5 Day Summer Hike and Mountain Bike Car Camping Adventure

Day 1: Hiking the Maroon Bells Wilderness (Note: It is suggested to pick up local guide books and maps for some of the hikes and biking available for this itinerary. Here are some excellent biking guide book options: Mountain Biking Crested Butte by Bob D'Antonio and Mountain Biking Aspen also by Bob D'Antonio. For great hiking books, try: Aspen/Snowmass Hiking Trails by Warren Ohlrich, Best Summit Hikes in Colorado by James Dziezynski and Hiking Colorado's...read more

Day 1: Hiking the Maroon Bells Wilderness (Note: It is suggested to pick up local guide books and maps for some of the hikes and biking available for this itinerary. Here are some excellent biking guide book options: Mountain Biking Crested Butte by Bob D’Antonio and Mountain Biking Aspen also by Bob D’Antonio. For great hiking books, try: Aspen/Snowmass Hiking Trails by Warren Ohlrich, Best Summit Hikes in Colorado by James Dziezynski and Hiking Colorado’s Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness by Eric Molvar). This itinerary is geared towards active and adventurous people with a good fitness level. For your first full day in Aspen, get an early start! Your first day of hiking visits the beautiful Maroon Bell wilderness. How challenging you make the day is up to you—a peaceful walk to Maroon Lake all the way to climbing either of Maroon Bells impressive summits (or one of the nearby peaks). Keep in mind if you’re going for the summits, you’ll need a very early start—preferably pre-dawn—because the terrain is rugged and the mileage is long (anywhere between 10-15 miles round trip at altitude). Depending on your aspirations for the day (scramble to summits or simply meander along Maroon Creek into the valley a bit) you'll want to base your start time accordingly. An early start is recommended for two reasons: you want to beat the thunderstorms that roll in the early afternoon and the road up to the trailhead is only accessible by bus from mid-June through September from 8:30 AM -5 PM. If you want to drive your own car, you'll need to get there before they close the road. No matter what your goals, you'll need to eat a hearty breakfast and Poppycock's in Aspen is a great place to fuel up. You will need to take the shuttle bus after 8:30 from Ruby Park in Aspen; contact the Roaring Fork Transit Agency at 925-8484 for more information (shuttles run regularly all day long during the main tourist season). When you are done, head for the Silver Queen campground right in town in Aspen. It’s a good idea to make reservations, especially during the summer season ($13 per night). The sites are well maintained and there are facilities here. If you want to eat in town instead of chowing down on camping fare, Aspen has the full gamut of restaurants in nearly every culinary style for every budget. Hikers tend to migrate towards hearty meals at establishments without dress codes—such as Boogie’s Diner or Woody Creek Tavern—but the choice is yours. Nileguide has a full list of dining options if you’re feeling in the mood for other cuisine.  hide

Day 2: Bike Government Trail and camp along Schofield Pass in Crested Butte/Aspen Day 2 finds you hitting the mountain bike circuit and the famous East Government Trail. This 13 mile adventure has all types of terrain and passes through beautiful stands of Aspen trees. It's a challenging trail; if you're looking for something more moderate there are some good 4x4 roads and singletrack options available. The local bike shops are helpful in helping pick out a...read more

Day 2: Bike Government Trail and camp along Schofield Pass in Crested Butte/Aspen Day 2 finds you hitting the mountain bike circuit and the famous East Government Trail. This 13 mile adventure has all types of terrain and passes through beautiful stands of Aspen trees. It’s a challenging trail; if you’re looking for something more moderate there are some good 4x4 roads and singletrack options available. The local bike shops are helpful in helping pick out a good trail. Aspen Velo is a great place to get ride ideas or rent a bike if you need to (http://www.aspenvelo.com/). After the ride, pack up your gear and take a drive over to Crested Butte. There are two options: Kebler Pass south of Aspen for all vehicle types and Schofield Pass which is more direct but requires a high clearance 4x4 vehicle. Kebler Pass is a well maintained dirt road that runs about 30 miles and ends in the town of Crested Butte. From there, you’ll want to follow main street up to Schofield Pass. On the Crested Butte side, the pass is a well-maintained dirt road passable by all vehicles (with a few bumps here and there). 4x4s can begin Schofield Pass in Aspen and drive up and over the summit of the pass. On the Crested Butte side above the town of Gothic, there are dozens of free car camping pull outs to set up camp for the night (though they tend to be a little crowded on the weekends). There are also side roads from the top of the pass that offer even more camping (some rugged cars can make it to these areas but your car make bottom out in a few spots). If you have a car, I’d suggest finding a nice campsite above the town of Gothic on the Crested Butte side of Schofield Pass.  hide

