Shortly after we moved into our house 10 years ago, our neighbors Lisa and Mike had just returned from mountain biking Kenosha Pass a.k.a. what they deemed “the most beautiful place in Colorado to see fall colors.”
It has taken us a decade but on Sunday, we finally made it!
Kenosha Pass wasn’t an easy victory. Church had just ended at noon, Jamie wanted to watch the Broncos vs. Seahawks showdown at 2:30 p.m., the kids begged to chill out for a couple of hours and the sky was threatening.
I knew Jamie wanted to go least of all but to his credit, he knew how much it meant to me so he rounded up the troops for the hour-long drive on U.S. Route 285.
When we got out of the car, Bode was emotionless, Jamie was counting down the minutes to the game and Hadley whined she was cold. “Let’s just stay for a little bit and then leave,” she suggested to Jamie.
Until we really arrived at Kenosha Pass. (I just wish my iPhone pictures did it justice).
Located atop a large granite batholith that forms the spine of the Front Range along the eastern side of South Park, Kenosha Pass is a part of the Colorado Trail. Colorado’s premier long-distance trail extends 500+ miles from Denver to Durango (read my adventures where the trail starts in Waterton Canyon) and this particular portion of the route is a cut of autumn heaven with swaths of endless aspen groves that look like golden pipe cleaners and staggering views of the Rocky Mountains and South Park valley.
Within moments, the kids were racing, climbing, exploring and laughing. I was initially disappointed by the brooding sky but Jamie observed, “If anything, the contrast illuminates the color of the trees and they look neon.”
He would know. He wore a jacket that made him an instant winner in our Camouflage game.
Accidental shot of a butt scratch
This South Park valley shot atop the boulder was much better
In typical Hadley fashion, she was ignited the moment she started exploring, begging us to go to the summit.
Jamie: “Do you realize that whenever you don’t want to do something and we make you do it anyway that you end up loving it?”
Hadley (sheepishly): “Yes.”
We still didn’t let her climb to the top.
This was one of my favorite photos I took as we were wandering back to the car. This shot of Kenosha Pass should be an album cover.
The title would be “they whined about going and we couldn’t drag them away.”
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 