Fall Festivals in Colorado
At the first hint of changing aspen leaves and scarf-worthy temperatures, Coloradans begin celebrating fall. Plan a weekend getaway around these festivals to usher in Colorado fall in grand style. For more, check out our Colorado events calendar and consider a fall-color drive along scenic byways.
At the first hint of changing aspen leaves and scarf-worthy temperatures, Coloradans begin celebrating fall. Plan a weekend getaway around these festivals to usher in Colorado fall in grand style. For more, check out our Colorado events calendar and consider a fall-color drive along scenic byways.
Downtown Boulder's Fall Fest: Sept. TBA, 2023
Boulder's autumn fest lines up music performances, a beer garden, local food vendors, a children's carnival and more along the city's beloved and bustling Pearl Street Mall.
Chile & Frijoles Festival: Sept. 22–24, 2023
This event is your best chance to taste the pride of Pueblo — a special, intensely flavorful variety of green chile. Served smoking on a stick, chopped and tucked into a quesadilla or sprinkled in salsa, it’s the star of this show. Cooking competitions, live music, dancing, arts and crafts, and a farmers’ market round out the festivities.
Poudre Pour: Oct. TBA, 2023
This annual Windsor event combines stewardship and environmental education with a heaping side of fun. Along with presentations about the heritage of the Cache la Poudre River and the importance of the water it provides, expect delicious craft-beer and beverage tastings, gourmet appetizers, historical costumes, live music and plenty of entertainment for the kiddos.
Oktoberfest Denver: Sept. TBA, 2023
Oktoberfests around the world are largely about beer, but downtown Denver’s autumn celebration turns out fun for the whole family with food booths, polka dancing, singalongs and live music along with wacky contests like beer keg bowling and competitive stein hoisting.
Miners Pumpkin Patch: Oct. TBA, 2023
Head to Colorado Springs for a bevy of autumnal entertainment, from hayrides and gold panning to press-your-own cider opportunities and blacksmith demonstrations — all while supporting the Western Museum of Mining & Industry. Expect delights like pumpkin picking, face painting, food-truck dining and more.
Mountain Harvest Festival: Sept. TBA, 2023
Colorado’s Western Slope town of Paonia covers all the festival bases at their annual celebration of harvest with live concerts, farmers’ markets, beer and wine tasting, a chili cook-off, arts and crafts, and farm tours. The bounty from locally owned orchards, ranches and farms brings in revelers from all over surrounding Delta County.
Elk Fest: Oct. TBA, 2023
The beautifully haunting bugle of a bull elk is unmistakable, and every October spectators head to Estes Park to experience the phenomenon. The elk gather there, at the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park, to show off for their ladies during the start of the rutting (breeding) season. At Elk Fest, you can learn about these beasts’ behavior, observe them in their natural habitat, participate in a bugling contest and see performances by American Indians.
Applefest: Oct. TBA, 2023
Driving into the small town of Cedaredge on Colorado’s Grand Mesa, you’ll pass row after heavenly row of trees bursting with shiny red and green apples beckoning you to sink your teeth in. At Applefest, more than 150 vendors share the area’s agricultural wealth with visitors, who can also check out a classic car and antique tractor show, bands and much more.
Telluride Horror Show: Oct. 13–15, 2023
Already famous for film, Telluride is also embracing the spooky fun of October with this eighth-annual horror, fantasy and sci-fi film fest in the town's historic Sheridan Opera House.
Breckenridge Craft Spirits Festival: Oct. TBA, 2023
Fall's the time when spicy spirits become the perfect answer to chillier temps. Sip the best offerings from small-batch, artisan distillers and learn more about the distilling process in Breckenridge, a town with its own pioneering distillery.
U-Pick Farms & Corn Mazes
Many Colorado farms offer opportunities in the fall to pick your own cherries, strawberries, carrots, tomatoes, melons, beets, squash, cucumbers and more. The most popular thing to pick by far this time of year is your own pumpkin. Find farm and ranch activities.
Farms across the state invite visitors to stroll rows of pumpkins searching for the perfect jack-o-lantern candidate. Many of them also offer corn mazes, hayrides, petting zoos, bobbing for apples and other hallmark activities of the season. Find pumpkin patches and corn mazes in your area.
