Two bell-shaped, wine-colored peaks rising over a glacial lake ten miles southwest of Aspen — the Maroon Bells are the most photographed mountains in North America, and you cannot just drive up to them. Here is how the access works in 2026, what it costs, and when to come if you want the sunrise photograph.
The Maroon Bells are not a hike. They are two specific 14,000-foot peaks — Maroon Peak (14,156 ft) and North Maroon Peak (14,019 ft) — in the Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness Area, viewed from the parking area at Maroon Lake. Almost every photograph you have seen of them was taken from that same lakeshore, looking south, at roughly the same hour. The composition is so famous that it has its own informal name (the Bells Reflection) and a daily queue of photographers waiting for the alpenglow.
The access road — Maroon Creek Road — runs eight miles up from the Aspen Highlands ski area to the Maroon Bells Welcome Center at the lake. It is closed for the winter and reopens no later than May 15, 2026. From the day the shuttle service begins in late May, almost no private vehicles are allowed up the road between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. You will take a bus, or you will not see the Bells from the lake.
The reservation system is genuinely the most important practical detail of any Aspen summer trip. People show up not knowing about it and end up doing a different hike. The good news: it is simple, it is cheap, and once you understand the windows, the Bells are easy.
The Reservation System.
One website handles everything: visitmaroonbells.com. That is where you book either a shuttle seat or a parking spot. Reservations for the 2026 season opened in February. Shuttle reservations are typically available for the full season; parking reservations release in two waves — the May 15 – July 31 window opens first, and the August 1 – October 31 window opens later (in 2025 the second wave opened June 18). If you are planning a peak-summer visit, book early.
- The RFTA shuttle from Aspen Highlands Round-trip: $16 adult, $10 senior (65+) and child (12 and under). One-way downhill ticket (for the 6–8 a.m. drop-off crowd or for hikers coming from another trailhead): $10. The bus departs from the Maroon Bells Welcome Center at Aspen Highlands and reaches Maroon Lake in about fifteen minutes.
- Parking at the Maroon Bells Scenic Area $10 per vehicle, by reservation only. Reservations are available for evening, full-day, or overnight stays when the shuttle is running. When you have a parking reservation, you do not need a shuttle ticket.
- Parking at the Welcome Center (Aspen Highlands) For visitors driving to Highlands and catching the shuttle: $10 (0–3 hours), $15 (3–8 hours), $25 (8+ hours). No reservation needed for this lot; pay on arrival. Or skip parking entirely — take the free RFTA Castle/Maroon bus from Rubey Park downtown to Aspen Highlands, which runs every twenty minutes.
- E-bikes E-bikes are now treated as motorized vehicles by the Forest Service. There is a $5 amenity fee, payable online in advance. Regular bicycles ride free. The eight-mile climb from Highlands to the lake is an iconic Colorado cycling route.
The Sunrise Window.
If you want the famous reflection shot — the Bells doubled in the still glassy water of Maroon Lake at first light — you have one option. Between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., private vehicles are allowed to drive themselves up the road to drop off passengers without a parking reservation. There is one catch: you cannot drive back down with the car after 8 a.m. The driver either leaves before 8 or commits to a one-way downhill shuttle ticket (book in advance at visitmaroonbells.com) for the return.
In practice, the sunrise crowd splits into three groups. The first wave is photographers, who arrive in the dark with tripods and stake out lakeshore positions before any light hits the peaks. The second is hikers heading deep into the wilderness for Crater Lake or the Four Pass Loop, who use the early window to start before the bus crowd arrives. The third is sleepy day-trippers who want the photograph and then a leisurely return on the 9 or 10 a.m. shuttle. Plan which one you are. Sunrise itself, in summer, is roughly between 5:45 and 6:15 a.m. The alpenglow window — the few minutes when the eastern light catches the Bells' western face and turns them pink — is brief, often before the gate-opening time. Check sunrise tables for your specific date and allow at least 45 minutes for the drive plus arrival.
The Hikes from Maroon Lake.
