always were more of curious/afraid type), but .. something to think about if you feel otherwise.

al olson

8-Sep-2012, 15:57

DennisD

8-Sep-2012, 16:25

SergeiR

9-Sep-2012, 07:00

Nice photo of Engineer Pass (or thereabout), Sergei. Was that on the east side? I find the colors more interesting compared to Cinnamon Pass which always seems barren to me. Did you do Cinnamon and American Basin as well?

We have reports from some of our locals, who have been up to Lake City and Creede area, that the Aspens and Cottonwoods are already changing color.

We are expecting that the trees will be turning around here, Pagosa Springs, by next weekend since that area is always about a week ahead of ours. We are already seeing some Cottonwood change. That puts this year's leaf change about 10 days ahead of the usual schedule.

yup, Pagosa was still pretty green, when i was passing, which is odd, seeing that its on sunny side and fairly high - even going over Wolf Creek pass was seriously green.

I didnt do Cinnamon this year (i generally dont like it all that much, and it was turning into twilight by time i got to Lake City, so i just shrugged and drove towards Moab), and skept Ophir as well (which is fairly barren on both sides, till you really go down).

Wish i could go to Keystone in about 2 weeks, it should be blazing with colours, but alas - it takes a bit too long to get there, plus there is only so much i can safely do with Forester Subaru, and me Xterra is in no shape to do anything right now.

Kodachrome25

18-Sep-2012, 08:53

After a weeklong assignment in DC, my wife and I headed out to Ouray, Silverton and then Telluride over the weekend, it looked great, lots of great color over Ophir pass. But yesterday was the best at home, snow atop the peaks, infrared in my new 6x12 back. Then I woke up this morning to head out and low and behold, the crap is back....smoke filled skies once again ruin our Colorado air.

This has been far and away the very worst air quality I have seen in this state in 20 years, easily on par with Riverside County, Ca....:-(