Maroon Bells
Maroon Peak (14,163 Feet) And North Maroon Peak (14,014 Feet) Above Maroon Lake In The Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness Of The White River National Forest Commonly Called The Most Photographed Mountains In North America. · Aspen, Colorado
Two fourteen-thousand-foot peaks of deep maroon mudstone stand at the head of a valley above a lake that reflects them, and the result is the most photographed mountain view in North America - on calendars, screensavers and half the marketing Colorado has ever produced. The rock that makes them beautiful also makes them lethal: it is rotten, loose sedimentary mudstone rather than solid granite, and the Forest Service has posted a sign at the trailhead for decades calling them the Deadly Bells and telling climbers plainly how many people the peaks have killed. Almost nobody who comes here climbs them. They come for the fifteen-minute walk from the car park to Maroon Lake, which is now reservation-only because the valley could not cope with the number of people who wanted it. In season you now need either a booked shuttle from Aspen Highlands or a timed vehicle reservation, and the autumn slots disappear within minutes of release - which is the single thing that stops people seeing the Bells.
Maroon Creek Road, White River National Forest, Aspen, Colorado, 81611, United States
ACCESS IS BY RESERVATION and this is the thing that defines a visit. In season, typically mid-May to late October, Maroon Creek Road is managed with either a booked shuttle from Aspen Highlands or a timed vehicle reservation, both released in advance and both selling out - autumn weekends go almost immediately. Outside that season the road is gated well below the lake and the valley is reached on skis, snowshoes or fat bikes. Confirm the current reservation system before planning anything.