ASPEN — Happily Madz

Here’s everything you need to know about our most recent and MUCH needed road trip! We planned this trip 2 days before leaving and somehow everything worked out perfectly! Despite the last minute planning working out for us, I highly recommend planning in advance because we definitely got lucky booking a few things on our itinerary!

THE DRIVE

It is a LONG drive and we did it in one shot! Initially, we considered breaking up the drive and staying one night in Santa Fe. However, we decided we’d rather just get to Aspen as soon as we could to maximize our time there. We did the 17 hour drive in one day. We hit the road a little before 5am and arrived in Aspen right around sunset time (8:15pm).

Driving in the mountains can be a little intimidating if you haven’t done it before and so that’s why we wanted to make sure we got there before sunset!

HOTEL

We stayed at the St. Regis in Aspen and absolutely loved the hotel! We decided on this hotel after calling around different hotels in the area because they seemed to have had the best cleaning policy. Due to COVID, the St. Regis hotel no longer allows late check out in order to make sure they have enough time to clean the rooms in between each stay. They also implemented additional methods to help filter the air in the rooms, etc.

ASPEN DURING COVID

This was the first trip we had been on since the pandemic and we definitely had our concerns with traveling. We decided to make the trip to Aspen because the trip mainly consisted of outdoor activities where we could maintain social distancing. To our surprise, Aspen was already doing a phenomenal job of enforcing masks, social distancing, and taking safety precautions to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

THINGS TO DO

MAROON BELLS:

Absolutely breathtaking and a must see when in Aspen!

MUST NOTE:

“Due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements and the need to estimate and safely manage demand, reservations will be required to access the Maroon Bells Scenic Area and related amenities this year by vehicle or by RFTA shuttle. Learn more about visiting Maroon Bells by shuttle in 2020. “

Reservations can be made here

With our trip being so last minute, there were no permits or reservations available when I checked. I called Aspen Chamber to see if I had any other options and they informed me that if I could get dropped off to Maroon Bells before 8am, then we would be able to access the trails and take the shuttle on our way out. We arranged transportation through the hotel and had no issues upon arrival to Maroon Bells!

MAROON BELLS HIKING TRAILS

There are about 6 different trails to choose from at Maroon Bells. We decided to hike the Crater Lake Trail. It is a 3.6 mile roundtrip trail that is considered to be moderate. It’s a beautiful hike and can get a little rocky!

Here is a helpful guide to learn more about the different trails at Maroon Bells!

ROCK CLIMBING

10/10 recommend this activity if you are not afraid of heights! We booked rock climbing through Aspen Alpine Guides and had such an incredible experience! I loved that it was a private trip and our guide Curtiss was the best. Curtiss had us hike up a mountain on a path he discovered himself to get us to the rock that we eventually climbed. This hike was totally different in comparison to the Crater Lake Trail at Maroon Bells considering it was unpaved/no tourists to be found.

Needless to say, rock climbing in nature vs indoor rock climbing are insanely different. This activity was pretty challenging but it was totally worth it every time we got to the top of the rock!

EXPLORE THE TOWN

Our hotel was walking distance from the town. We walked everywhere! All of the restaurants, shops, park, everything was less than a 10 minute walk. This was one of my favorite things about Aspen! The little town nestled between the mountains felt so homey just after a few days.

LIFT PASSES UP SNOWMASS MOUNTAIN

We enjoyed this more than I thought we would! The lift takes you up Snowmass where there is a restaurant, hiking and biking trails, and a beautiful view. They had different pockets of seating areas overlooking the mountains. We even found folding chairs that we were able to move to our own little spot.

DRIVE THROUGH INDEPENDENCE PASS

A 32 mile drive that showcases the Continental Divide and stunning scenery! There are some good scenic view points to stop and snap photos! We passed this drive on our way to/from Aspen and enjoyed it so much.

Restaurants

Loved how at just about every restaurant, they had outdoor dining options that we thoroughly enjoyed! With being married to a foodie, we always do our research on restaurants and here are the ones we visited!

Casa Tua

Cache Cache

Meat and Cheese

JING Sushi

Ajax Tavern

(few more that I can’t remember the names to unfortunately)