Maroon Bells Scenic Area — Attraction in Four Corners States

Colorado Beauty! Our visit to Maroon Bells was a highlight of our vacation in the Aspen area. The park is close to Aspen, but you need reservations in advance to see this very popular attraction (start at the Aspen Chamber of Commerce website—excellent site for any Aspen visit!) TIP: study the reservation system, and ensure you grab your spot as soon as offered—the reservations sell out. You have two types options to reach the park—choose the shuttle option and read/follow the reporting instructions. Do not park illegally at the shuttle pick-up. The police, shuttle, and park services work in smooth coordination to manage the traffic and get you to and from the park. You’ll arrive at the main lake after a short, picturesque bus ride; the drop off has ample bathrooms and a park office. Jaw-dropping pictures are just a short walk from the drop-off; lake, mountains, and wildlife (we saw a moose within minutes). You can choose various trails to explore the area, designing the hike for your own desires and abilities—we chose the Crater Lake trail, a rocky, medium hike route to another beautiful lake with great views of the Bells. TIP: bring water, layered weather wear, sturdy shoes, and snacks. Consider bringing bear spray (we did—this is bear country). Expect a fair amount of people traffic at the main drop-off site and along popular trails. Don’t miss the final bus in the afternoon or risk a long walk back to the pick-up site. Don’t miss a visit to the Maroon Bells—highly...

There are many trails near Aspan. The most popular Trails are located in Maroon Bells and Snowmass Wilderness, including Conundrum Springs, Capitol Lake, Crater Lake and Four Pass Loop (Snowmass Lake and Geneva Lake). Overnight camping in these places requires permission in advance，I heard the booking is very competitive in fall.

Based on other people's reviews, we decided to go to Maroon Bells. To enter Maroon Bells, you need to take the Shuttle Bus. Park your car in the dedicated parking lot at highland where is the bus starting point, the parking fee is $40 per day, and then board the bus by ticket 🎫 to enter the park. Maroon Bells was overcrowded in the 1970s, making it extremely difficult to access, also the vegetation in the park was severely damaged. Therefore, restrictive protection measures was launched to limit the number of visitors per day. The shuttle bus took about 20 minutes to reach the parking lot in the park🅿️. I studied guide map in the park and thought for a while, and decided to take the Maroon Lake Trail and Crater Lake Trail as planned. The Maroon Lake Trail is located near the parking lot and is pretty flat along the lake. It is enough for ordinary tourists to walk around, see the scenery, take photos and check in. Crater Lake Trail is another story, it rated medium difficulty and requires extra effort, better be prepared, of course you will be rewarded with extraordinary...

It feels wrong to give nature less than 5 stars but hear me out. The maroon bells and surrounding wilderness area/forest are stunning. The trails are clear and there are quite a few trails varying in difficulty. The hike to crater lake was decently difficult for a stubby asthmatic such as myself. The trail gets rocky and steep in some places but it really wasn’t too bad. We went in the morning which was a good choice. If it were hotter I would have had a harder time.

My issue lies with the way you get to Maroon Bells. There are two reservation options, a shuttle where you pay for the ticket AND for parking your vehicle or pay $10 to park near the trails. We ended up paying about $70 for parking and the shuttle. I called and emailed about parking passes (which are $10) and was told they were all sold out. We did spend several hours at the Bells so I guess it was worth it. You can walk from Aspen to the shuttle area as well which would be cheaper. The parking/shuttle situation just wasn’t my fav.

Beautiful place....