When local folks say they haven’t seen such gorgeous autumn colors in 30 years, you know you picked a good day to take an autumn road trip into the mountains! Come along on this glorious trip to see Nature’s annual end-of-summer spectacle.
I was told about it so planned a visit during my trip to Great Sand Dunes National Park area: Zapata Falls. An easy half-mile walk to a waterfalls! Have been missing waterfalls this year with travel limited, but here we are. Ready for this adventure? Hmmm . . . this is easy?
It’s that time of year again! Welcome to the glorious aspen and ground cover colors at Cottonwood Lake. It is a small lake three miles off State Highway 306, best known as home to Cottonwood Pass. We will visit there soon for amazing beauty at 12,126 ft elevation. Now, we are about 9,600 ft high along the shore of Cottonwood Lake!
About two miles west and 500 feet down from Independence Pass on CO Highway 82 is the Independence Lake/Lost Man Trailhead. It is also the trailhead for the shorter hike to Linkins Lake. My original plan was to consider doing this hike only after seeing a few other sights. However, there were only 6 cars in the parking area designed for over 20 which is usually full by now (8:40am), so let’s go for it!
