When Colorado leaf-peeping season ends, head for Kansas

I grew up in the Midwest, and if there’s one thing I really miss, it’s the long, drawn-out falls of years past. Here in Colorado, autumn is a blip, a frantic shoulder season that usually includes one nightmarish day stuck in I-70 traffic with my kids, all of us racing to Kenosha Pass, hoping to arrive before the last aspen leaves drop.

Back home, the harvest period is expansive. Authoritative, even. Fall stretches itself out like a lazy cat that won’t budge, and there’s never any rush to peep the silver and sugar maples, native bur oaks, ash, giant sycamores, American elms and Eastern redbuds, with their bifurcated trunks and leaves as yellow as sunbeams.

Trees are everywhere in the Midwest, so it’s no wonder Nearmap, an aerial technology company, recently ranked one of Denver’s closest capital cities, Topeka, Kan., as one of the top “leafiest” capitals in the U.S.

Tree canopy shades more than 30% of The Golden City, making it a forest metropolitan, according to Bob Ross of the Greater Topeka Partnership. Early settlers gave Topeka its nickname upon observing its sunlit rolling hills and autumn elms. Mother Nature doesn’t feel rushed in Kansas: Glimmering leaves can glow into Thanksgiving, in a fierce rainbow of red, deep orange, gold, lingering green, purple and rich brown.

Bright days and cool nights seem to bring out the best colors, and according to a 2024 fall foliage prediction map created by Smoky Mountains National Park, smokymountains.com, the northern half of Kansas will begin to see leaves change in early to mid-October. Full peak is expected between Oct. 30 and Nov. 6, with a partial peak happening the week before. Leaves should continue popping well into November. For families and budget travelers — or any Coloradans who just can’t resist a bonus round of leaf peeping — Topeka is only a road trip away.

Here’s the first thing I really want you to know: Topeka has one 4-star boutique hotel, the Cyrus Hotel, 920 S. Kansas Ave., a Marriott property in the heart of downtown with views of the Kansas Capitol Dome. Rooms start at about $189 a night, and I don’t think I have to tell any Denverites that this is a screeching good deal for luxury rooms and service.

“If that’s too much, there’s always — ” Ross begins. I try to stop him right there, but he’s insistent. Two even more affordable Topeka lodging options are the SpringHill Suites Topeka Southwest, 2745 SW Fairlawn Road, and the Hilton Garden Inn, 1351 SW Arvonia Place.

In addition to offering upscale accommodations, the Cyrus’ lobby, with its high ceilings and modern aesthetic, opens to a variety of restaurants and bars, all plotted along South Kansas Avenue, Topeka’s main street, running from the Kansas River to the turnpike. A few suggestions for meals within walking distance of this hotel include Iron Rail, 705 S. Kansas Ave.; The Celtic Fox, 118 SW Eighth Ave.; Brew Bank, 822 S. Kansas Ave.; The White Linen, 112 SW Sixth Ave., with its compact, chef-driven menu; and a new wine and champagne bar, Royal Society, 913 S. Kansas Ave.

Topeka is ready for its close-up. Over the last decade, the city has invested about $500 million in its historic downtown district, Ross tells me. Evergy (not a typo) Plaza, 630 S. Kansas Ave., opened in 2020, and this newish public venue, complete with interactive fountains and a firepit, offers 400 events a year, including a free concert series on Thursdays, Friday night movie screening (April through October), and regular cultural events, including Fiesta Topeka in July and India Mela in August. On Oct. 19, Evergy Plaza hosts its Outset event, with trick-or-treating, live music and vendors.

There are plenty of ways to experience fall colors in Kansas, but for active Coloradans, hiking stands out as a familiar and enjoyable option. Start your adventure by climbing 296 steps at the Kansas Capitol Dome, 300 SW 10th Ave., where tourists gain a bird’s-eye view of the town’s forests. Free tours take guests to the peak of the dome. Walk outside onto the cupola to see up to 20 miles in any direction. Fun fact: The Kansas Statehouse is the only U.S. capitol building where guests can go up to the top of the dome and walk along the outside balcony.

