Crater Lake Trail is a 3.8 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Aspen, Colorado that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from June until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
Colorado Tourism Office, 1625 Broadway, Suite 1700 , Denver, CO, 80202, Phone: 800-COLORADO
Directions from Aspen: From mid-June through September the Maroon Creek road is closed from 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., you will need to take a shuttle. You can catch the shuttle from Rubey Park on Durant Street in Aspen. There is a fee for the Maroon Creek Shuttle.If you get an early start, drive 1/2 mile west of Aspen on Highway 82 and turn left at the roundabout onto Maroon Creek Road. Keep right and continue 9-1/2 miles to the Maroon Lake parking area.
December 31, 2020Pleasant early winter hike, broken in trail, recommend spikes but not a deal breaker if you have to loan to significant other who forgot theirs ;) Nice view of Saranac through lookout between trees.
November 14, 2020Amazing!
November 6, 2020November 5, 2020November 5, 2020This trail was one of my favorites of all time! I hiked this on October 25th at 7 am, so right after the cold front hit and the Bells were hard to see until after my hike. It was gorgeous and snowing the entire time.
November 1, 2020Beautiful hike! Very muddy right now. Long stretches of snow and ice, spikes were useful. The lake is dried up. Warm and not windy at all today. I bet it’s just breathtaking before the leaves fall. I plan to come back next August/September.
November 1, 2020Great views! Very muddy and icy, so come prepared!
October 31, 2020The lake is dry and the trail is starting to get a icy in parts. Overall, still a great hike and you can’t beat the views on a sunny day!
October 25, 2020Crater lake is all dried up now, but the hike was wonderful, got so close to the maroon peaks and the views were breathtaking. If you are going by car, get parking reservation online.
October 25, 2020If you are making the trip to Maroon Bells for the day (or even half day), you should 100% do this hike. Absolutely stunning. Hike took us around 2 hours. Lake was dried up when we went this week but still amazing views there and along the way.
October 25, 2020Great views. Lots of rocks. You need to take another path to get a good view of everything! Make sure you have reservation! Still beautiful!
October 24, 2020Crater lake is currently all dried up, but awesome views still!
October 24, 2020Trail is only for exercise at this time of the year. Avid hiker and this is extremely underwhelming. Yes, the lake may be dried up, but I expected better views for being Colorado. The only picture worth taking is the Maroon Lake pic and that's with adding some filters to it. Good luck and happy travels.
October 24, 2020Nice, short hike. Quite rocky but leads to nice views of the maroon bells. Crater lake is currently dry, but the views are still nice. We got the parking permit for 4:30pm on a Friday and enjoyed the sunset in the mountains.
October 22, 2020WARNING!!! You have to have a reservation to do this hike.
October 20, 2020Lake was dried up but it was a great hike still.
October 19, 2020Everyone should do this. It is an incredible view. A little bit difficult but if you take it slow, you should be fine!
October 18, 2020Best mountain views, saw some wildlife, aspens mostly naked at the time, crater lake dried up but still worth seeing. Check with the welcome center in the Highlands for a stand by ticket to the Bells if you have no reservations or drive in before 8am. Do this hike.
October 18, 2020The fall colors are pretty much all gone and the lake is completely dry, but it’s still absolutely beautiful!
October 18, 2020October 16, 2020Great trail conditions. It’s worth the extra hike past Crater Lake (dry) to scramble over more rock fields and see more peaks
October 15, 2020Lake is dry FYI, but the views of the peak are awesome the entire way up. Best hiking option in Maroon Bells in my opinion, aside from the super easy scenic walk.
October 15, 2020
