Planning a road trip for fall colors around Colorado? National parks might factor into the itinerary — especially in the case of free entry.

That will be the case on Sept. 27, when the National Park Service is waiving fees in celebration of National Public Lands Day.

It promises to be a busy Saturday at Rocky Mountain National Park, which around this time of year is crowded with leaf peepers and wildlife watchers amid the elk rut. While the $30 entrance for drivers will be waived, a timed entry reservation booked online in advance is still required for most hours of the day.

Southwest Colorado also gets its share of leaf-peeping traffic this time of year. The region is home to Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Mesa Verde national parks.

The state’s other national park is the Great Sand Dunes, which might be visited on a trip that includes golden aspen along La Veta Pass and the Highway of Legends over the mountains between La Veta and Trinidad.

Free entry applies to national monuments as well. That includes Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction, home to the scenic Rim Rock Drive. For fall color, the region’s more popular drive is over Grand Mesa Scenic Byway.

For another, lesser known drive admiring foliage outside Grand Junction, Douglas Pass climbs over the Book Cliffs to Rangely. That’s en route to Dinosaur National Monument toward the state’s remote northwest corner.

Closer to the Front Range, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument could be a stop while leaf-peeping around Teller County. Aspens join the mosaic around the national monument’s giant, petrified redwood stumps, with more glowing stands seen along adjacent County Road 1 and Colorado 67 to Cripple Creek.

National Public Lands Day is one of the National Park Service’s seven free entrance days of 2025. The last day of the year is Veterans Day, Nov. 11.