Welp it's a long drive for just a day hike....but…read more.. If you want to backpack for a night or two it is an amazing place to explore. Fantastic hike to the lake: Roughly 2.8 miles with about 2000 feet of elevation gain. Lovely vistas and streams the whole way. Wildflowers abound aplenty all along the trail if you hit it right. Great campsites ( please pack out everything and no wood fires). Great hike to Electric Pass with slight exposure. Dogs are allowed on the trail. Smallish parking lot Last mile is on bad road and a small car might have problems....just saying

Such a gorgeous hike that's worth it 100%! Still snowy and having spikes and poles would make it…read moreeasier and not as sketchy, but we did see people in sneakers making it. Amazing views of cathedral peak and other mountains. At the lake there were backpackers that camped out over night to hike cathedral peak. Definitely a climb only for experienced people especially with all the snow. The parking lot is small and up a dirt road that low clearance cars can reach. The path is hard to find in the snow at the top but we just followed footprints and the sound of the water. There is no service on the road and ok the hike. Highly recommend this hike, especially when the lake isn't iced over.

This is the perfect beginner trail to go on if you want to feel like you are hiking but without a…read moresteep elevation. To get to the trail, take the Hunter Creek bus from Rubey Park to the stop called "Hunter Creek." The trailhead is almost directly across from the bus stop. The trail opens with many bridges and natural water features, and it is maintained very well. There are no really steep parts, just moderate inclines and declines. You don't need to worry about getting lost on this one! There are some mild rocks that make you feel like you are doing more than you really are. This trail is exceptionally picturesque. As I was sick and a thunderstorm hit while we were hiking this trail, we only went about halfway around the loop. However, this would be a fun and easy one to do with a few hours.

Pretty hike right in the heart of Aspen! Pretty bridges. Different options depending on the length…read moreand difficulty of the hike desired. Pretty steep (for my sea level lungs), but a good hike - good exercise, quite pretty, and nice views of Aspen!

Castle Peak is just outside of Aspen, CO in the elk mountains. It is commonly done with Conundrum…read morepeak, as it is just a short 30-40 min ridge walk away! There is a 2WD road and if you attempt the 4WD lot there are many camp spots and pull outs along the way. I'm notorious for getting my Crosstrek up horrible road, but driving up in the dark I decided to call it at a large split in the road and car camp around camp site 7. The majority of the hike will be up this long awful road unless you're one of the few who gets up to the top! Then it's maybe a mile or 2 or uphill trail and some light scrambling to the summit. The hike itself was nothing special, but the views from the top of the maroon bells and purple mountains were phenomenal. I'd highly recommend continuing on to summit conundrum.

Love Love this reservoir!…read more Snuck away in-between a music fest in Aspen for the day and dropped our SUP's in Ruedi Reservoir. It was such a delight to see this beautiful reservoir on the western slope of the Continental Divide on the Fryingpan River...yep Fryingpan River...lol! This reservoir is da place for not only boating, sailing, biking, hiking, kayaking, SUPing and camping...it's also well known for it's Gold Medal fishery! If you're lucky you might catch some rainbow trout, brown trout or mackinaw trout. Heck, any trout will do! Campers listen up! They've got 4 campgrounds that accommodate 81 campsites and for all you boating enthusiasts, they've got two boat-launching ramps. We watched as boats lined up and it looked like a pretty smooth operation. All in all we can't complain...it was an absolutely beautiful day and we loved all the cool rock formations and little alcoves along the shoreline. This SUPaholic will be back for sure!

Getting here was a little tricky drive in the winter with tons of snow but worth the drive. If you…read morehave 45 minutes 1 direction to chill out on a drive thru the National Forest go for it!

One of my favorite Aspen hikes! A great workout with a rewarding beautiful lake at the top! Dog…read morefriendly and lots of shade.

