We visited Aspen/Snowmass over Memorial Day weekend. This is not the peak time of year, as far as visitors, so it was nice that it was quiet and uncrowded. Spring had just sprung in this area of the country and it was absolutely gorgeous!
We stayed in a condo in Snowmass Village. It was only a 15-20 minute drive from Snowmass to Aspen and we were able to get our condo for about $100 a night. This is the down season in Snowmass, just after ski season ends and right before everything opens back up for summer. But, it was nice and quiet. Our condo had a heated pool and hot tub that we could use, so it worked out well for us. We had a kitchen, so we brought breakfast, lunch and snacks with us to eat in the condo.
There were only a handful of restaurants open in Snowmass, but we did enjoy pizza at
Tasters. We had dinner a couple of nights in Aspen. We ate at
Ryno's pizza and I had an amazing salad there. It is a great pace for kids, because there is an arcade in the restaurant. We stopped in and enjoyed a beer at the
Aspen Brewing Company tap house. And, finally we had dinner at the Mexican restaurant,
Mi Chola. It was delish!
The town of Aspen was a lot smaller and laid back than what I had imagined it would be. It is my new favorite mountain town. I just loved the vibe.
The drive to Aspen on Owl Creek Road was so beautiful. We saw several herds of Elk on the drive. The drive up to Snowmass Village from HWY 82 is also amazing. It is so pretty, it looks unreal.
HIKING
I really wanted to see the Maroon Bells while we were there, but in order to see it, we would have had to pay to take a shuttle bus up to it. We opted not to do that and instead decided we were close enough to do the Crystal Mill hike. Crystal Mill is one of the most beautiful, picturesque Colorado spots.
We got up early and drove to Marble, CO, which was about a 45 minute drive. It was a beautiful drive. And, Marble is an interesting little town. There were marble sculptures everywhere.
The actual hike is on a rocky road, which you also share with 4 wheel drive and off-road vehicles. So, if you have a Jeep or a RAZR, it would be really fun. We drove part of the road before we parked our truck. Koen and I were too scared to make it very far. The road is really narrow and in some spots there are some steep drop offs.
There are no signs to find the road/trail. Once you make it through Marble, you could park at the bottom of the hill just before the "No Winter Maintenance" sign, or continue up the hill (most cars can make this part, but it is a very bumpy ride - you might want to make sure you have used the bathroom before starting the climb!). At the top of the hill the road forks and this is where the only sign is. It's just not explicit. Left forks to lost mountain trail. Right says the town of Crystal 4 miles. To the right there is a a place for 2 cars to park. If you keep going to the right, even though it appears you are going nowhere, there is more parking. The road/trail then takes a sharp left down a hill.
Driving: Any capable 4 wheel drive verhicle you are willing to take off road would be fine. We saw a wide variety of vehicles, Jeeps, trucks and SUVs. There were also several ATV's, RAZR's and dirt bikes. Even a few people on mountain bikes making the trek from Marble to Crested Butte.
Hiking: most of the trail is flat, but there are some climbs and descents. On the way back, we thought it would be mostly downhill, but there were still quite a bit of climbs. You follow the river the whole time, so there is generally a nice breeze. We had a decent amount of shade on the way out, but it was mostly sun on the hike back. We brought small, washcloth sized towels and they were great to keep up cool. We just got them wet in the river and put them around our necks - worked great.
The first site you see on the trail is Lizard Lake. It was unreal how clear the water was. You could see the fish so easily. There were quite a few people fishing here.
This is the type of road that you hike on.
This time of year, there were pretty wild flowers along the trail. Isn't this a great photo that Koen took!?
It is about a 4 mile hike to the mill and it is beautiful! If you keep walking past the mill for about another 5 minutes or so, you will reach the town of Crystal.
Crystal is an old abandoned mine town (ghost town) from the 1800s. We were lucky enough to talk to a nice young woman who she and her boyfriend just bought out his family to take over the historic site and re-open the cabins and open a camping site in the town of Crystal. They are also re-opening the old General Store. We packed lunches and ate them in Crystal before heading back. For the hike back, you just follow the same road down. We started our hike around 9:30/10:00 AM and the trail was not too busy; however on the way back it was a lot busier. We had to pull off to the side a number of times to let the vehicles by.We definitely want to make it back to this part of the country this fall when the aspens are golden! I found this place on VRBO - doesn't it look amazing? I hope you have enjoyed this post and if you visit, please let us know!! We definitely loved our time in Aspen/Snowmass and can't wait to visit again!
