Coloradans heading into the mountains to bask in the fall colors this weekend should plan for a very slow drive surrounded by thousands of their fellow leaf-peepers, according to state transportation officials.
Friday through Sunday will likely be some of the busiest travel days of the season as folks flock to higher elevations to enjoy the changing leaves, Colorado Department of Transportation officials said Thursday.
Heavy traffic, significant delays and major backups are expected along the Interstate 70 mountain corridor, along with “extreme congestion” on U.S. 285 between South Park and Denver as people travel to Kenosha Pass.
CDOT officials tracked a peak of 3,000 vehicles per hour passing through the Eisenhower Johnson Memorial Tunnel during the same weekend in 2024, and road crews had to meter traffic late into the evening to keep vehicles moving safely.
Other areas of heavy I-70 traffic could include Floyd Hill and the stretch between Evergreen and Georgetown, as well as backups between Georgetown and Grant as vehicles wait to exit toward Guanella Pass.
According to CDOT, daytrippers should expect the heaviest westbound traffic in the late morning and early afternoon and the heaviest eastbound traffic starting in the late morning and into the evening.
The best bet to avoid some of the crowds is to head out early or late in the day, but delays are inevitable, state officials said.
Drivers should also think twice before taking any alternate routes to bypass the crowds, because local roads like Guanella Pass can’t handle I-70 volumes of traffic, according to CDOT.
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