Ask a local for the best month in Colorado Springs and September wins more votes than anything else: monsoon season ends, the air turns crisp and clear, and the single most photogenic event of the year floats over Memorial Park on Labor Day weekend.
By the back half of the month, the aspen gold starts moving down the mountainsides — leaf-peeping season begins here earlier than most visitors expect.
Labor Day Lift Off fills the sky over Memorial Park with dozens of hot-air balloons at dawn on Labor Day weekend — free to attend, and the signature Colorado Springs photo op. The same weekend, Manitou Springs hosts the long-running Commonwheel Arts Festival.
Late September is go-time for gold: the Pikes Peak Highway, Gold Camp Road, Mueller State Park, and the Cripple Creek drive are the classic local aspen routes, typically peaking in the last week of September into early October depending on elevation.
Oktoberfest celebrations roll through the region from mid-September onward — plus harvest festivals, farm events, and the start of pumpkin-patch season at the area's farms.
Happening right now
An annual hot-air balloon festival over Memorial Park and Prospect Lake on Labor Day weekend — dawn mass ascensions, evening balloon glows, and free admission. It's one of the city's signature events.
Typically the last two weeks of September through early October, moving from high elevation downward. The Pikes Peak Highway, Gold Camp Road, and Mueller State Park are the classic viewing routes.
It's arguably the best: stable clear weather after monsoon season, warm days, cool nights, fall color, and a full festival calendar without peak-summer crowds.