Ute Trail is a 5.3 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Aspen, Colorado that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as difficult. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from May until October. Dogs are also able to use this trail.
dog friendly
birding
hiking
nature trips
trail running
walking
forest
views
wild flowers
wildlife
rocky
snow
I loved it. A panting, sweaty, water guzzling man advised I’d be better off doing an easier run at the one mile marker (swing). As he was about to turn back down looking exhausted, I kindly said thanks for the tip and kept going up. My two cents for whatever it’s worth, the top is beautiful and running back down felt amazing.
I did this hike about 3 weeks ago with my friend. Lots of up. Has a very cool look-out rock over Aspen. The trail goes all the way up to the ski lodge. Just our luck the lodge was open, but the bar was closed.
Beautiful hike until you get to the top and everyone and their mom rode the gondola up.
Great hike...tough and really steep most of the way up. Beautiful views. Glad I did it.
It tricked my watch! Shorter than the app posted!
Amber R.
Tourist trap. Comparable to Boulder’s Sanitas but with a looser and more narrow trail, heavier crowds, less shade, essentially nothing worth hiking to/seeing unless you just want a killer calf workout. Easily the worst hike I’ve done in Colorado.
Great hike. I found it tough but glad I did it.
A great hike, incredible views and very strenuous. I thought I was doing well till a dog with 3 legs passed me up.....made it to the top & took gondola down.... best option.
It’s a challenging hike,but worth it. Great views from the top.
My first trail to hike in Aspen.. It was absolutely beautiful.. but very hard.. my husband, son and I really enjoyed the view.. the wild flowers were gorgeous.. will definitely do this trail again..
Very hard. Beginner here, but worth it and very very hard.
Difficult but worth it - spectacular views
Love this hard hike all uphill..... so close to town.
A great hike but don’t turn back at lookout rock. Head to the gondola. That trail will give you the feel of the mountain and the slopes that in months to come will
the source of more adventure.
Rocky, steep switchbacks and incline the whole way. Worth the effort bc the views are beautiful! Swing on the swing!
23rd May - quite busy at the bottom half of the trail, no one to be seen after Ute Rock Overlook. There is still a fair amount of ice at the top of the mountain but I managed with hiking boots. Check to see if the Gondolas are running if that’s how you plan to get back down, they weren’t today ;)
Favorite of all time!!
Great views on way up. . Option of riding tram down!
Trail closed on 12/27/17 due to conditions.
Closed 12/17
Amazing views from the top! Not for a beginner as the incline is fairly relentless but worth it. My advice would be to grab a beer at the top to reward yourself and ride the gondola down!
This was harder than I anticipated, but worth it. Gondola down made it rewarding!
It took two hours for me to get to the top.
Great views!
Unbelievable hike up to the top of Aspen Mountain! The 19 switchbacks aren't difficult, but once you pass the swing and lookout point it gets super steep and much harder. It took me about 2 hours in total to get to the top, about 40 minutes for the switchbacks, and it felt SO good to take the gondola down. Definitely bring a lot of water and snacks because the whole thing kicks your butt and you'll need a lot of fuel.
Great hike. Nice elevation gain with the reward of a great view of Aspen!
Love it!!!!
The views during sunset were amazingly breathtaking.
I went and hiked this trail at the beginning of April right after a few days of snowfall. About 80 percent of the trail was covered in snow so often times during the hike, we weren't even on the trail because we couldn't see it. The view at the top was spectacular and definitely worth hiking to. We couldn't find the trail from the Ute rock overlook to the top of Ajax so we opted to run down the opposite side of the mountain in the back country and ended up sliding into a ski run on our butts. Although not recommended, it was an awesome time!
Difficult, beautiful, worth it. Great first hike of our trip. Definitely hop in the swing and enjoy the view when you get to the top of the switchback section.
How can a 5 mile hike be so hard? When you climb straight up the double black diamonds of Aspen. After a 1.5 section of switchbacks, the trail straightens out and that's when it gets hard. Near the top people were literally stopping every 20 feet for a breather.
The reward? A party scene at the summit, and a gondola ride to the base.