Autumn Beauty Along Cottonwood Pass

On the second day of our stay at the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort—click here to read about the resort—we decided to drive to the nearby Cottonwood Pass. 

Cottonwood Pass is a 56.8-mile stretch of paved, winding mountain road connecting Buena Vista and Almont, Colorado. It summits at the continental divide (at 12,126 ft elevation) and features some of Colorado’s best hiking trails, campsites, and mountain vistas
It's a stunning mountain pass known for its colorful fall aspen groves, and we hoped to still be able to catch some autumn color during our drive.

Cottonwood Pass is in the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains. The road over Cottonwood Pass is the highest paved crossing of the Continental Divide in the U.S. The area surrounding the pass is mostly forest, with the San Isabel National Forest to the east and the Gunnison National Forest to the west.

It was the second time we drove over Cottonwood Pass--click here-- to see that late summer drive where we followed the pass all the way to its end in Almont

We were thrilled to see that the autumn colors were still vibrant! Bright patches of orange and rust foliage mingled beautifully with the golden aspens.

 Clouds were building up and a few raindrops fell at times and we drove along the winding road.

More bright colors!

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We passed some very tall aspens and many cottonwood trees.

As we drove higher there were more pine trees and scrub brush.

Eventually, we were above the tree line

We parked for a while at the summit and seeing heavy clouds and sleety snow that began to fall, we decided not to drive further but to return to Nathrop.

We did take the obligatory photo of the summit sign!

Driving back down...

...passing the autumn scenery from the other direction

Passing a lake area as we approached Buena Visita.

A last look back at the mountain peak we just drove down from.

Looking at the mountain range in the distance we knew we made the right decision to turn back, as heavy clouds were in that area and it was probably raining or snowing at the higher elevation. Because of high snowfall, Cottonwood Pass closes for the winter, usually in November, and reopens in May

Later that evening we drove to the charming town of Salida for dinner--on my next post

Please join me again on my blog next week!

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