Where is the best fall color at Lost Creek Wilderness right now?

On Nov 12 the wilderness is leaves down. The last band to peak was 8,000 to 9,000 feet, around Oct 4.

How long does peak last at Lost Creek Wilderness?

About four days at the top, Oct 5 to 8, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the wilderness's elevations the color moves over about 11 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 15 days.

Is Lost Creek Wilderness past peak?

Yes. Peak was around Oct 6, and on Nov 12 it's leaves down.

What trees turn color at Lost Creek Wilderness?

Quaking aspen is 67 percent of the trees that turn here, then narrowleaf cottonwood (15 percent), willow (10), water birch (5) and thinleaf alder (4). All of them turn yellow or gold.

Back to the map

Wilderness Area·Colorado·115,203 acres

Lost Creek Wilderness

Forecast issued Nov 12, 5:26pm ET

Peak colorOct 6Aim for Oct 5 to 8

In the wilderness today, Nov 12Leaves down

Higher ground turns first, so the slopes above the road lead the valley by a few days.

No new reports from the ground here this week.

Still greenStartingNearly peakPeakPast peakNo fall canopy we forecastInside the line, each band of elevation is painted on its own date.

Around Lost Creek Wilderness Park County holds most of the wilderness and is leaves down today. Jefferson County, to the northeast, is 20 days behind.

When is peak fall foliage at Lost Creek Wilderness in 2026?

Our forecast puts peak color at Lost Creek Wilderness around Oct 6, and the four days to aim for are Oct 5 to 8.

The wilderness runs from about 8,338 to 11,627 feet, and the color comes downhill over about 11 days: the high stands around Sep 23, the low ground around Oct 4. That's 7 days later than our model alone would say, because this season's reports from the ground moved it.

Lost Creek Wilderness, fall color week by week, 2026
Week	In the wilderness	Elevation at peak
Sep 7 to Sep 13	Still green
Sep 14 to Sep 20	Starting to turn
Sep 21 to Sep 27	Starting to turn	10,000 to 11,000 ft, 11,000 to 12,000 ft
Sep 28 to Oct 4	Nearly peak	8,000 to 9,000 ft, 9,000 to 10,000 ft
Oct 5 to Oct 11	Peak color
Oct 12 to Oct 18	Just past peak

By elevation The wilderness runs from about 8,338 to 11,627 feet. That’s 11 days of season between the top and the bottom: the high stands peak around Sep 23, the low ground holds until about Oct 4, and the color comes downhill in between. The date at the top of this page is the 8,000 to 9,000 foot band.

11,000–12,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 2320%
10,000–11,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 2228%
9,000–10,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 2829%
8,000–9,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 423%

Height off 3DEP inside the wilderness’s own boundary; each band carries the date our model gives that elevation, corrections and all. The percentage is how much of the wilderness stands in it.

That’s 7 days later than our model alone would say. This season’s reports from the ground moved it, and they outrank us.

Plan this trip

If you can only come on certain days

Set the days you can be here. Everything under them answers for those days, not for peak.

ArrivingLeaving

Thursday, November 12 to Friday, November 13

You’ll find it with the leaves down.

Peak color was 38 days before you arrive, around Oct 6.

11,000–12,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 23
10,000–11,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 22
9,000–10,000 ftLeaves downpeak Sep 28
8,000–9,000 ftLeaves downpeak Oct 4

What turns: quaking aspen, narrowleaf cottonwood, willow, water birch, thinleaf alder

What turns, and when

quaking aspen67%
narrowleaf cottonwood15%
willow10%
water birch5%
thinleaf alder4%

Every one of these turns yellow or gold here. The shades only tell the species apart.

Also named across Colorado, outside what the canopy read measures here: Gambel Oak, Rocky Mountain Maple.

Colorado aspens are the main event, turning entire mountainsides gold and amber while Gambel oaks add russet and orange at lower elevations and cottonwoods line the rivers in yellow.

Questions people ask about Lost Creek Wilderness

When is peak fall foliage at Lost Creek Wilderness?: Our forecast puts peak color at Lost Creek Wilderness around Oct 6, and the four days to aim for are Oct 5 to 8.
Where is the best fall color at Lost Creek Wilderness right now?: On Nov 12 the wilderness is leaves down. The last band to peak was 8,000 to 9,000 feet, around Oct 4.
How long does peak last at Lost Creek Wilderness?: About four days at the top, Oct 5 to 8, with a week or so either side that's still worth the drive. Across the wilderness's elevations the color moves over about 11 days, so there's peak color somewhere in it for roughly 15 days.
Is Lost Creek Wilderness past peak?: Yes. Peak was around Oct 6, and on Nov 12 it's leaves down.
What trees turn color at Lost Creek Wilderness?: Quaking aspen is 67 percent of the trees that turn here, then narrowleaf cottonwood (15 percent), willow (10), water birch (5) and thinleaf alder (4). All of them turn yellow or gold. What turns, and when

This forecast is built from the species that stand here, their elevation and this September’s weather, and corrected in season by cameras, foresters and our own crew. Out here we score it against NASA's satellite record of when the canopy shuts down, read inside each unit’s own boundary: two dates in three land within 12 days of it. How this map is made

All of Colorado

Nearby, and when they turn

Pike-San Isabel and Camp Hale - Continental Divide and Buffalo Peaks Wilderness and Ptarmigan Peak Wilderness are on the map above, with their own date.

James Peak WildernessCO · about 40 miles
Peak Sep 18 best Sep 17 to 20
Rocky Flats National Wildlife RefugeCO · about 44 miles
Peak Oct 16 best Oct 15 to 18

Fall color roads near Lost Creek Wilderness

Nearest first. Distances are straight-line from the wilderness, so allow more by road.

Kenosha Pass (US 285) · about 16 miles, CO
The grove at the summit is the Front Range's classic aspen stop, and you can walk into it on the Colorado Trail.
Guanella Pass · about 24 miles, CO · 22 miles of road
Georgetown to Grant. The aspen on the Georgetown side are some of the closest big groves to Denver.
Boreas Pass Road · about 26 miles, CO · 22 miles of road
Breckenridge to Como on the old railroad grade, aspen the whole way. Gravel, fine for a car.
Peak to Peak Scenic Byway (CO 7, 72 and 119) · about 56 miles, CO · 55 miles of road
Estes Park to Black Hawk along the Front Range, aspen most of the way and thickest around Allenspark and Nederland.
Independence Pass (CO 82) · about 58 miles, CO · 32 miles of road
Aspen to Twin Lakes up the Roaring Fork. The pass closes for the winter around the first of November.
Cottonwood Pass (CO 306) · about 58 miles, CO · 40 miles of road
Buena Vista to Taylor Park, with the aspen on the east side of the pass.