Maroon Lake Scenic Trail + Crater Lake

The accessible iconic walk of the Colorado Rockies. From the shuttle stop at Maroon Lake (2,920m) the Scenic Trail follows the lakeshore to the postcard view of the Maroon Bells — the most-photographed mountains in North America, twin 4,300m pyramids of crumbling maroon mudstone doubled in the water. Past the west end of the lake the route enters the Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness and climbs gently through aspen groves on the Maroon-Snowmass Trail (#1975) to Crater Lake (3,071m), directly beneath the north face of North Maroon Peak and Pyramid Peak's amphitheatre. Access is the managed part: mid-May–October the road is closed to private cars in the daytime and nearly everyone rides the reserved shuttle from Aspen Highlands. Golden aspen weeks (late September) are the crush.