Sitting within the Rocky Mountains, Aspen is a lovely tourist destination well-known for its towering mountains and high-end mountains.
5 Things to do in Aspen
It’s hard to narrow down what to do while in Aspen. The beautiful town in Colorado is full of incredible sights and exciting activities; it can be challenging to decide what to do first! Below are five things to do while in Aspen.
Downtown Aspen
Downtown Aspen holds everything: designer labels, local boutiques, restaurants, bakeries, art galleries, and beautiful hotels. From its lovely streets, you’ll be able to catch the Silver Queen Gondola, which rides all the way to the top of Ajax Peak. Downtown Aspen is also where the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies is located, and it is where both visitors and locals can learn about the environment of Aspen. You can simply drop in or arrange for a custom tour.
Outside of the tourist season, Aspen is home only to about 7,000 people, but this number fluctuates during the winter and summer when the area is flooded with tourists hoping to experience the beautiful scenery.
Skiing
Skiing is one of the more popular activities in Aspen because the town is close to four different mountains.
- Aspen Snowmass: This is on Aspen mountain, also known as Ajax to locals, and the area has four different ski areas and over 5,300 acres of terrain available to ski. This mountain can be accessed directly from the Silver Queen Gondola.
- Aspen Highlands: Home to the Highland Bowl. This basin has terrain only accessible by hiking. It’s an area populated with experienced skiers.
- Buttermilk Mountain: Buttermilk Mountain is one of the more popular mountains because it’s one of the easier options to ski on. Because of this, newbies use this mountain to sharpen their skills. There is also an area known as Panda Peak for kids.
- Snowmass: Reaching 4,400 ft, Snowmass is the highest vertical rise in the state. It has over 3,300 acres of terrain and is a popular option for experienced skiers.
Whatever your skill level may be, you’re sure to have fun on one of these mountains.
Hiking
Not only is Aspen full of beautiful mountains, but it’s also full of many wonderful, vibrant trails.
- Maroon Bells: Not only are the Maroon Bells two of the most beautiful mountains to gaze upon, but they are also full of trails to explore. One of the trails is the Crater Lake trail, which is 3.6 miles long and has fantastic views of Maroon Lake. The Maroon Lake Scenic trail, which is a 1-mile loop, is a very popular trail that is also accessible from the mountains, and it is perfect for hikers of any level. The Maroon Lake Scenic Trail follows along the lake and the creek that flows into it.
- Rio Grande Trail: This trail is not only one of the more popular hikes in Aspen, but it is also one of the longest. It stretches 42 miles, climbing into the mountains and linking Aspen with Glenwood springs. It is a fairly easy trail, but due to its length, it does take some time to complete.
- Grottos Trail: A much simpler and smaller trail, Grottos Trail with a half-mile loop with a beautiful waterfall. The sights alone are enough to take your breath away.
Each of the trails is filled with wildlife and beautiful foliage.
T-Lazy-7 Ranch
In Maroon Creek Valley sits T-Lazy-7 Ranch. This outdoor ranch raises beef and honey, and it hosts a variety of different fun activities for the various seasons, like:
- Snowmobiling in winter
- Fly Fishing
- Horseback Riding
- Ranch Life
During the winter, snowmobiling is what draws most tourists to the ranch. T-Lazy-7 offers different snowmobile tour packages, even including lunch in some of them!
Visitors can also rent cabins on the ranch, along with long-term housing, and the ranch even hosts wedding ceremonies and celebrations! With all that’s available, why not give T-Lazy-7 Ranch a visit?
Silver Queen Gondola
The Silver Queen Gondola is available all year round, and by riding it, you’ll get a beautiful scenic route all the way up to the mountain. The peak of the mountain, Ajax, is 11,000 ft, and it is beautiful to behold no matter the season.
The gondola itself is 12,000 ft long, and the entire trip is close to twenty minutes in length. It is a trip one must experience when visiting Aspen.
When visiting the warm town, there are so many incredibly fun things to do, and there are plenty of places to stay in Aspen.
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