Colorado in September
 

Thinking about a trip to Colorado. Would love to hit Pikes Peak and Mt. Evans. Problem is, due to work, first week in September is as soon as I could do it. How is the weather that time of year?

Generally 40's at night and 70's during the afternoon. Ofcourse at elevation its a different ballgame!

I've been to both Pike's Peak and Mt Evans in the summertime and even then it was breezy and very cool at the summit(s)!
My (our) last trip to Mt Evans was in '11 with one of our car clubs and I had informed everyone in the group that they should wear pants and to also be sure to have a jacket.
Well, we get to the top and it's a cloudy day with a fine mist in the air and the wind was doin' it's thing and most of these folks get out of their cars wearing shorts and short sleeve shirts and blouses!
Later that evening at dinner it was a humorous topic but not so many laughs on the summit ! ;)

If you go, take rain gear and leathers and be sure to check weather conditions (and forecasts) before heading up.

I went in mid August and there were times it was cold. Ran into hail in the passes everyday. Lol

I wouldn't do it again without my heated gear and a full face helmet. Absolutley stunning country to ride in. Just don't get caught gawking.

I left Sturgis a couple of years ago the first week of August and did a few nights at Cody, then down to Steamboat and Pikes Peak. I got there one afternoon after riding through some rain. The guy at the gate started checking the weather. I asked if it was raining up there. He said it was probably raining, but he was checking for lightning. He said it would be better in the morning as I would just be a lightning rod on the bike. I went up first thing the next morning. I don't remember it being that cold, but when I got on top, there was frost in the shadows.

I went in and got a donut and coffee and sat down. Wish I had got two donuts. It was really good. There were a lot of people in there. I got to where I could not breath. I think the people in there were sucking up all the oxygen. I got up and on the bike and down the mountain I came. I have since learned they sell Oxygen there.

Mt Evans closes the day after Labor Day until spring.

When we went up to the summit on Mnt Evans it ws clear on the way up. After we had gotten to the top and milled around for a bit you could see some weather moving in. I rallied the troops to leave and it started snowing, then while starting down it turned into a full fledged thunderstorm. Visibility was about 50ft with lightning streaking across the sky sideways too close for comfort. funny thing was on the way down in those conditions all we could smell was pot. The only time I smelled it when I was out there. The wife still brings that up when I talk about riding out west again.... LOL

Although I have been to CO lots of times, both before I got married, to do some backpacking, and also my wife and I went every couple of years for mostly day hiking, I have never been to Pikes Peak or Mt. Evans. We always went to Estes Park, really nice little town next to Rocky Mountain National Park. September is my FAVORITE time of year to be there. Kids are back in school, the tourists have thinned out considerably, the Elk and other wildlife are starting to move down to the lower elevations, and the weather has always been great every September I have been there.

I remember one year we decided we would, as usual, drive into Estes Park and rest up there a couple of days and then drive down to Colorado Springs and also Pikes Peak to see some areas of Colorado we have never been to. Well, we got to Estes Park. But we were just so comfortable, and the entire area was just so beautiful, we decided there wasn't anything in Colorado Springs or anywhere else that could be any more beautiful or peaceful than what we had in and around Estes Park so we didn't make it anywhere else and we have no regrets whatsoever.

We went in mid September last year and had a great ride. Mornings were cool or cold for some of the group but not bad. We would start the morning with chaps and jacket. I have a heated jacket liner and never used it but should have a few mornings.

I would do September again and the only real surprise we had were that hotel room were hard to find in a few towns

Great Trip!!!