Even if you don’t recognize the name, you’ll likely know what the Maroon Bells are. It’s iconic and one of the most beautiful places in the U.S. It’s well worth visiting if you’re going to be in Colorado. It’s best visited if you are based in Aspen or Glenwood Springs. We visited in May from Breckenridge. It was a 2.5-3 hour drive each way, and we should have left a lot earlier to get there, but I’m glad we were able to see it.
To get there, you can either reserve parking if entering before 8 a.m. or after 5 p.m. (it’s $10), or if not, you’ll need to make a shuttle reservation. It’s $16 a person in advance, and the walk-up reservations are $20 a person. We went on a Wednesday and it wasn’t busy so we made a $16 reservation about 40 minutes beforehand. During busier times, this won’t always be the case. You’ll park at a center where you can catch the shuttle. This is Aspen Highlands Village. Parking is steep. It’s $50 a day, $40 for 4 hours, etc. If staying in Aspen, it might be worth it to see if you can catch a bus out there of if rideshare (if available is cheaper.) Make your shuttle or parking reservations here.
The shuttle is dog-friendly. It was Ellie’s first bus ride. She hated it. The shuttles leave every 15 minutes. They feature recorded commentary on the drive out to Maroon Bells to highlight the area and what you might see. This was rather interesting. They do reiterate many times what time the last bus leaves at and you don’t want to miss that or it will be an eight mile walk back!
Once you get there, after a very short walk, you can take in the incredible views. This place is absolutely stunning. I could have sat there for hours just enjoying the views with a picnic.
There are a few trails. The easiest, is the 1-mile round trip loop called the Maroon Lake Scenic Trail. It goes around the lake and is gorgeous. You may even spot a moose. Someone coming back along the trail said they saw one.
There’s also the Crater Lake Trail. This is the trail we did. It’s a 3.6 mile round trip loop that takes you to Crater Lake. Don’t get me wrong, this lake is pretty, but for the effort, I think Maroon Lake is prettier. This trail is steep and rocky. Not rocky like you have to climb rocks (I don’t do that), but rather lots of rocks to maneuver.
At 10,000 feet elevation, it’s honestly not that pleasant to be huffing it up this rocky terrain for the view at the end. I felt the time could have been better spent exploring other areas.
The trail I would have liked to have done is the Maroon Creek Trail. This trail starts out at Maroon Lake an runs about 3.2 miles one way through the aspen forests. You might spot a lot of wildlife, so the commentary on the bus said. It ends up near a little hotel/farm area where there is a petting zoo. I think this one would have been more worth our time than the Crater Lake Trail, but everyone has their own opinion.
By the time, we finished the Crater Lake Trail and were back admiring the Maroon Lake, it started pouring and was approaching 4 p.m., so we opted to catch the shuttle back. Again, I wish we would have gotten there earlier, but we definitely plan to return. The scenery is well worth the cost. Oh and as we were waiting for the shuttle, we saw several deer that drove Ellie wild.
All in all, I highly recommend Maroon Bells.
