Colorado, Just how bad is it?
 

Am planning a holiday from UK to Colorado next September'08. Am reading some reports that a beetle is decimating some parts of the West/NW area and spreading to most parts.

One report said that upto 90% of the pines were now red/brown and rotting, dead. And that though still a wonderful area, the forests are now a sad sight and may take years to regenerate.

I don't mean to sound selfish, but it's a long way to travel (especially when we mainly want to see the forests/mountains sightseeing etc) we are not hikers or outdoorsy types.
And if its not looking so pretty well, i need to know is the area still breathtaking (for all the RIGHT reasons..

at present looking at grand lake, steamboat springs, breckenridge, estes park etc are all these areas affected?

Bark beetles are a major problem throughout the western US but, except for isolated areas, 90% is a major overestimate. In addition, Colorado has huge stands of Aspen that are not infected by the beetle. Come and enjoy it. There will be lots of pine trees for you to see and, depending on the temperatures and the time of the month, in September, the aspen will be a glorious shimmering green or an even more glorious shimmering gold.

Colorado is one of my favorite states and you are going to be there during a wonderful time. Enjoy!

Thanks for those reasuring answers.

Our trip is still in its embyronic stage, at moment its something like this.

Arrive Denver 3 sep '08 stay night in Golden, leave next morning heading for estes park for 1 night (obviously on way from A to B will see sights in those areas)
leave estes park drive through RMNP stopping at grand lake town for 1 night.

Driving from Grand lake to Steamboat springs staying 1 night.

from steamboat head to beaver creek stay 1 night onto leadville 1 night then Breckenridge poss 2 nights, on to Georgetown 1 night (and rail journey) then home.

As I said its all very early stages and am chopping and changing the more info i get, but this is the gist does it sound ok?

It is still extremely breathtaking here. Hardly near 90% down here.

Looks like you decided on NW area. I am sure you will have a grand time, even if you don't head down here to SW corner.

Deb

I'm originally from CO and was in Grand Lake about a year ago. I was shocked at the devastation pine beetles have caused in the Grand Lake area. The entire mountainside across from the lake was a reddish brown and it seemd like every tree was dead. I've been halfway expecting to hear about a fire ever since, as it looked like a tinderbox.

We also visited Steamboat Springs and Estes during that trip and they were in much better shape. The Aspen area seemed completely unaffected, as did many other areas, but it certainly is a widespread problem.

Yes, it's a depressing sight, but pine beetles and dwarf mistletoe are a way of life in Colorado.
The drought of the past few years has only made matters worse.

Don't change your plans though - CO is a beautiful place, and as someone mentioned, we have lots of healthy aspens.

I spent a couple of nights camping on the Estes Park side of RMNP in August and the pine beetle has not had a big impact. In fact, I did not notice many pine trees affected by the beetle. I've read reports that Grand Lake has been hit hard, but that would not stop me from taking the still scenic drive over Trail Ridge Road to Grand Lake. I believe Breckenridge has been pretty aggressive by removing trees to prevent the spread.

One other thought, hubby and I were thinking of hiring a convertable for this holiday, this would be ok for the terrain would'nt it?

Again, thanks for reply's put my mind at ease a bit.

Convertible vs. terrain not really issue. I might be concerned that with the cooler temps, you might be cool/cold with the top down. I would also be sure the vechicle had front wheel drive,not matter what kind you get. The sun will be bright and that makes it feel warmer than what the thermometer reads, but that wind rushing through the car with top down won't be the same. My 2 cents worth, anyway!

Deb

I've heard estimates that up to 90% of the pines would EVENTUALLY be affected. How many years that will take, I don't know. However, it is already very noticeable in some areas. For example, around Lake Dillon it is pretty bad. Right now, the dead trees look red but I assume they'll eventually lose their needles and be just dead sticks sitting there.

I honestly don't know what they are going to do about this problem long-term. Cutting that many trees would seem to be an impossible task--particularly when they're scattered about as they are. But having that much dead wood sitting there waiting to catch fire doesn't sound like a good option.

here are some links for articles--some with pictures about the beetle kill--(Sorry about the length of some of them--couldn't get to the tinyURL site)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucky_e/226074978/

http://www.vaildaily.com/article/200...NEWS/112050045

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_4287134

http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20070805/NEWS/70803043

http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/loc...227105302.html

http://www.themountainmail.com/main....ArticleID=9895

.....Arrive Denver 3 sep '08 stay night in Golden.....

Unless you have personal or business reasons to be in Golden. It doesn't make a lot of sense to drive to Golden and then to Estes Park. It is nearly equal distance from the airport to Estes Park or Golden. Estes is further but not a whole lot. The beetle is problem and a severe problem in some areas. But Colorado is a big state with lots of forests, mountains, etc., Most areas will look great.

Thanks all,
just a few questions.

Debi, when you say cooler how cool, as don't forget i'm from NW area of UK and hot to me is 75 decrees we are sweltering near 80 !!

I think i will have to keep my fingers crossed and hope it does'nt look too barren or unattractive if lots of trees are dead.

We were hoping that around begin of Sept the weather would be nice and hot, but this might not be the case?

Also,
Reason picked Golden (apart from some people recommending me to) is distance is quite a bit different (for us from this little island known as UK)

According to a map site Denver Airport to Golden is about 27 miles taking about 1/2 hour to get to and
Estes park is 74 miles taking about 1 1/2 hours.

Because we would have been travelling about 15/16 hours from UK (this includes our local journey from home to our local airport for flight etc) we felt we would be tired, so hubby wanted somewhere really close but not in a big city.

I suppose american distances feel different to you as in UK just going 20/40 miles is a bit of a hike!!!

Martym,
Thanks for links though they make scary reading.

Am wondering if these areas are looking so bad (and they may be worse come next Sept) then which parts of CO are not affected yet?

Sounds like Grand lake and Steamboat are particularly hard hit.

any advice?

AnnRiley, you are correct, Estes is a further from the airport than I thought it might be. The airport is on the NE side of Denver about twenty miles from downtown.

Golden is closer to 40 miles from the airport and you have to drive across the north part of the Denver metro area. Depending on the time day it could take an hour or more if during rush hour. Going to Estes via Golden is like a right triangle. You would do due west to Golden and then due north to Estes about 60 miles over mostly secondary roads. The drive from the airport to Estes would be easier since you would be primarily on four lane divided roads and headed away from Denver traffic..

PS Comment about September weather -- it can be both. The days can be quite hot but evening and night could be very cool if not cold. By early September the Aspen leaves will be turning and the color should be good. It will feel like Fall when you are at the higher elevations.

The beetle kill is heartbreaking in our mountains. It's pretty bad at our place in Winter Park. It is nature's way, I guess, but it's unfortunate. It looks like the aspen are taking over, at least on our property, quicker than I thought.

But, still, you are wise to avoid areas that are hit hard with beetle kill, because the hillsides there aren't as attractive as they ordinarily are.

Can anyone comment on the impact on other Colorado areas that are less impacted than Grand and Summit counties? Maybe the OP should be directed to Crested Butte, Telluride, Aspen, etc.??
:)>-

I agree that Golden is a bad choice, and out of the way by a good bit for these travelers. How about one of the new hotels on US36?

Well, I'm voting for the convertible. Sept is usually pretty nice, although as Debi says it can vary quite a bit. If it is nice, the views with the top down will be spectacular - and fun. If it's not, just put the top up.

We were in Steamboat last summer (and over Christmas) and we thought the area looked in pretty good shape.

Hope you really enjoy the trip.