west maroon trail

这条径走起来比较麻烦，因为要开车，如果骑自行车也可以。只是要先到Ruby Park拿到地图之后再走，不然真的摸不着北的会。另外海拔高，所以衣服很必要！

We began on the Crested Butte end of the trail. We arrived in Crested Butte the night before and our son dropped us at the trail head in the morning. The trail began with easy going rolling terrain. My wife and I are flat-landers in our late 50's. The hike was challenging to us, but oh so worth it! The views from the pass onwards were of the best views in my memory. The scenery was fantastic. I also think it was easier hiking in the direction from Crested Butte to Aspen. We plan to do more hiking in this area next year.

my fiance (27 and 28) and I hiked here and had lunch by the waterfall which is just under an hour from crater lake. easy hike not steep at all, great views

We hiked this the first weekend of September. It was the most gorgeous hike I've ever done. It is definitely challenging though (we were camping so we had packs). Get an early start (around 7 AM). We used Dolly's Shuttle to get back to aspen and they were wonderful! Definitely recommend to anyone who wants to see wonderful wildlife (we saw a moose!), beautiful wildflowers and a challenging hike.

We , 3 couples, planned this trip for a while, took care of the logistics, transportation to and from the trailheads at either end, accommodations and dine is Crested Butte etc and set off on a nice day in early August, start at the trailhead at 7 am worked out well. Gorgeous scenery, steady climbing and crossing a couple of creeks, poles were very helpful, and reached the crest after a hard 1000ft vertical hike within the last mile or so before the crest.Hike down to Crested Butte through some amazingly beautiful fields of wild flowers, after almost 12 miles and about 6 hours with some stops arrived happy and tired in CB for well deserved dinner and drinks.

I ventured out on this 11 mile trail with 5 other gals. We hiked from Aspen to Crested Butte and stayed in a hotel and then ventured back on the same trail. We debated taking the East Maroon Trail back, but due to expected weather and lack of details, we couldn't be sure how long that route would have taken. That said, taking the West trail back to Aspen was as gratifying as the first time over the Crested Butte. The wildflowers are unbeatable. I have never seen such a display of color and variety. The flowers seemed to change from the Aspen side to the Crested Butte side. It took us about 6 hours to do the hike. There are a few steep places that slowed us down. This is a life experience not to be missed. I would love to see more information on the East route as the info out there is conflicting.

Beautiful 11 mile hike to Crested Butte from Maroon bells parking lot. took about 5.5 hours with a lunch break on top of West Maroon and some snack/photo stops. Got a shuttle (dolly shuttles) into Crested butte town from the end of the trail above Emerald lake.

Amazing!!! Incredibly beautiful, especially when the wildflowers are in bloom. I wrote a post describing the hike and logistics. For additional information, see my post "West Maroon Trail / Crested Butte to Aspen"

Great hike along clean and cold stream with vistas, moose and waterfalls. take a picnic and plenty of water.

Hiked from Aspen to Crested Butte and back on this trail. It is spectacular! The hike from CB to Aspen is definitely easier. We live at sea level and struggled for air on the climb both ways, but the climb on the Aspen side seemed longer and steeper. Wildflowers in late July were amazing....especially on the CB side. Used Alpine Express shuttle and stayed at the hostel and had a great experience!

Great hike... amazing scenery. My best advice is to pack along a pair of Tevas or Chacos if you are heading up to the top of the pass & beyond. There are several creek crossings on the Aspen side (above Crater Lake), and you will not want wet hiking boots (gaiters will not help you as the water in mid-July was mid-calf deep). We changed shoes for the creek crossings and had happy, dry feet for the climb.

The shortest way to hike to Crested Butte (approx 7 miles). If you are headed from Aspen you will start at Maroon lake 10,200 ft and summit at West Maroon Pass at approx 12,500 feet. This is a burner. I find it easier to hike from Crested Butte to Aspen. Lots of gorgeous wildflowers and wild raspberry bushes. Note there is a river crossing after Crater Lake that can be daunting in early season. Don't bother booking a shuttle if you are headed to Crested Butte (unless you arrive late) it's very easy to hitch hike to town.

If animals are along the paths rangers keep you away. Even on a weekday afernoon there were many visitors.

