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Crested Butte, Colorado fall foliage
In a typical year, fall color in the Crested Butte area peaks around September 28, with the best viewing from roughly September 27 to October 5.
- Typical peak
- September 28
- Best viewing
- Sep 27 – Oct 5
- Color starts
- Around Sep 16
- Leaves mostly down
- Around Oct 11
- Elevation
- 8,885 ft
2026 foliage season
Typical season
Peak around September 28. Turn on JavaScript to see today’s estimated status and the five-week outlook.
The season at a glance
Bar height shows how good the viewing typically is on each day, from September 1 through November 30. Colors show the stage, from green through peak red to bare.
Open Crested Butte on the foliage mapWhere to see the color around Crested Butte
Crested Butte sits at about 8,900 feet in a high valley in the Elk Mountains, with Mount Crested Butte rising just north of town. The hillsides around the valley are covered in aspen, and the best-known groves are west of town toward Kebler Pass, where an enormous stand of aspen covers the mountainsides. The views from the pass look out over the Ruby Range and the West Elk Mountains.
Scenic drive
Kebler Pass Road (Gunnison County Road 12) runs about 30 miles west from Crested Butte over Kebler Pass, at about 10,000 feet, to Highway 133 near Paonia. The road is mostly well-graded gravel and passes through what is often described as one of the largest aspen groves in North America. It is a seasonal road that closes for winter.
If you arrive too early or too late
Too early? Still mostly green
Look for higher ground
None of the destinations we track within 150 miles of Crested Butte typically peaks much earlier. Look for higher ground nearby: in this part of the country, color tends to arrive about 3 to 4 days earlier for every 1,000 feet you climb.
Too late? Already past peak
Head lower
Steamboat Springs, CO (112 miles away, lower down) typically peaks about 6 days later.
National park and forest guide
Nearby destinations
- Aspen, COTypical peak Oct 1, 3 days later. 24 miles away.
- Vail, COTypical peak Sep 30, 2 days later. 62 miles away.
- Breckenridge, COTypical peak Sep 25, 3 days earlier. 66 miles away.
- Kenosha Pass, COTypical peak Sep 24, 4 days earlier. 76 miles away.
- Telluride, COTypical peak Sep 30, about the same time. 78 miles away.
Trees you’ll see turning
Common questions
When is peak fall foliage in Crested Butte?
In a typical year, fall color in the Crested Butte area peaks around September 28, with the best viewing from roughly September 27 to October 5. Weather can shift the timing by about a week either way.
How long does peak color last in Crested Butte?
Near-peak color usually holds for about 9 days. Color starts to show around September 16, and most leaves are down by about October 11.
Is Crested Butte early or late compared with the rest of Colorado?
Crested Butte peaks close to the middle of the Colorado season, about Sep 29 on average across the 8 Colorado destinations we track.
What trees color up around Crested Butte?
The main fall color in this area comes from quaking aspen, narrowleaf cottonwood, and willow. See the leaf guide to identify them.
Estimates come from the Leaves.com model of typical years, based on latitude, elevation, and distance from large bodies of water. They are not live observations. How it works.