Activities in Aspen
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T-Lazy-7 Ranch
Saddle up onto a snowmobile in the winter, or onto a fine steed in the summer at this working ranch down the slope from the Maroon Bells Wilderness Area. It calls itself the oldest working ranch in Aspen. Rides will take you into the spectacular Maroon Bells Wilderness and are highly recommended for families.
Overnight rides ($450) take you all the way to Crested Butte. Snowmobile tours run up to Klondike Cabin in the White River National Forest or Maroon Lake in the Maroon Bells Wilderness. It does sleigh rides in the winter too.
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Aspen Mountain
One of four ski mountains within a 15-minute drive from Aspen, one of two with a lift open in summer (the Silver Queen gondola), and the only one that rises directly out of downtown Aspen (elevation 7945ft) to a summit at 11,212ft.
Aspen Mountain, cofounded in 1947 by a couple of the 10th Mountain Division boys (hence the statues on the ski plaza), has 675 acres and 76 trails of ski terrain. Inbound you’ll get a variety of glades, bumps and steeps, and you can always find fresh tracks out of bounds on the backside. The mountain is serviced by eight lifts, including a gondola and a high-speed quad. In the summer it's a haven for mountain bikers. The top of Aspen Mountain, …
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Snowmass
Snowmass (the ski mountain accessed from the small town and ski mall of Snowmass Village) is 12 miles (19km) northwest of Aspen. Not only is the terrain varied and expansive, but its bowl, The Cirque, has the biggest lift-assisted vertical drop in the country. All told there are 91 downhill trails, 3132 acres (1267 hectares) of ski terrain, three terrain parks, a beginner pipe and a new super pipe, all serviced by 21 lifts.
Nordic skiing is available at the Snowmass Club Cross-Country Touring Center, featuring nearly 60 miles (more than 90km) of groomed trails connecting Basalt with Snowmass and Aspen. During the summer, you can hop onto the Elk Camp Gondola, which start…
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Hiking to the Grottos
- Aspen, USA
- Activities › Hiking
One of the most popular summer playgrounds in Aspen, the area is accessed via a complex of short trails (most about half a mile in length) that sprout from old Weller Station on the original Independence Pass wagon road, leading to waterfalls and sculpted gorges. The shortest, wheelchair-accessible trail visits a series of thundering falls and swimming holes on the Roaring Fork River.
On the opposite bank, the Old Stage Road leads upstream to Lincoln Creek, and an offshoot heads to unique water-carved slots known locally as the Ice Caves. These are worth hunting for. Head up Independence Pass east of town for nine miles on Hwy 82 and look for a 'Trailhead' sign on the rig…
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Conundrum Hot Springs
The steaming, healing Conundrum Hot Springs, west of Castle Peak (14,265ft), are the reward for about 9 miles of tough climbing on the Conundrum Creek Trail (USFS Trail 1981). The trailhead is 5 miles south of the Hwy 82 turnoff for USFS Rd 102, west of town.
There are several pools hewn from craters and fed by plastic pipe, some larger than others and varying in temperature from 102°F to 105°F.
No matter which you sink into, you'll have outrageous alpine views, including glimpses of steep avalanche chutes and waterfalls. For obvious reasons, most folks spend the night at the nearby campsite, unofficially called 'The Bluffs'. From here you can either retrace your steps,…
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Buttermilk Mountain
Popular with snowboarders of all levels, Buttermilk was voted #1 by Transworld Snowboarding Magazine Reader’s Poll for best park and pipe. Located just 2 miles (3km) west of Aspen proper, it has 44 trails across 470 acres (190 hectares). With a 22ft superpipe in its golden terrain park, riders who want to jump and try out their bag of tricks can do so to their hearts' content. The resort is also an ideal playground for newbie riders and skiers.