From here, it’s a 1.5-mile drive to Ward-Meade Historic Site, 124 NW Fillmore St., one of the best places in town to see fall colors. Park in the lot off NW Clay Street, and start your day by strolling through history at Old Prairie Town. The 1800s village is part of a 6-acre historic site that includes the Ward-Meade mansion, a national historic landmark and a 2.5-acre botanic garden shaded by a variety of trees. Paved trails take walkers through several distinct zones, including a national conifer reference garden.

A few minutes past Ward Meade Historic Park, there’s Gage Park, 635 SW Gage Blvd., a great place for families to enjoy the colors while riding on a historic mini-train or taking a spin on the Herschell-Spillman carousel (circa 1908). You’ll find the inexpensive Topeka Zoo on the northeast corner of Gage Park — a destination for kid-approved leaf peeping. If you’re vying for caregiver of the year, check out the Kansas Children’s Discovery Center, 4400 SW 10th Ave., which maintains an incredible outdoor space for curious young guests.

Continue west to MacLennan Park, SW Fairlawn and Cedar Crest Drive, in northwest Topeka. There are multiple places to park, including along Sixth Street, just west of Fairlawn Road. I’d recommend starting up north, though, near the Governor’s Mansion, aka Cedar Crest, a castle-like estate built on a 244-acre wildlife refuge overlooking the Kansas River.

You’ll see some spectacular color from the moment you step out of your vehicle. From here, hikers gain access to the Cedar Crest, Governor’s Mansion and MacLennan trails, offering miles of looping dirt and limestone singletrack that drop you into the colorful timber. The terrain is mild by Colorado hiking standards, but still enjoyable and drop-dead gorgeous this time of the year. Since the Kansas River is currently experiencing low water levels, it’s possible to walk onto the riverbed and explore the sandbars.

While you’re on this side of town, continue down SW Sixth Avenue to reach the Kansas Museum of History, 6425 SW Sixth Ave. The museum is currently closed to the public through January as it undergoes a major redevelopment. But the building sits on an 80-acre lot featuring a modest, absolutely lovely trail system bypassing the historic one-room Stach School from 1877.

You’ll have to drive across town to reach the Ted Ensley Gardens, 3650 SE West Edge Road, a 37-plus-acre free botanical garden featuring panoramic views of Lake Shawnee. With more than 450 trees in its arboretum, including 87 varieties rare to Kansas, it’s hard to image a better place to stroll through fall foliage. Golfers can do their leaf peeping from the links since the Lake Shawnee Golf Course, 4141 SE East Edge Road, is surrounded by trees. Cyclists, meanwhile, might want to enjoy the colors from the Shunga Trail, an 8.5-mile concrete path beginning at SW 29th and SW McClure, continuing to the Deer Creek Trail, which offers another 3.7 miles of riding in East Topeka.

If you’re up for a side trip, Echo Cliff Park, 24927 Echo Cliff Road, located near Dover, Kansas, is only about 30 minutes west of Topeka. You won’t regret the stunning country drive to the site’s 50-foot cliffs. For a taste of Kansas, picnickers can grab a sandwich or salad at Somerset Hall Café, 5701 SW Douglas Road, open daily until 2 p.m. Housed in a can’t-miss-it white building that opened as the Sage General Store in the late 1800s, the homestyle restaurant dishes up one of the best pies in America, I’m told. You can also order chicken fried steak, and you’re in the Midwest, so why not?

About 30 miles east of Topeka, the college town of Lawrence is another fun pit stop. Grab lunch at one of the many restaurants lining Massachusetts Street before renting a SUP or kayak for some leaf-peeping on the river. Great Blue Heron Outdoors, 823 Massachusetts St., is a reputable local outfitter.

In Colorado, fall isn’t quite complete without a little agritourism, and Topeka has that base covered, too. Located off Highway 24, between Topeka and Lawrence, Gary’s Farm, 5991 17th St., Grantville, runs its annual Fall Festival through October. There are more than 30 attractions to explore on the farm, including a pumpkin patch, corn maze and petting zoo, to name just a few.

The Maple Leaf Festival, held on Oct. 19 and 20 in the nearby town of Baldwin City — which looks like something straight out of a Hallmark movie — is another seasonal offering with more than 300 craft exhibits, quilt shows and displays, performing arts, music and activities.

What are you waiting for? Grab the car keys, and don’t believe for one second that leaf season is nearly over.

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