Having completed the overnight hiking trip from Aspen to Crested Butte over the Maroon Passes the last week of Sept 2013 with three friends from the U.K., I'd thought I'd take the opportunity to provide a trip report to help others attempting to do the same. We arrived in Aspen from Denver on a Sunday, with plans to a hike in the Aspen area for a few days before heading over to Crested Butte. The original plans had us renting a condo in Aspen for 3 nights, hike to Crested Butte, spend two nights in a rented house and then hike back to Aspen. This allowed 2 1/2 days hiking in the Aspen area for folks to acclimate a bit. We hiked the mtns directly to the north of Aspen itself, and then went up to Cathedral Lake (near Ashcroft) to get a bit more elevation. Both hikes were beautiful, with about 3 to 4 inches of snow at Cathedral Lake. The logistics in planning for the over night to Crested Butte involved an initial decision as to whether or not to start the trek by going over the West Maroon Pass, or by going over the East Maroon Pass. From what I understand, most start by going over West Maroon Pass and then return via East Maroon Pass. We opted to start with East Maroon Pass as the hike is about 16 miles and we wanted to do this longer hike first, and then return via West Maroon Pass from Crested Butte which is about an 11 mile hike. For acclimation purposes its' about 10.5 miles up to East Maroon Pass which is about 11,800 ft, so a more gradual climb to the pass. The end of the East Maroon Pass section ends at a trail head just above the small town of Gothic, so we had arranged a pick up with Alpine Express to take us into Crested Butte at the end of the hike. Our plan was then to return to Aspen with a drop-off by Alpine Express at Schofield Park and then across West Maroon Pass (about 12,500). Schofield Park trail head is a bit higher than the West Maroon trail head on the Aspen side, so not as much elevation gain to get to the pass from this side. On the day of the overnight hike we left Aspen at 0630 and got to the Maroon Bells Ranger Station about 6:50. The Ranger Station wasn't open yet so we self registered for the $10 fee and parking stub for the car. During peak season (before Labor Day) the road to the West Maroon trail head is closed to shuttles only 0900-5:00 P.M., and then after Labor Day through the end of the month Friday-Sunday. Though we were doing the East Maroon Pass trail to start, we used the West Maroon Trail head over-night parking lot, so as to finish our return at the West Maroon trail head and not have to go an extra 3 miles back down to the East Maroon trail head. We left our car at about 7:15 and walked back down the entrance road a short bit to meet the trail (signposted) to meet up with the East Maroon Trail (about 1 1/2 miles) and about 1 1/2 miles back down to the East Maroon trail head. Once on the East Maroon trail, we began our steady climb through the forest towards the pass. Great views of Pyramid Peak on the way. Prior to the hike I had done extensive queries as to the nature of stream crossings as I had hrd there were many on the East Maroon Trail and during the late spring into early summertime, some could be impassable. Most had advised no problem this time of year, but I took some crocs anyway and let my buddies know to do the same. On the way up to the pass (about mid-way and about 3/4s of a mile apart) we hit two crossings for which there was no way to get across but take off the boots and roll up the pants. The first crossing, at the lowest level, was right at the knees, and we all made it across in crocs, sandals, one barefoot, with poles for stability. Boots back on to the next crossing, and then off again for a stream just below the knees. Be sure to unstrap your pack when crossing so if you go over, the pack doesn't stay with you, and even though we had one go barefoot, it isn't advised and fairly dangerous. After the stream crossings we made our way up to the treeline and up over the pass. About 4-5 inches of snow above the tree-line, over the pass and down the other side. After the pass it was about 4.5 miles back down the valley towards Crested Butte. Two more stream crossings on this side required boots off, though not as deep on the side before the pass. Towards the end of the trail, you pass Judd Falls and the follow a sign to the trail head parking a lot (about another 1/2 mile or so). We arrived right at 5:00 P.M, and were picked up by Jim from Alpine Express. Alpine normally picks up at this trail head at 4 or 6 P.M. during the high season, but accommodated a 5:00 pick up at this time of the season. Jim, long time resident of Crested Butte, and previous Mayor of the town, passed on a lot of local knowledge during the 20 minute trip to Crested Butte. After checking the weather, we decided to hike/return the next day to Aspen to beat a front with snow that was coming in two days. Alpine Express was great in accommodating our need to leave from Schofield Park a day early, and our plan was to drive back around to Crested Butte via Kebler Pass from Aspen when we finished our hike for our second night in Crested Butte. We were picked up the next morning at 0800 for our start of the West Maroon Trail back to Aspen, leaving from Schofield Park trail head. The trip was about 50 minutes, and a pretty tricky road. Not too much later in the year, ice and snow probably prohibit the journey all the way to the trail head. The West Maroon trail was beautiful and fairly open (different from the forested trek up East Maroon) all the way back to Aspen, up and over the pass and down the valley back to the Maroon Bells trail head. About 5-6 inches of snow around the pass, and no streams requiring "boots off" on either side of the pass this time of the season. We arrived at the West Maroon trail head about 4:15 P.M., picked up the car, and drove back to Crested Butte via Carbondale and Kebler Pass. The trip back took about 2 1/2 hours though most of the Kebler Pass road is a packed dirt/gravel and probably not as quick/passable after a good snow storm and during the winter. Even though we had just missed the wildflowers, great hike and beautiful vistas on both hikes of our overnighter. Some say its better to hike up the valley to West Maroon, for the views in front for the West Maroon pass but we were pleased with our route and a great trip all around.

Our first day hike in the Maroon Bells and it was amazing! As it moderately climbs through beautiful stands of Aspen we hiked beyond Crater Lake and into the forest and across several scree fields. Very scenic with many stream crossings and a constant view of the pass. Sure wish we had planned to go on to Crested Butte...next time!