Georgetown tourism booms during Colorado leaf-peeping season amid push for visitors to stay in town, traffic changes

Fall in Colorado usually means one thing for mountain communities: leaf peepers. But in Guanella Pass' neighboring town of Georgetown, visitors this year appear to be coming for more than the changing aspens.

On a Monday during peak fall color, visitor David Stark described an experience that might surprise seasoned Colorado leaf peepers.

"No traffic, easy parking, free parking," they said.

While the interview was on a Monday, many locals say lighter traffic was notable this year. Town of Georgetown and Clear Creek County officials say it is part of a broader effort to manage the seasonal surge in visitors while encouraging tourists to spend more time and money in local communities.

"It could be the leaves were different this year. It could be that maybe our marketing dollars did spend a little bit further. It could definitely be the volunteers," Clear Creek County Tourism Director Jess Jones said.

This year for the first time, Georgetown officials say they put together a full marketing plan aimed at getting visitors to stay in town for more than just a peep. That included more signage and accessible parking, along with an effort to promote Georgetown itself as a destination.

The effort comes as mountain businesses are counting on tourism following a winter with limited snowfall.

"How you spend your money here comes back into our local economy," Jones said.

Daniel Owen, owner of Mother's Saloon in Georgetown, said he's noticing more people coming through his doors.

"We're getting a lot of new customers, a lot of new faces in town," Owen said.

Jones says Clear Creek County is also seeing more visitors on weekdays this year. Local business owners say changes to traffic flow have helped put visitors in front of Georgetown businesses as they leave town.

"Last year it was all one way going into town and then one way out of town on that side, and this year they had changed it to where everybody passes the businesses on their way out," Owen said.

And this year it seems Georgetown might have promoted the town so well, the leaves may have fallen into second place for visitors.

When visitor Mary Stark was asked why she comes to Georgetown, she immediately said,  "The candy shop and the ice cream."

When asked if that meant the leaves weren't the highlight, she said, "No, unfortunately, but we love the leaves."

For Georgetown, that's still a win: bringing visitors to town for the fall colors, then giving them reasons to stay.

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