Five great spots to view Colorado’s golden aspens

Aspen leaves show the first hint of yellow while Chris Cheek rides his mountain bike near Nederland on Friday. Photo by Marty Caivano.

Aspen leaves show the first hint of yellow while Chris Cheek rides his mountain bike near Nederland on Friday. Photo by Marty Caivano.

There’s still a couple more days until the official first day of fall. But the aspens in Colorado aren’t waiting.

Some of the trees clustered along the Peak to Peak Highway have already changed a brilliant gold. Others remain a verdant green — but that won’t last for long.

Foresters are guessing that peak-leaf viewing may fall next weekend or the first few days of October.

From the Daily Camera:

On Tuesday — after this sunny, warm weekend has given way to a cold front predicted to sweep into Boulder County on Sunday night — the sun will shine directly on the Equator, and fall will officially begin.

And on the heels of autumn’s wintry entrance (the National Weather Service is forecasting a chance of snow in the high country both Sunday and Monday nights) comes the golden glow of Colorado’s changing aspen leaves.

“I usually tell people the third week in September will be the peak,” said Bob Sturtevant, a forestry specialist with the Colorado State University Extension Service. “And it seems to be right on schedule.”

Read the full story at DailyCamera.com, or check out five great places to view the changing leaves after the jump. Read more