Aspen Things to Do

The road to the base of the Maroon Bells is beautiful, with lots of opportunities to stop and take pictures. Artists stop along the route and try to catch the colors with their paints. It's just lovely.

The Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness occupies 181,000 acres, containing wide basins, alpine meadows, colorful cliffs, marshy tundra resembling interior Alaska, craggy rock faces and lush evergreen groves, 7 peaks topping 14k ft and 26 over 13k ft. The area is protected under the Wilderness Act of 1964.The Maroone Bells began as iron-bearing sediments beneath an ancient sea, before they metamorphosed into red rock, lifted skyward over millions of years, then, sculpted by glaciers, produced the awesome peaks we know today.

At 13,500 ft, it is considered CO's highest trail-accessible pass. The hike begins along the Cathedral Lake trail and the first 3.2 miles experiences a 2, 000 ft elevation gain. The trail begins among aspens then breaks off into open meadows and rock slide areas. After the 1st 2 miles, the trail climbs in a series of switchbacks to the basin. At that point, the right hand fork leads to Electric Pass and the left another 1/4 mile to Cathedral Lake.
The electric pass route then reaches timberline, and climbs through waist high willows and climbs another 1,600 feet in 1.5 miles. Heading up to electric pass, the summit of cathedral peak is visible, along with an extensive rock glacier. The trail switchbacks to a ridge which extends to Leahy Peak. The trail then climbs along Electric Pass Peak to reach the Electric Pass.

The lower few miles of the Snowmass Creek trail have been described as a "piece of cake". I'm not sure that I'd agree, but, then again, when you're hiking in this altitude, everything is relative. The trail does start off slowly as a gradual walk through unconnected beaver ponds, open meadows and lush forests.

We had a fascinating look at how the movers and shakers of the world live and play in Aspen, We saw beautiful homes of Movie Stars, Television Stars, Sports Stars, Music Stars, Super Models, Fortune 500 CEO's and Royalty! so many fascinating stories about these world famous celebrities where told I never new. We saw 75 of the most beautiful and expensive homes in the world, stunning Homes & amazing 50 miiilon dollar mansions!. You'll have incredible stories to tell your friends when you get home! Well worth the price and is about 2 1/2 to 3 hours long.

Walking the final steps up a high pass is no less exciting than reaching the summit of a giant peak. Views open up in all directions; rows of snow capped mountain ranges stretch far into the distance like white waves in a choppy sea. T.A. Baron, A Walk in the Wilderness.

A walking tour full of stories of Ghosts, Murder & all of Aspen's dirty little secrets. I've lived in Aspen for awhile and found it a great thing to do when friends visit. My favorites were the ghosts at the Red Light District & Ghosts at the Hotel Jerome.

As the crow flies, Crestted Butte is located 12 miles from Aspen. It's about a 3 1/2 hour drive - 110 miles. The hike over East Maroon Pass is spectacular and takes about 6 hours. If you don't want to hike back, you can arrange for transportation back to aspen - via van or on horseback. Best time to go for wildflowers in full bloom is August.