Visiting Maroon Bells near Aspen

[Pull Dog]

How's the best way to see Maroon Bells?   I think I would prefer to be at the gate at 5:00 and drive myself in so I can stay until near dark.   My wife thinks we should park in Aspen and take the shuttle.    Also I think to be in there at sunset or sunrise would offer the best photographic opportunities.   

[agesilaus]

OL I don't know but I've seen photos showing the shoreline absolutely packed with photographers. There must have been 20 or 25 cameras on tripods and more being handheld. I assume these are early morning shots but it could be sunset. I considered visiting but that shot cooled off my interest.

Yeah we've all duplicated famous shots but this is way over the limit for me.

It seems to me that there is a campground some where near this site.

[2gypsies]

I'd recommend taking the bus.  You can only drive in during certain hours and parking is very limited.  Here's some good information.

https://www.aspensnowmass.com/inside-aspen-snowmass/stories/maroon-bells-101-all-you-need-to-know

[JRP]

The free bus from Aspen runs 8:00am to 5:00pm only. Its the popular option with most short term visitors.  No personal vehicles allowed on the road during bus hours.

I prefer to drive in, which means you have to enter before the start of buses at 8:00am and can't drive out until the buses stop at 5:00pm.  It was s a $10 fee to drive to Maroon Lake parking lot last time I did it, but I heard it was being raised to $20

During the peak fall leaf season, last 2 weeks Sept & 1st week Oct, there are very large crowds and additional restrictions, During these weeks if you try to drive in, you'll end up in an overflow lot.

Edited August 26, 2019 by JRP