Afraid to climb onto that lift for the first time? Buttermilk has instructors and terrain forgiving enough to get you contemplating snowboarding's toughest black diamond runs before you know it. Mostly a winter playground, there …
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Hub
Arguably the best of the Aspen bike shops. This place offers a cycling school, sponsors a weekly road race and bike club, and acts as a booster for local talent, pointing out that Aspen is home to some of the best cyclists in the US, including two top-five time trialists and a dude named Lance.
It rents cruisers, full-suspension mountain bikes and carbon fiber road bikes, and will offer advice on the best road routes and single tracks plying Aspen and Smuggler Mountains, the Montezuma Basin, and Pearl and Independence Pass, but staff aren't always sweet about it. Their motto? 'It's not rude. It's the Hub.'
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Aspen Highlands
Aspen Highlands resort, 2 miles (3km) southwest of town, is a web of 118 trails on 1028 acres (416 hectares) of uncrowded terrain that is revered by many locals and accessed via five ski lifts. It offers loads of thrills for the daredevils - at least 75 acres (30 hectares) of expert-level tree-skiing - but also keeps the beginners and intermediates happy.
At the base of the resort, the Aspen Highlands Village offers many ski and tourist services, restaurants and shops. And no other mountain offers views of the spectacular Maroon Bells from the slopes.
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Aspen Skiing Company
OK, the top winter activity is pretty much a given: snow riding, and lots of it. The Aspen Skiing Company operates the area's four ski resorts. Aspen (or Ajax) is an athlete's mountain, offering more than 3000ft of steep vertical drop. Aspen Highlands has outstanding extreme skiing and breathtaking views. Buttermilk Mountain provides gentle slopes for beginners and intermediate skiers. Snowmass offers mixed terrain and boasts the longest vertical drop in the USA (4400ft).
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Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness Area
- Aspen, USA
- Activities › Hiking
From Lone Pine Rd in Aspen, the Hunter Valley Trail (USFS Trail 1992) follows Hunter Creek northeast about 3 miles through wildflower meadows to the Sunnyside and Hunter Creek Trails, which lead into the 82,026 acre Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness Area.
Less visited than other slices of Central Rockies wilderness, you can find some stunning campsites and rugged peaks here, as well as the headwaters to both Hunter Creek and the Fryingpan River.
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Rio Grande Trail
In 2008, more than 10 years after this former railroad corridor was initially slated to be converted to a contiguous bike trail, the Rio Grande Trail was completed. It rambles for 41 mostly paved miles (there's still a gravel section near Aspen that requires road bikers to ditch the trail for a heartbeat), from Aspen through Basalt and Carbondale, and into Glenwood Springs. You can download a map from the RFTA website (www.rfta.com).
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Aspen Trout Guides & Outfitters
Based out of Hamilton Sports Pro Shop, this has been Aspen's top fly-fishing outfitter since 1981. Trips to the Frying Pan and Roaring Fork Rivers, Maroon, Castle and Hunter Creeks or nearby lakes, including Thomas, Blue and Little Gem, are customized to clients' wishes and include casting instruction. Prices listed are for one angler only; trips are more cost-effective for two or three anglers. Family trips also available.
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Owl Creek Trail
This scenic, unpaved but quite smooth roadside trail connects Aspen with Snowmass Village, cutting through groves and open meadows as it navigates the substantial Owl Creek-Brush Creek pass. From Snowmass to Aspen it is mostly downhill. The trail is 4.4 miles long, beginning at the Buttermilk Ski Area. From Buttermilk into Aspen, take Cemetery Lane to the Rio Grande Trail, which will lead you to Rio Grande Park downtown.
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Aspen Expeditions
Based in the Aspen Highlands ski area, this place does bike tours and rentals, but is most notable for its adventurous itineraries, including some stellar mountain-climbing and rock-climbing trips in the spring and summer, and hut to hut cross-country and backcountry downhill ski trips and ice climbing in the winter. It also runs level one and two avalanche courses. A unique Aspen outfitter, to be sure.
