Directions:

From Hwy 285 in Bailey, CO, head south out of town on Wellington Lake Road.  Follow Wellington Lake Road for 8 miles to the Rolling Creek Trailhead. There is a small parking lot, right off of Wellington Lake Road but high clearance vehicles can drive another ¼ mile up to the actual trailhead. Wellington Lake Road is a good dirt road and most vehicles should have no problems in good conditions; SUV recommended. 

Hike Description:

The hunt for fall colors and aspen groves is a yearly ritual for many Colorado hikers. The trick is to find the trails that have good fall colors but are not well known enough to carry all the congestion and traffic that ruins so many great hikes...Kenosha Pass, I’m looking at you… Luckily, there are so many terrific fall colors hikes in Colorado that this is not an impossible task. For a good alternative to Kenosha Pass, drive down from Bailey towards Wellington Lake and jump onto the Colorado Trail, you’ll have to work for the fall color spectacle, but that’s why we hike.

The Rolling Creek Trailhead is a good starting point for this segment of the Colorado Trail. You’ll start out in pine forest with sporadic aspen trees dotting the landscape, the first mile or so of the hike climbs gently along the forested hills. There are plenty of aspens to keep you interested although the large groves are still to come. After a mile, you’ll pop out into a clearing in an area that has been recently logged by the US Forest Service, the logging provides some nice views of the surrounding area.  

After the cleared area, you’ll re-enter the forest and continue the steady climb up the hillside for half a mile to the boundary of the Lost Creek Wilderness Area. Continue hiking on the Colorado Trail and pass through some small but scenic aspen groves and rocky outcrops with great views to the west. These views show the massive aspen groves that you are about to enter. 

You reach the first large grove about 0.7 of a mile after entering the Wilderness Area. These are the types of aspen groves that you really look for in the fall, the grove lasts for about a half mile so you get lots of submersion in gold, yellow, and a bit of orange as well. Beautiful and magical, this is why fall is my favorite season in Colorado. When you leave the grove, you can either continue to hike along the Colorado Trail to an even larger grove about a mile away, or you can turn around and hike back through the grove and return to the trailhead, depending on your time and energy level.  Hiking to the end of the first large grove and back racks up about 6 miles of hiking. 

These fall colors hikes are a bit of a trade-off, you sacrifice the immediate fall colors that you get along the Colorado Trail at Kenosha Pass, but you get a hike where you’ll have the trail and the groves all to yourself, that’s a win in my book. Enjoy the fall Colorado!