While gold nuggets brought prospectors and settlers to Colorado in the mid 1800s, gold leaves are what bring back many visitors each year. Peaking in late September, the annual aspen display, set against a background of evergreens, snow-capped peaks and a deep blue sky, provides a spectacular setting for hikers and photographers alike. Recommended viewing areas near Denver include Berthoud Pass (U.S. 40), Kenosha Pass (U.S. 285) and Squaw Pass (via Colorado 103, south of Idaho Springs).
Quaking aspen are the most widely distributed of native, North American trees, found across the upper latitudes of the Continent and southward along the Appalachian, Rocky Mountain and Sierra Nevada Ranges. Not tolerant of excessive heat or drought, aspen are limited to higher altitudes in the West, where they grow along drainages at elevations of 8500 to 10,500 feet. They spread by seed and by suckering; the latter produces colonies of aspen with their own unique color, ranging from pale yellow to bright orange during the autumn display.
Aspen are successional trees which develop in areas where the coni-ferous forest has been opened up by wildfire, avalanches, storms or human activity. Though they may reach 60 feet in height, these deciduous trees are eventually shaded by a new growth of spruce and pine, causing them to die back and wait until the forest opens once again.
