Day Trips to Aspen and Telluride, Colorado
Let’s take a day trip to both Aspen + Telluride! Since Colorado is located close to Moab, we decided to visit these two incredible cities during our extended stay.
NOTE: These are day trip guides specifically for the summer months. Winter is the best time to visit for skiing/snowboarding purposes.
ASPEN
If you haven’t visited already, Aspen should be added to your list to hit while in Colorado. We unfortunately only had an afternoon there (I recommend 2-3 days depending on how active you choose to be), but boy was it memorable! Aspen is full of outdoor activities (hiking, biking, paragliding, skiing, etc.), luxury shopping, great food, and rich history.
To kick off the day, we hiked the Maroon Bells.
MAROON BELLSCASSIDY ARCH VIA GRAND WASH
Scenic Lake Trail: easy, 1.5 miles roundtrip
Maroon Bells is the most popular hike in Aspen and I understand why! This hike was absolutely beautiful! The trail starts at the end of Maroon Lake and offers various streams, waterfalls, and ponds along the way. Listed below are other great hikes we would have loved to hit if we had more time:
Maroon-Snowmass Trail to Crater Lake - moderate, 3.5 miles roundtrip
Maroon Lake Trail - easy, 1 mile roundtrip
West Maroon Trail - easy, 0.8 mile one-way
Maroon Creek Trail - easy, 3.5 miles one-way
NOTE: All of these trails are a bit rocky so make sure to wear durable hiking boots.
HOW TO GET THERE
I found a couple websites a bit confusing, so I’m going to break it down in a couple steps to explain it.
If you plan to arrive before 8am or after 5pm: You need to purchase a vehicle day parking pass ($10/vehicle) and can drive straight to the Bells to park + hike.
If you plan to arrive between the hours of 8am - 5pm: It’s required that you take a shuttle at Aspen Highlands to the Bells. The shuttle is $16/person for a roundtrip ride. I advise that you make a reservation in advance online here to pick a specific time slot. The shuttle runs every 15 minutes. Once you arrive, you MUST check-in to receive your shuttle tickets.
NOTE: You can drive straight to Aspen Highlands to get the shuttle. They do have a parking structure ($6/hour) for your car. If you’d like to save some $ and not park in the structure, you can park in Downtown Aspen and catch the free RFTA bus to Aspen Highlands.
In total, we paid $50 for this trip (2 shuttle tickets for $16/each and 3 hours of parking). We drove from Denver > Aspen that morning (about 3 hours), so we had to take a later shuttle. It wasn’t too crowded when we hiked, but earlier is always better! Our time slot was 11:30am, however, we arrived around 10:40am to check-in and were able to wait standby to catch an earlier bus. We ended up hopping on the 11am shuttle.
After our hike, we stopped at Hickory House BBQ for a tasty brisket sandwich with creamy mac & cheese. We then headed to downtown Aspen to walk around and explore the many art galleries, bakeries, shops, etc. If you’re looking for even more cool views, catch a ride on the Silver Queen Gondola to the top of Ajax Peak. Regardless of the season you visit, there’s always something to do in Aspen!
TELLURIDE
If you takeaway anything from this article, it’s that Telluride should be at the top of your bucket list! We had the most amazing day there and I hope you do too when you visit!
BEAR CREEK TRAIL
Trail: 5.1 miles roundtrip, out & back, 1,092 ft elevation gain
We started the day off at Bear Creek Trail! There’s tons of trails to choose from in Telluride that it was hard to pick which one to do. After narrowing it down to Bridal Falls (2-4 miles depending on which route you take), Jud Wiebe Trail (3 miles) and Bear Creek, Mike picked Bear Creek for us to hike! I’m glad he chose this trail because it was awesome!
This 5.1 mile out & back trail provides incredible landscape the entire way until eventually reaching a beautiful waterfall. The trail is gradually uphill the entire way gaining 1,092 feet in elevation. The trail can be pretty rocky in certain parts, however, it’s extremely family and dog friendly.
When you reach the top where the waterfall is located, there’s a breathtaking view of the mountains along with a giant waterfall. This might be our favorite hike from our entire trip!
After our hike, we ate at Brown Dog Pizza on the main strip for a quick bite to eat. PSA: Do not go anywhere else for lunch because this place has the BEST pizza I’ve ever had and I’ve been to Italy! (You must get it Detroit-style.) Once it was devoured, we walked downtown Telluride, hit some shops and enjoyed the unbelievable scenery.
MOUNTAIN VILLAGE
From downtown Telluride, you can take a free gondola up to Mountain Village. Mountain Village is a little town at the top of the mountain where all of the ski resorts are located. It was the most charming town full of restaurants, shops, and a giant plaza filled with outdoor dining and live music. From Mountain Village, you can also take the gondola one stop further to Market Plaza. Market Plaza has a 18 hole disc golf course we played for the afternoon! It was a par 3 course making it very walkable.
From disc golf, we changed and headed to our dinner spot: Altezza at The Peaks Resort. We enjoyed a delicious meal while looking at panoramic views of the mountains through their glass windows. It was a day I’ll never forget!
THE BEST OF COLORADO
Looking for other great places to hike? Check out my articles on Yellowstone + Grand Teton National Park or the Pacific Northwest.