Three trail options leave directly from the Maroon Lake parking area, and they are dramatically different in scale.
- Maroon Lake Scenic Loop · 1.5 miles, mostly flat The accessible loop around the lake itself. About thirty to forty-five minutes at a walking pace. This is what most visitors do — circle the lake, get the photograph, ride back. No dogs allowed on this trail.
- Crater Lake · 3.6 miles round-trip, moderate The most rewarding half-day option. From Maroon Lake the trail climbs through aspen groves and across a boulder field to a second alpine lake at the foot of the Bells, much closer to the peaks than the famous viewpoint. Two to three hours total. Trail can be muddy after rain.
- The Four Pass Loop · 28 miles, multi-day backcountry The grand objective. A four-day, four-pass circuit through some of the most spectacular wilderness in Colorado. Requires overnight permits from recreation.gov, well in advance, with permit lotteries that fill in spring. Not a day-hike; come prepared with a permit and full equipment.
The View from Snowmass.
If you cannot get a reservation, do not have transportation, or simply want a different vantage, there is a second option that opens for the summer on June 21, 2026: the Elk Camp Gondola in Snowmass takes visitors up to a viewing area on Elk Camp Chairlift with a wide-open view of the Bells from the east. It is not the lakeshore composition, but it is a high-altitude panorama of the same peaks, framed by the upper Snowmass valley — and you don't need a reservation system. The gondola ticket includes access to the Lost Forest activity area and Elk Camp Restaurant.
What to Bring, What to Skip.
The Maroon Lake area sits just under 9,600 feet. That is high enough that visitors arriving from sea level feel it on the Scenic Loop and notice it badly on the Crater Lake climb. Drink water before you go. Layer up: it can be twenty degrees cooler at the lake than in Aspen. Afternoon thunderstorms are common from late June through August — start any longer hike before 7 a.m. and plan to be off exposed ridges by 1 p.m. Sunscreen and a hat at this altitude even on overcast days. Dogs are welcome at the Welcome Center and on trails away from the Scenic Loop, but not around the lake itself.
Skip the drone (no drones in wilderness areas), the bluetooth speaker (sound carries across the valley), and the idea that you'll quickly sneak past the access gate and improvise a parking spot. The Forest Service rangers know every story, and unreserved cars on Maroon Creek Road during shuttle hours are ticketed and turned around.
The Practical Information.
- Reservations visitmaroonbells.com · (970) 930-6442 · info@visitmaroonbells.com
- Maroon Bells Welcome Center 75 Boomerang Road, Aspen, CO 81611 (at the base of Aspen Highlands ski area)
- Free RFTA shuttle from downtown Castle/Maroon bus from Rubey Park to Aspen Highlands. Free. Runs every twenty minutes.
- Season dates Maroon Creek Road reopens by May 15. RFTA shuttle runs May 22 through October 18, 2026. The first private-vehicle window is mid-May (still with reservations); shuttle takes over in late May.
- Last bus down The final shuttle from Maroon Lake to the Welcome Center departs at 5:00 p.m. After 5 p.m., private vehicles are again allowed up Maroon Creek Road.
- Camping Three small campgrounds along Maroon Creek Road (Silver Bell, Silver Queen, Silver Bar). All advance reservation only via recreation.gov. None offer direct lake views from the campground.
When to Come.
The two great photographic windows are mid-June through early July, when summer wildflowers carpet the meadows below the lake, and the last ten days of September into early October, when the aspen groves on the slopes ignite gold. Wildflower season usually peaks the first two weeks of July; aspen color usually peaks the third week of September, though it varies by a week in either direction depending on the year. Both windows are also when the reservation system is most squeezed — peak summer parking spots can sell out within an hour of release, fall foliage weekends within a day. The shoulder weeks (late May, mid-August, early October) are easier to book and quieter on the trails.
If you only have one trip to Aspen and one shot at the Bells, plan around the reservation system first, then build the rest of your visit around the time slot you get. Everything else in Aspen is more flexible than this.