grottos trail

这条郊野径在independence pass那头，其实离市区还蛮远的，但是很值得一看。因为它有冰川侵蚀的现象出现。特别在石头底下看，超漂亮的侵蚀形状。不过可惜就是这条径有点短。

So I almost don't want to share this one for fear the place will get too busy. It's such a great place to stop....take a short hike, explore the ice caves (more of a crack in the ground) and the cascading waterfall, have a picnic. Although this trail is easy and is suitable for almost anyone, come prepared with proper shoes, You will walk on the rocks next to the waterfall and they can get slippery. We didn't go in the ice caves as there was some recent snow and there was a foot of water at the bottom. Can't wait to go back in the summer.

I love going to secluded hikes in Colorado. If you're going/leaving Aspen you must come to this spot. It is right off of HWY82 and you can map yourself to 'Grotto's Trail'. It literally was a 10 min hike to the 'ice caves' (I'm assuming there was no ice since we were there in the fall and 5 mins more to the cascades. It is definitely a hidden gem! Be careful when you are climbing into the ice caves. There is no clear path so you'll have to follow the worn out path down the cave and it is well worth the climb in! Go during noon when there is lots of natural light and you won't regret it.

This hidden gem is right off the road coming down Independence Pass into Aspen. The trail is easy and worth the short trek to the Grottos. It's family friendly all the way although small children will not be able to climb down into the caves but the waterfalls are easily accessible for everyone. Don't be one of those silly tourists who wears flip flops hiking though - the rocks are smooth and good footwear are a must!

The grottos trail is a short hike, but it has a little of everything. There is a beautiful mountain stream that can be easily accessed in several places. It is a great place to for kids to explore, collect pebbles, and toss rocks into the river. If you take a left at the trail head, a short walk will lead you to a beautiful view of a waterful. If you proceed straight at the trailhead, a short hike leads you to the ice caves, a great place to explore and view the interesting rock formations. Going on a little further, you can sit on rocks atop the waterfall providing another great view. My kids are all grown, but I kept thinking how much they would have loved this trail when they were younger - climbing over rocks, playing in the river, exploring the ice caves. I highly recommend this trail to anyone. It is short, relatively easy, and has a little bit of everything. If you are traveling from Aspen to Indenpendce Pass, the trail is on your right about 9 to 10 miles outside of Aspen. Have fun and happy hiking!

Last year on the way to Independence Pass from Aspen we passed several trailheads and camping areas along the road. All of them looked like they would be fun to explore. It took a while to plan ahead for these this year because we couldn’t remember the names of the trailheads. After some extensive searching both in trip advisor and on other sites, we were able to plan for Difficult Trailhead, Weller Lake Trailhead, and Grottos Trailhead. When leaving Aspen to head towards Independence Pass the first trail head is Difficult, the second is Weller Lake Trailhead, the third stop is a Devils Punchbowl, and the fourth stop is Grottos Day use area. When we got here we had just been shooed away from Weller Lake because of a thunderstorm that was moving through the area. We were unsure about how far we should venture out on to the trail, but it looked like the storm was moving in the opposite direction and the rain was letting up. The parking lot for this trailhead is small and it wasn’t crowded at all. There is a pit toilet at one end of the dirt lot and there were chipmunks everywhere. We crossed a foot bridge over the creek and headed up the trail. At some point you have to make a decision about what you want to see while on the trail. The main two attractions on this trail are the Ice Cave and the Cascades. The trail is a giant loop so either direction will work. We chose to go the direction of the Ice Caves first. After a few minutes walking through the woods we started to come across some huge granite boulders and outcroppings. The biggest one of these has an eroded tunnel in the middle of it. There are ways to go down and look into the actual crevasse, but it looked a little more difficult than I wanted to attempt with small children. There was a spot though were you could peer down into the crack and see ice. Apparently during the winter this entire cave fills up with snow and ice and then because of the shade, altitude, and insulating properties of the rock, it takes all summer long for the ice to finally all melt away. We were there on July 30th and there was still plenty of ice inside. We made our way around the ice caves and followed the trails up to the cascades. The cascades are essentially several medium size waterfalls that make their way down the mountain. You can climb on and round the waterfalls, but I would not recommend trying to swim. The current is fast and cold and no telling what kind of dangers lurk just under the surface of the water. The sound and view of the water was amazing. I could sit here all day and just relax. It reminded me of some of those scenes from Last of the Mohicans. After a little while and after taking a few photos we made our way down to the bottom of the cascades and then to the car. We loved the place so much got up early the next day to come back before we made our trip up over Independence Pass. The following day when we came back we turned left before we went over the bridge. This is a smaller out and back trail that just takes you to the foot of the cascades. We stopped along the way skip some rocks and let the kids wade around with their water shoes on. We are going to bring a picnic and try to make an entire day of this place next year. I would recommend Grottos Trail.

Good easy hike well worth the time. Great place to sit and picnic and by roaring forks creek so you could here the rushing water.

The trail to the Ice Caves/Grotto entrance is very short. It doesn't look like you can easily get down into it, but it is possible and not too scary. The inside is relatively small, but gorgeous. This is a fun activity to fill an hour or so, especially in the afternoon.

We were driving on Independence Pass and seen the signs for the grotto and knew that it was a must from reading reviews! This was a very easy trail for us with our 4 kids (ages 2-8). You will need some hiking experience if you'd like to go into the grotto, or at least when we were there you did but it wasn't a problem for us. We also hiked back up and around spending a good hour exploring and getting wet! This is a definite must!!

Our total trip was maybe 30-45 minutes, with the hike taking a total of 10-15 if you don't stop. We came here for the ice caves but it was all melted by now (August). Even so, we were able to climb down into the "caves" to explore a bit, and then walked along the river watching and listening to the waterfalls and cascades that wound their way through the curvy rocks.There were also nice picnic areas and river access from the shores, but we had a long drive ahead of us and jumped back in the care after the short hike.

This spot was so neat! The trail to see the grottos was short and easy. The ice cave was so cool to see. We saw this massive block of ice in the cave in Mid July. The creek has carved out beautiful formations in the rock and is a site that you must see to believe. This is a must-see stop if you are in Aspen.

Friends told us to make sure we stopped at the Grottos on our way back to Denver. We're really glad we did. Just a short walk and you're at a beautiful waterfall over huge boulders. Definitely worth it. We just walked to the falls and then got back on the road, but there are other trails as well.

This year the rivers are raging. Go and enjoy your self with ice cave, cool pines, easy, level walks.

The grottos were a fun experience....huge boulders set in a pine forest with a roaring mountain stream. Good vistas and the cascades are a must view. Our kids went down in the ice caves more a ice caven....cool place to stop

Small area with a couple of trails not far from Aspen with easy access. The trail on the parking lot side of the creek goes to the bottom of a nice waterfall, the trail across the bridge goes up a little to the so called ice caves and the top of the falls. Good place for families to explore but not much for experienced hikers.