As I continued on my goal of hiking once a week in Aspen, I saw friends posting pictures of…read moreAmerican Lake. I absolutely loved hiking to Cathedral Lake a few weeks ago, and this trail is just two miles before Cathedral Lake. However, I could not find anyone else interested in this hike so I decided to go by myself. This was one of the clearest trails I have hiked all summer, and I felt 100% safe hiking this one by myself. If you are a first-time solo hiker, this is a great one. This hike seems like it will start out easy, as you jump a stream and cross a meadow. However, you almost immediately get to 45 minutes of switchbacks. The switchbacks were steep enough, and the Aspens do not provide complete coverage from the sun. While I did not need to take a break, it was a very intense way to start a hike. Once you get through the switchbacks, the hike flattens out quite a bit with just a few more hills. The remainder of the hike is mostly shady, which also meant that starting at 10:25 AM was just fine. You hike through many more pine trees and a few meadows. When you come up on the lake, it is just beautiful. There are some trails around the lake, but you should also look for fish in the lake because it is very clear! The hike down is very easy and fast as well because there are very few rocks on this hike. I am usually slower down than up, and I sped down this mountain. I started this hike at 10:25 AM, reached the lake at 12:00 PM, and I was back to my car at 1:40 PM, after spending a little over a half hour at the lake. My biggest issue with this hike is that there are flies EVERYWHERE. Having a fly by your ear for 3.2 miles each way is rough. People also do not pick up after their dogs, and there is dog poop everywhere. So while the actual lake is gorgeous, I found the journey up to Cathedral Lake much more fun and enjoyable. This hike is worth doing if you have the time, but it wouldn't be on my top 5 list in Aspen either.

Wagner Park is right downtown. It is a nice break from all the buildings to see this park. During…read moremy visit it appeared to have a lot of happy dogs enjoying the snow. There is not too much too the park but it is pleasant.

Pretty park in the heart of Aspen! Perfect place to throw around a ball, read a book, or sit with…read morefriends! I found a spot under a tree to read my book, and there were plenty of people and families throwing around baseballs and playing with dogs! Very pretty park - and great place to enjoy Aspen's gorgeous summer weather!

One of the great turns to Aspen. Nice place to stay for a while and enjoy the sight of water in…read morethis splendid land-locked state.

Beautiful lake full of hiking and camping areas. We did dispursed camping, there are ton of spots…read morewith fire pits on highway 82 on the right across from perry peak campground. No reservations required, first come first serve but every time we have come we never had a problem finding a spot even on a holiday weekend like labor day. We played in the lake with our dog Daisy, she absolutely loves swimming for toys and the water amazing! It was cold but not freezing, we want to bring our paddle boards next time. We park at mountain view overlook, be sure to pay the fee to park or you will get a ticket! We love coming here, the views are amazing and it's never too crowded. Highly recommend stopping by or camping here.

La Plata was my last 14er for the season and #27. With it being a class 2, 10 miles and about 4K…read moreelevation, I figured it would be extremely easy! It was a humbling, yet still joyful mountain for me. The hike begins on a pleasant dirt road, where I caught a magnificent sunrise and inadvertently missed the next turn off, which added a couple extra miles and made my start time much later than I wanted. The tree-line portion was breathtaking, with a kiss of fall colors in the foliage and scenic views, plus lots of vertical. Once I reached 12K feet I was surprised with unplanned snow. There was at least 2-3 inches or more, but I wasn't going to turn back. I think the snow is what made the route finding so challenging and I ended up scrambling off a cliff, my life flashing before my eyes and having to retrace my steps to find the correct path. I even studied on 14ers.com and this was not my first rodeo, but I found the last scramble and false summits to be very mentally challenging. It looked like a storm was coming in as well, but thankfully it passed. This is a good reminder to start early, study the route like crazy and be careful! The summit was very beautiful with the snow covered peaks and it was much much easier to spot the trail coming down. La plata is one of the most scenic mountains that I've done and I would still recommend it despite my gnarly summit experience!

La plata is one of colorados 58 14ers. It is considered a class 2. Its moderate rock fall…read morepotential, moderate commitment and moderate exposure. You start at 10,000 feet and it has a total of 4500 feet of elevation gain. The first roughly 2000 feet is through the trees. It is very much uphill from the get go. Currently as of 9/27 the aspens are peaking and it is very beautiful. After 12000 feet you will hit a lot of switchbacks. and it will just get steeper in elevation. Would recommend looking at 14ers.com to look at route and check any current trail conditions. We are headed into winter season when peaks would really be for more skilled climbers. It is a 9.5 mile trail. However 14ers are much more challenging than a typical hiking trail. So if you are not acclimated be sure to be prepared. Lots of water and food and electrolytes. There is not a bathroom at the trailhead. There is also only a small parking lot at the trailhead. About 1/4 mile in is where you turn to actually get on the trail. You will take a left. Be sure to watch for that. The sign is down and on the ground but there is not a huge obvious la plata sign there. Saw several people that missed the turn.