Day3: Hike Treasury Mountain or Bike in Town Day 3 on your trip a flex day-hike or bike, it's your option. If hiking, head to the top of Schofield Pass then turn off south along rugged but passable roads to Treasury Peak (exact directions for this excellent hike can be found online at www.summitpost .com or in print in Best Summit Hikes in Colorado by James Dziezynski). The hike is a modest round trip adventure of 6 miles that is mostly off trail along an easy...read more

Day3: Hike Treasury Mountain or Bike in Town Day 3 on your trip a flex day—hike or bike, it’s your option. If hiking, head to the top of Schofield Pass then turn off south along rugged but passable roads to Treasury Peak (exact directions for this excellent hike can be found online at www.summitpost .com or in print in Best Summit Hikes in Colorado by James Dziezynski). The hike is a modest round trip adventure of 6 miles that is mostly off trail along an easy –to-follow class 2 ridge with the summit of the peak topping out over 13,000 ft. Some of the very best scenery in Colorado can be found in this area (and good news: it’s a dog friendly hike without a lot of exposure). If you decide to bike, head back into the town of Crested Butte and ride Strand Hill or any of the dozens of rides available at the lower elevations off of Schofield Pass. Tomorrow is the biggest day of the trip, so gauge how much you want to push yourself accordingly. Crested Butte is a great town to hang out in and offers a variety of food and shops. There’s even a modest nightlife scene. Return to your humble car camping spot for the night and get ready for a ride on what is arguably Colorado’s best mountain bike trail!  hide

Day 4 Bike the fabled 401 trail. Wake up and get an early start-it's time to bike one of best mountain trails out there! The 401 starts at the summit of Schofield Pass; it's best to just ride your bike up from camp to the start since you'll be making a huge loop. The marked trail starts with some ambitious climbing at over 10,000 feet and opens up to beautiful alpine meadows. At the apex of the ride, begin a long and exciting singletrack descent (or which...read more

Day 4 Bike the fabled 401 trail. Wake up and get an early start—it’s time to bike one of best mountain trails out there! The 401 starts at the summit of Schofield Pass; it’s best to just ride your bike up from camp to the start since you’ll be making a huge loop. The marked trail starts with some ambitious climbing at over 10,000 feet and opens up to beautiful alpine meadows. At the apex of the ride, begin a long and exciting singletrack descent (or which nearly all is rideable by most bikers, minus very short sections were you may want to dismount for safety) that brings you down along the north side of Schofield Pass. You’ll have several options if you want to shorten the ride with exits back to Schofield Pass in several spots. Return to camp after this amazing ride and get ready to head back to Aspen (either via Kebler Pass for cars or up and over Schofield Pass for high clearance vehicles). Returning via Kebler Pass gives you the advantage of driving through Crested Butte one more time for food, fuel, snacks, etc. but either way will get you back to Aspen. If you’re getting tired of washing up in rivers, there’s lodging of all degrees to be found in Aspen. From the humble Comfort Inn to the extravagant Hotel Aspen, the choice is yours but remember Aspen can get very pricey for lodging and dining! There’s also the option of camping in town at Silver Queen or Difficult Campgrounds—or you can go just up the road a bit to the Lost Man Campground (also $13 per night) up Independence Pass to get away from the crowds.  hide

Day 5 Hike Lost Man Pass After waking up, head east up Independence Pass to the Lost Man trailhead, located 1.9 miles west of the summit of Independence Pass. This beautiful (and often overlooked) trailhead on the side of the road takes you into the Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness, where you can do a variety of hikes. A simple walk to Independence Lake is an easy, on-trail excursion. Hiking up to Lost Man Pass, you can take a fun class 2+ scramble along the ridge...read more

Day 5 Hike Lost Man Pass After waking up, head east up Independence Pass to the Lost Man trailhead, located 1.9 miles west of the summit of Independence Pass. This beautiful (and often overlooked) trailhead on the side of the road takes you into the Hunter-Fryingpan Wilderness, where you can do a variety of hikes. A simple walk to Independence Lake is an easy, on-trail excursion. Hiking up to Lost Man Pass, you can take a fun class 2+ scramble along the ridge of Geissler Mountain (with peaks over 13,000 ft.) and loop back to the trailhead along off-trail but easy to navigate ridges. When you are done, head for home most likely by going over Independence Pass east to the town of Buena Vista and onward to eastern destinations or by going down the pass through Aspen to head west.  hide