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Cycling to Maroon Bells
According to the Aspen cycling gurus this is the most iconic road-bike ride in Aspen, mainly because it climbs a lung-wrenching 11 miles to the foot of one of the most picturesque wilderness areas in the rockies. Most folks drive it or take the bus - the Maroon Bells road is actually closed to incoming car traffic after 9am - but if you crave sweet, beautiful pain, let your quads sing.
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Ashcroft Ski Touring
This local Nordic outfitter serves 20 miles (35km) of groomed trails through 600 acres of subalpine country. The mountain backdrop is spectacular, the Ashcroft ghost town eerie. Rent classic cross-country ski equipment, ski gear or snowshoes. Individual and group lessons, as well as snowshoe and ski tours, are available daily. Shuttles ($35) to and from Aspen are available.
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Aspen Cross Country Center
Local outdoor outfitter Ute Mountaineer has operated the Aspen Cross Country Center, set on Aspen's public golf course, for more than 25 years. Located near the Aspen Snowmass Nordic Trail System (a 60-mile web of Nordic bliss linking Aspen with Snowmass, Ashcroft and Basalt), the center is a convenient spot to demo gear, take a lesson or head out on a guided tour.
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Blazing Adventures
A popular Snowmass-based outfitter that will get you in white water, in the back of a jeep, on a high-altitude ridge at sunset, in a balloon basket at dawn and waist deep in a trout stream anytime you want. It's based in the upper mall (main mall), and consistently gets rave reviews, most notably for the white-water rafting trips on the nearby Arkansas River.
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American Lake Trail
- Aspen, USA
- Activities › Hiking
Easily paired with a peek into the ghost town of Ashcroft and/or a meal at the epic Pine Creek Cookhouse, this trail climbs steadily from Ashcroft through aspen and spruce groves to American Lake, in the subalpine Devaney Creek Valley. Views are limited, but the trail meets several more primitive paths to a panoramic overlook. It's a 6.4-mile hike round-trip.
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Lewis Ice Arena
Part of the Aspen Recreation Center, the Lewis Ice Arena is an NHL regulation-size ice surface (85ft by 200ft), with grandstand seating for 450. The skate shop offers sharpening and skate rentals, and there are multiple team locker and shower rooms here too. Public skate hours vary depending upon special events such as hockey or figure-skating tournaments.
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10th Mountain Division Hut Association
- Aspen, USA
- Activities › Hiking
This organization manages a system of 29 backcountry huts – a few with wood-burning saunas – between Vail and Aspen, and connected by 350 miles of suggested routes ideal for cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing in the winter and hiking in the summer. It's perfect for couples and families. Reservations are by lottery system only and cannot be made online.
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Arjuna Hot Yoga
- Aspen, USA
- Activities › Yoga
Owned by a groovy husband and wife team, this is the place to get your yoga fix in Aspen. It offers four or five yoga classes per day lasting 60 to 90 minutes, spanning the traditions from power yoga and vinyasa to yin yoga and the bad old grandad of heat: Bikram. It offers a January teacher-training course with a skiing/snowboarding component.
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Aspen Ice Garden
For a full-size indoor arena skating experience hit the Ice Garden, a single surface (85ft by 185ft) that many figure skaters and hockey skaters consider one of the best-maintained in the region. The arena is generally open to the public between 1:30pm and 4pm, but the schedule is subject to change year round; check the website for details.
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Aspen Bike Tours & Rentals
Easily the most laid-back bike shop in town – shaved legs and lycra bravado are nowhere to be found here. Along with premium road and mountain bikes for rent, it also has a network of private guides who can set you up on terrific mountain-biking tours onto trails seldom glimpsed by tourists. Allow 24-hours' notice for staff to set it up.
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Ute City Cycles
A high-end road and mountain bike retailer, this place also offers limited rentals from its demo fleet – there's nowhere else in town that you can rent $6500 Orbea road bikes or $2700 Yeti mountain bikes. Rentals are $75 per day with a 2-day maximum; no reservations. Staff can also point you in the direction of Aspen's best cycling.
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