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Welcome to TK's Web Quest, now fully independent! // Check out some photos of the fall colors from Guanella Pass in the blog! // Now built with 11ty! // Try our new Midnight flavor! // The Worst Webring: Additional slots now open! //
Welcome to TK's Web Quest, now fully independent! // Check out some photos of the fall colors from Guanella Pass in the blog! // Now built with 11ty! // Try our new Midnight flavor! // The Worst Webring: Additional slots now open! //
blog/2026-09-25-the-fall-colors-come-to-colorado.md

blog entry

The Fall Colors Come to Colorado

A collection of photos from a drive up Guanella Pass

2 min read

The Guanella Scenic Byway snakes through the mountains between the towns of Grant and Georgetown, winding through the valley between several mountain peaks in the Rockies. Emily and I got up before the sun did to make sure we could get to the Georgetown side ahead of the crowds last weekend. The road isn't too long. If you drove straight up to the pass summit, it would only take about 45 minutes. We stopped about halfway up at the Guanella Pass Campground to stretch our legs and get the camera ready.

A photograph taken just before the sun made it over the mountains. In the foreground, a picnic table is covered in a thin film of water, reflecting the background. The trees of Guanella Pass are visible both in the reflection and above the table in the frame. Aspen and pine trees in contrasting shades of green and gold litter the mountainside. In the far background, a woman stands off to the side facing away from the camera. She's wearing a denim jacket and black leggings.

A photo of Guanella Campground. The dirt road stretches forward from the bottom of the frame, dusted with fallen yellow aspen leaves. The road forks in the middle of the frame, making a loop around a stand of trees. A one way sign points off to the right from the fork. Flanking the road are dark evergreen trees, but the stand of trees in the center are aspens, in their bright fall yellow colors. Above the trees, the sky is a pale blue, with a few loose clouds left over from the rainstorm that had blown through that morning.

As we were getting ready to leave the campground and continue our journey up the pass, the sun just started to peek over Sugarloaf Peak to our left, spraying the side of Otter Mountain with sunlight.

A photo of Otter Mountain from the entrance to Guanella Campground. Dark evergreen trees line the left and right edges of the frame in the close foreground. In the mid-foreground, a band of yellow aspen trees lightly obscures the band of evergreens behind them. Cutting through the middle of the frame is the edge of the shadow cast by the mountain across the valley. The sun highlights another group of aspen trees further up the mountain. Above those, more pine trees straddle the rocky side of the mountain. In the top-center and top-left edges of the frame, the blue sky is bisected by a cloud.

We continued our drive up the pass for about ten more minutes before stopping again. This time on the switchbacks that make the final ascent up to the pass summit. From this vantage, we could just barely see Clear Lake, five miles away, nestled between the mountains.

A photo from further up Guanella pass, looking down into the valley. Otter Peak is on the left side of the frame, with groves of aspens interspersed among the pines, their bright yellow leaves shining brightly in the morning sun. Two skinny pine trees highlight the center of the frame, much closer to the camera than the mountain in the background. Two more pines line the left and right edges of the frame, even closer to the camera. Off in the distance, in the right half of the frame, Clear Lake can be seen poking out between the mountain slopes.

After reaching the summit and looking around, we took our time coming back down the way we came, stopping a few times to take more pictures. The road was starting to get crowded by this point, but I was still able to get a nice picture of the trees and the road winding through them.

A photograph of the road leading up to Guanella Pass. The road curls to the right before snaking back to the left out of sight up the valley. The pines and aspens line the road, making the outdoor space feel cozy and autumnal. The sky above is grey and overcast. Another storm is rolling in.

We explored off the road a little ways as well, taking our time to enjoy South Clear Creek as it babbles its way down the valley.

Clear creek is in the center of the frame. Truly a creek at this elevation, water tumbles over the stones in the creekbed. Trees crowd close around the water source, aspen and pine alike. Lower bushes also flank the banks of the river. A sunbeam pierces the canopy, highlighting a splash of yellow leaves on the right side of the frame. The creek and foliage is somewhat occluded by a bare tree in the foreground.

In the end, it was a very enjoyable trip. I'm glad I got up early enough to beat the crowds. By the time we left around noon, it was getting crowded. If we go back next year, I'm definitely keeping my alarm set for 5:45 again.

A photo of an oxeye daisy in closeup, with dead leaves on the ground in the unfocused background. Bare tree branches above cast thin shadows across the daisy's petals.

About the author

TK

Writer, woodturner, photographer, podcaster, and game designer making cool things on the internet.

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