Mountains Dressed in Gold

When I returned to the car after hiking around Beaver Brook Reservoir (click here - Beautiful morning... fall morning...), I realized I wasn’t ready to go home yet. So I decided to drive up Squaw Pass Road and take in some fall colors... those beautiful mountain colors.

 

And when I stopped for the first time, the view of the distant slopes left me speechless...

Isn’t it stunning? All those shades - green, yellow, orange, and even snow-dusted mountain ridges. Yes, the first snow had already covered the mountain slopes above 12,000-13,000 feet!

I continued along the road, and as I rounded a turn, I was once again amazed by the view of the mountains to the south. What a sight!

Later, I stopped again, completely mesmerized by the vibrant mix of colors, especially that huge patch where aspens had pushed away the evergreens and claimed the hillside for themselves.

...and those powdered slopes... pure magic.

I paused at one of my favorite viewpoints overlooking the valley below. This time, it looked like something out of a fairy tale. 

I’ve stopped there many times before, but I don’t remember it ever looking so breathtaking. I probably stayed longer than I planned, but the view was absolutely worth it.

Eventually, I turned around and started heading back toward town, still stopping every now and then, soaking in those incredible views.

By the way, the snow didn’t just dust the higher ridges. Fresh snow even covered the roadside above 9,000 feet - completely unexpected!

Anyway... on my way back, I just enjoyed the endless beauty of the drive. The aspens made it hard to focus on the road - I wanted to drive slooooow and stop every couple hundred yards to look at all these vibrant colors of the fall foliage (well... it was what I did, actually).

With the sun now backlighting the golden leaves, everything seemed to glow, twice as bright and twice as beautiful.

Honestly, I spent over two hours on that road - a drive that normally takes less than 30 minutes (okay, 50 if you count both directions).

It’s hard to describe the feeling when fall puts on such a show. So, I’ll just let the photos do the talking - maybe they’ll give you a half the impression I had driving Squaw Pass Road that beautiful September Saturday.

Photos taken on September 27, 2025.