Aspen

Top things to do in Aspen

1. 01

   Maroon Bells - walk Maroon Lake to Crater Lake beneath the twin peaks

   scenic nature wildlife hiking 👍 Popular

   Two banded maroon pyramids over 14,000 ft rise straight out of a lake at the head of Maroon Creek, and the flat loop at the water's edge is the view that ends up on every Colorado poster. Carry on and the trail climbs through aspen groves and boulder fields to Crater Lake at the foot of the peaks. Through the warm months the road is managed and most visitors ride the shuttle up from Aspen Highlands rather than drive.

2. 02

   Aspen Mountain - ride the Silver Queen Gondola from the edge of downtown

   scenic snow 👍 Popular

   The gondola lifts off a block from the shops and climbs more than 3,000 vertical ft to the Sundeck on the summit ridge. In winter it feeds steep, tree-lined bump runs and a mountain famous for having no beginner trails at all; in summer it is a lift straight to ridge walks, wildflowers and a long view down the Roaring Fork Valley.

3. 03

   Independence Pass - drive over the Continental Divide above the treeline

   scenic adventure ⭐ Highly recommended

   Highway 82 climbs east out of town in single-lane shelf sections to a summit around 12,000 ft, one of the highest paved crossings in the country. Boardwalks at the top run out across alpine tundra, and the timber ruins of the Independence mining camp sit on the way down. The gates are shut from roughly November to late May, which is why the drive belongs to a summer visit.

4. 04

   Highland Bowl - hike the ridge for the steepest lift-served terrain in the valley

   snow adventure ⭐ Highly recommended

   From the top lift at Aspen Highlands a bootpack runs out along a knife ridge to a summit near 12,400 ft, and the payoff is a wide, sustained face that serious skiers come to Aspen specifically for. A snowcat sometimes shortens the first stretch of the ridge; the rest is walking at altitude with skis on your shoulder.

5. 05

   Snowmass - ski the biggest of the four mountains

   snow adventure 👍 Popular

   Snowmass holds more terrain than the other three put together and the longest vertical drop of the four, running from long green cruisers off Elk Camp to the steep chutes of the Cirque. Its village sits at the base in a ski-in ski-out way that Aspen town itself is not, which is why families gravitate here.

6. 06

   Buttermilk - learn to ski on the gentlest of the four

   snow

   A rolling, low-angle hill facing Aspen across the valley, Buttermilk is where the ski school takes beginners and where the valley's big terrain park and superpipe are shaped. On an ordinary day it is also the quietest of the four mountains.

7. 07

   Ashcroft Ghost Town - walk a silver camp at the head of Castle Creek

   history off beaten path

   Ashcroft briefly outgrew Aspen in the 1880s and then emptied out completely. What survives is a line of weathered timber buildings standing in a meadow ringed by peaks, held upright by the local historical society. The road in follows Castle Creek out of town, and in winter the valley becomes groomed nordic trail.

8. 08

   Wheeler Opera House - see a show in the silver boom's theatre

   culture arts history

   Jerome Wheeler put up this sandstone opera house in 1889 at the top of the boom; it outlasted the bust, two fires and long years as a cinema, and now runs music, film and comedy on the main street. The restored interior is worth the ticket even when the bill does not grab you.

9. 09

   Aspen Art Museum - a woven-screen building with a rooftop over the mountain

   culture arts

   Shigeru Ban wrapped the museum in a basket-weave screen, and the way to see it is to take the glass lift to the roof and work down through the galleries. The programme is contemporary and turns over often, and the roof terrace looks straight across at Aspen Mountain.

10. 10

    Benedict Music Tent - a summer of orchestral music in the West End

    culture arts

    The music school takes over the leafy West End through the warm months, and the tent's open sides mean you can lie on the grass outside and hear a full rehearsal without going in. The same campus carries the institute and ideas programming that gives Aspen its second reputation.

11. 11

    Smuggler Mountain Road - climb to the observation deck above town

    hiking scenic

    A steep dirt road switchbacks up the north wall of the valley from the edge of town to a wooden platform looking down on the grid, across at Aspen Mountain and out to the Elk Range. Locals treat it as a before-work lap; it takes well under an hour up and stays walkable through winter.

12. 12

    Cathedral Lake - hike to an alpine lake under the Elk Range

    hiking nature wildlife

    From the Castle Creek valley the trail climbs hard through aspen and then up a boulder headwall to a lake above 11,000 ft in a cirque beneath Cathedral Peak. It is a half-day out that feels like a full mountain day, and the wildflowers are at their best in high summer.

13. 13

    Four Pass Loop - trek four 12,000-ft passes around the Maroon Bells

    hiking adventure

    The classic multi-day circuit out of Maroon Lake crosses West Maroon, Frigid Air, Trail Rider and Buckskin passes over roughly 26 miles, camping in wilderness the whole way. The window is short, essentially July to September once the snow has left the passes, and the overnight zones need arranging ahead.

14. 14

    Cloud Nine Alpine Bistro - long lunch on the Highlands terrace

    food

    A small alpine hut partway up Aspen Highlands where a booked lunch reliably turns into dancing on the tables and a fine mist of sprayed champagne by mid-afternoon. Sittings go months ahead, and you still have to ski down afterwards, which is a decision you make in advance.

15. 15

    Woody Creek Tavern - Hunter S. Thompson's old local down the valley

    food culture arts

    A low, cluttered roadhouse a few miles below town where Thompson drank and held court, its walls papered over with photographs, clippings and campaign relics. Most people ride out on the Rio Grande Trail, which is the standard justification for the margaritas.

Getting to & around Aspen

Know before you go