DENVER – When will the leaves in Colorado’s high country start changing to those beautiful oranges, reds and vibrant yellows?
That’s one of the top questions Denver7 chief meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo is asked this time of year and it looks like 2025’s fall foliage outlook will play out a little differently than last year.
“When and where do I go to see the best colors when it comes to our leaves changing? There's a lot of factors each and every year with the two main factors being the daylight and the temperatures,” said Hidalgo.
The fall colors this year might be impacted more so by Colorado’s ongoing drought conditions. That could mean you might want to plan on leaf peeping a little earlier than in 2024.
“The drought can play a huge role. When we get some of these really dry years, we'll typically see an earlier peak,” added Hidalgo. “Things will start to change a little bit earlier, and the colors will, unfortunately, also be a little less vibrant. Drought conditions so far this year have not been great.”
While the outlook seems to indicate a slightly earlier start to the fall colors in Colorado, the recent rains could push that back.
“As we got into this last week of August, Colorado picked up some really good rain and we tapped back into some of that monsoon moisture that had been pretty late in the season for us,” said Hidalgo. “That might help to bring those peak dates back to what we would typically see.”
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Before we get to how the colors are shaping up this year, here’s a quick look at the average peak color dates by explorefall.com.
Colorado’s highest elevations typically lead the way with colors changing in late September to early October with the Foothills turning in early October before the lower elevations put on their colorful show in the latter part of the month.
“As you get above about 11,000 feet – that will be where late September into early October – we start to see it,” said Hidalgo. “And then as those elevations go down, that's when we get back more so into mid-to-late October, especially here along the Front Range and Eastern Plains.”
COLORADO FALL COLORS FORECAST | AS OF TUESDAY, AUGUST 26
Explorefall.com’s forecast tool shows broad areas of low color spreading across Colorado’s Northern, Central and Southern mountains through the second week of September with moderate colors beginning to show in areas south of Aspen starting the second weekend of September.
As of now, Explorefall.com’s forecast indicates more moderate and areas of high-to-peak colors showing across Colorado’s Central Mountains including Grand Mesa and Gunnison National Forest.
Closer to the Denver metro area, low-to-moderate colors are possible in Rocky Mountain National Park and the Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forests. By the last full week of September, Explore.com’s forecast indicates the yellows and golds should be vibrant across a large chunk of the high country with few areas of colors past their peak.
While many weather variables could change the forecast, it doesn’t look like fall colors will begin to show in Denver until the first week of October, lasting through at least the last full weekend of the month.
It’s important to remember this is just the early forecast and Denver7 will update the fall foliage forecast in Colorado through September, so check back with us in a week or so.
“We'll have to see what the most recent rain has done to change some of these dates, but at this point, looks to be a little bit earlier than what we would normally,” said Hidalgo.
If you're looking for ideas on where to spend a weekend in Colorado checking out the fall colors, you can join Denver7's 'Discover Colorado Through Your Photos' Facebook group to see hundreds of photos from previous years.
You can also check out this Facebook group for the latest report of where the colors are changing in Colorado.
- To get you excited about what's the come, you can check out this video below of 15 minutes of beautiful fall colors in the Centennial State.
