I made the trek from Aspen Highlands to Maroon Lake twice this weekend. I am providing the following updated information concerning access to the Maroon Bells for future searches in this forum.

Normally, you must ride the shuttle bus from Aspen Highlands. The price, as of August 2007, is $6 per person roundtrip.

Technically, the shuttle bus fee is $6 per person to ride up to Maroon Lake and free to ride back, since they confiscate your ticket as you board the outbound bus and no ticket is requested on the return.

Shuttle buses run every 20 minutes. The earliest bus leaves Aspen Highlands just after 9am and the last bus returns from Maroon Lake at 5 pm.

Once you are in Aspen Highlands, it is not hard to find the buses. Look for tan signs reading "Maroon Bells Shuttle Bus". The signs are difficult to miss. Tickets are sold at the Four Mountain Sports Shop.

It is possible to drive the entire distance to Maroon Lake if you are staying at the campground, have at least 11 people in your vehicle, your license plate or a placard indicates disability, or you arrive before 9am or after 5pm.

Note that from 7-9am and 5-7pm, while you are allowed to drive to Maroon Lake, you must purchase a $10 usage pass. Even with this pass in your possession, you are not allowed to drive to Maroon Lake between 9am and 5pm. Before 7am and after 7pm, the Forest Service rangers are not on duty at the "road block" and no fee is required to drive to the lake.

We took the shuttle bus yesterday and drove (early arrival) today. The road is full of bicyclists in the summer, so be careful. The bus is essentially hassle-free, but driving allows for photography stops along the way.

Early morning is best for photography. We originally planned to do the Maroon Bells yesterday afternoon and do Ashcroft (a Colorado ghost town) this morning. The light was so harsh yesterday that we decided to rush over to Ashcroft and do the Maroon Bells again this morning. The light was much better early today.

If photography is a serious motivation for visiting the Maroon Bells, get there early.

Thanks for the info about the maroon bells and the bus. I never knew that because the one time I was there, we had hiked over from Crested Butte and just caught the bus into town. Who knew you were supposed to pay?

Williamscb13 - how long is the hike from Crested Butte and did you use a car shuttle or hike back? This intriqued me several years ago when we were in CB but I haven't been back there in the summer to give it further consideration.

It's been a number of years since I did the hike, maybe 4 or 5. We keep putting it on our list to do it again one summer but haven't made it.

We left very early in the morning like 6 or 6:30 for the West Maroon pass which is past Gothic. The start of the trailhead is high, about 10,000 feet and then you walk up to the pass. There were lots of people doing the hike the day we did it. (late July/early August) The hike up to the pass is the longest and hardest part of the hike, not from steepness just from lack of oxygen.
I think it took us 3-4 hours to make the pass, so 10 a.m. ish. We took a break there, had a bite to eat and then continued on into Aspen.

I think the hike is supposed to take 6-7 hours, it is 13 miles, I think. Once you get through the pass, it is all downhill into the Maroon Bells park and the elevation is like 6,000. So you are coming down a long way. The day we hiked, there had been a rockslide and just going 100 yards over it picking our way through the rocks, added another hour to our time. Apparently if it hadn't happened the night before, the trail is kept clear.

We spent the night in Aspen. Two of us got up early and fly back to Crested Butte on a flight service that flies between the mountain towns. The plane was small enough to actually land at the airport in Crested Butte not Gunnison.

Our families joined us the next day in Aspen. One car immediately drove back to CB and a few of us contiued on to Vail to do a bit of shopping.

We did not hike back and we did not arrange for a commercial service to drive us back as we had other plans. But I know there are people who do shuttles over.

I highly recommend the hike, it was not hard, just long. Absolutely beautiful.

Smueller,

Thank you for the update. We love Aspen and plan to return this weekend after a couple years hiatus, but had gone for 8 years in a row Labor Day weekend for the Motherlode Volleyball tournament.

Anyhow, we always go up to Maroon Bells, and I am glad to see that logistics don't seem to have changed. We like to drive up ourselves before 9. Would be fun to take the bus once though to hear some naration.

Looking forward to seeing the whole beautiful area again!

Stephie

Stephie,

The shuttle narration was almost embarassing. The quality probably varies from driver to driver.

Our driver told us that the igneous rocks in the area were part of the Morrison Formation. Anyone that is the least bit familiar with the geology of central Colorado would know that this is nonsense.

Some of her history seemed a bit muddled as well.

The Bells are still one of the best sites in Colorado though.

Have fun.

Any recommendations on a nice place to stay near Aspen or the Maroon Bells hike? I'd love to do this next summer. We hiked around Breckenridge this summer.