Maroon Bells in April??
 

I'm doing a cross country road trip from Virginia to San Francisco starting April 8, and plan to hit Colorado April 9/10/11. We are staying in Glenwood Springs either 2 or 3 nights with some family, and are looking for some things to do. Hanging Lake is on our to do list, and we have considered checking out the caverns. We also have the hot springs, the tram, and Doc Holliday's gravesite (family includes two young boys) on our potential list of things to do. We know that Aspen is about an hour from here, so we were hoping to see the Maroon Bells, but everything I see says that the roads will probably still be closed when we will be there. My question is, is there any hiking to or near Maroon Bells that you would recommend and is accessible in early April?

We will be heading on to Bryce Canyon the morning of the 11th, so we really only have most of the 9th (depending on what we do for our drive from VA to CO) and all day on the 10th.

Also, we need some good restaurant recommendations in Glenwood Springs! Wiling to try all kinds of food, but nothing too terribly expensive please!

Leaving the 8th and hitting CO the 9th? Are you driving straight through, changing drivers? Just a thought from someone who has driven from NC numerous times.
Near Glenwood there is an exhibit about building the highway through the canyon--and a bike trail--that is very interesting.

We haven't decided if we are driving straight through or stopping one night somewhere. It's my dad and I, so we will be changing drivers and sleeping some in the car.