Looking for a fall getaway? Colorado is beautiful during the fall season with its scenic fall foliage drives featuring the state’s signature Aspen trees, cool weather, and plenty of fun activities. Peak season is mid-September to mid-October but can also vary from year to year.
SEE ALSO: Colorado Travel Guide: 5 Days 6 Cities
Colorado is home to many beautiful hiking paths like the Chautauqua Trailhead in Boulder pictured above to be sure to add those to your schedule. Check out the top fall activities in Colorado below!
BOULDER
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BOULDER’S RESTAURANT WEEK
Dine at more than 40 of Boulder’s top restaurants at Boulder’s Restaurant Week that offers a special three course $29 prix fixe dinner menu to the community.
WHEN: November 13 – 21, 2016
WHERE: Boulder, CO
MORE INFO: firstbiteboulder.com
BOULDER FARMERS MARKET
Boulder Farmers Market is rated the #1 farmers market in the country by readers of USA Today. Come sample, shop, meet local farmers, smell the flowers, hear live music, sit by the creek and eat great food. During my trip to Boulder this summer, I had so much fun sampling the local artisan goods!
WHEN: Saturdays through November 19, 2016, and Wednesdays through October 5, 2016
WHERE: Boulder Farmers Market, 13th St, Boulder, CO 80302
MORE INFO: bcfm.org
SEE MORE FALL ACTIVITIES IN BOULDER: bouldercoloradousa.com/things-to-do/fall-activities-in-boulder/
LONGMONT
OKTOBERFEST
Celebrate Longmont’s favorite fall gathering with Left Hand Brewing Company, featuring ten live bands with headliner The Wailers, bringing their Funk/Soul/Dance/Pop sound. Nine local breweries will be on tap including Left Hand, Oskar Blues, Pumphouse Brewery, 300 Suns, Grossen Bart, Longs Peak Tap House, Shoes and Brews, Skeye Brewing, and Wibby Brewing. Longmont Oktoberfest will serve up fresh fare, live music, and German themed fun and festivities for all ages. The $5 suggested donation will benefit Habitat for Humanity’s House That Beer Built and the Left Hand Brewing Foundation!
WHEN: September 23rd, 4-10pm, and September 24th, 12–10pm
WHERE: Roosevelt Park, Longmont CO
ESTES PARK
FALL BACK BEER FEST
Over 100 different beers will be poured by the Colorado brewers themselves from over 30 Colorado breweries. Held each year on the day we turn the clocks back, Fall Back Beer Fest is not only a celebration of beer, but also the people who make it. Held in the new Estes Park Events Complex! Returning for its third year, FBBF not only has exciting new additions, but this year we “fall back” on Halloween.
WHEN: November 5, 2016
WHERE: Estes Park Events Complex, 1125 Rooftop Way, Estes Park, CO 80517
MORE INFO: visitestespark.com/events-calendar/special-events/fall-back-beer-festival/
SUNSET TOUR WITH ROCKY MOUNTAIN CONSERVANCY
When I visited Colorado this past summer, one of my favorite experiences was the sunset tour of the Rocky Mountains. You get to see the changing light, active wildlife, and calmness of dusk in elevation from 7,522 feet in Estes Park to more than 12,090 feet along the Tundra Communities Trail at Rock Cut.
WHERE: 1895 Fall River Road, Rocky Mountain Conservancy, CO
MORE INFO: visitestespark.com
FIND ALL GREAT AUTUMN EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES: VisitEstesPark.com/autumn
GREELEY
OKTOBREWFEST
Great beer, brats, games, and a free concert at Greeley’s OktoBREWfest 2016 at historic Lincoln Park in Downtown Greeley at 8th Street & 9th Avenue. Enjoy a whole day of music, a wide variety of regular and specialty brews, food from more than a dozen vendors, a crafts area, and a huge children’s area with face painting, obstacle course, arcade games, inflatable slide, WOW Bubbles and more!
You can also compete in pie eating contests, stein lifting contests, life-size beer pong and more.
WHEN: September 23 – 24
WHERE: Lincoln Park in Downtown Greeley at 8th Street & 9th Avenue
MORE INFO: greeleydowntown.com/signature-events/oktobrewfest/
SEE MORE FALL ACTIVITIES IN GREELEY: business.greeleychamber.com/events/calendar/
FORT COLLINS
FORTOBERFEST
Celebrate Fort Collins’ last outdoor music festival of 2016 in Old Town Square! FORToberfest is a Fort Collins-style Fall festival, featuring 10+ hours of live music on the Old Town Square Stage and specialty tastings of local, seasonal craft beers. Best of all, the festival is FREE, with no admission charge to enjoy a full day of live music and community celebration Downtown!
WHEN: 11am – 10pm, September 17, 2016
WHERE: Old Town Square, Fort Collins, CO 80524
MORE INFO: visitftcollins.com/fortoberfest
LOVELAND
COWBOY UP
If you’re visiting Colorado, you have to go horseback riding and the best spot for an authentic Colorado Cowboy experience is Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch. Backed by a picturesque view of the Rocky Mountains, explore the hills on horseback, cast a line in the Big Thompson River, or discover the Colorado beauty on a variety of hiking trails. We went horseback riding at Sylvan Guest Ranch during our Colorado trip and the views were breathtaking.
WHERE: Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch, 2939 N County Rd 31D
MORE INFO: visitlovelandco.org/discover-loveland/794/sylvan-dale-guest-ranch/
FIND THE KEYHOLE
Devil’s Backbone has been named ‘Heaven on Earth’ by Colorado Life Magazine for it’s red-tailed hawks soaring above, grasslands carpeted with wildflowers, and towering rock formations. The 2,198-acre Devil’s Backbone Open Space has 12 miles that’s available for hiking, running, horseback riding, mountain biking, wildlife viewing, observing nature, as well as enjoying close-up inspection of the rock outcrop and long vistas.
Water is available at the trailhead so be sure to bring enough bottled water for your visit.
WHEN: Open dawn to dusk with no entrance fee
WHERE: Plaster Mill Rd, Loveland, CO 80538
MORE INFO: visitlovelandco.org/discover-loveland/1099/devils-backbone-open-space/
This post is sponsored by Colorado Front Range, as always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make A Taste of Koko possible!
