Maroon Bells Four Pass Loop

Hello my people,

Today we’re talking about the EPIC backpacking trip I took last month where my dear old Friend Bumba and I spent three days in White River National Forest hiking around the Maroon bells four pass loop located about ten miles South West of downtown Aspen, Colorado .

I’ll cover the basic details of the hike of the hike and towards the end I’ll highlight a few key points that I think you should be aware of if you plan to hike the loop yourself.  Before we get into all that, feel free to check out the information and resources we printed off the USDA website in preparation for this trip.

Also, be sure to check out the video version of this post on my YouTube channel.

Without further adieu, let us begin!

As I mentioned earlier, last month, I flew out west to Colorado to meet up with my dear ole’ friend Bumba who had just finished a week-long business trip in Denver. 

After sorting out all of the food for the trip and reorganizing my gear in his hotel room, we hopped into his rental car and made the four hour drive to the trailhead.

We were expecting the hike to take four days, so our plan was to try and get a head start and  arrive at the trailhead early enough to hike a few miles and set up camp before it got dark.

This was a pretty ambitious plan especially since it started raining just after we left the car. We hiked for about a mile in the rain before discovering that we were going the wrong way. So we doubled back to try to find the turn that we missed only to find out that it was all the way back at the beginning of the trail near the parking lot. It was completely dark at this point. So we reluctantly decided to spend the night in the car and start the loop early the next morning.

We started here.

There are a couple different trails you can use to access the loop. This one was just the most practical starting point for us. After leaving our rental car at the West Maroon Portal parking area, we made some coffee by the gorgeous Maroon Lake and took advantage of the last bathrooms we would see for a few days.

Following signs for trail number 1975, we made the short, 1.4 mile trek to Crater lake where we could begin the Maroon Bells Four Pass Loop.

The loops 28 miles or 45 kilometers of trail encircles the world famous Maroon Bells, and wanders through some of the most glorious terrain I have ever encountered, including aspen groves, evergreen forests, wildflower meadows and of course, four - epic - mountain - passes. Along the way we trudged through rivers and over snowfields.  We even lost the trail a few times after scrambling over piles of scree and through splintered forests that had been mowed down by the crushing weight of the previous winter’s unusually heavy snowfall. 

We chose to go clockwise after a ranger told us that it would be easier for people who were not fully acclimated to the altitude.

The first section of the loop follows trail number 1970 also known as the West Maroon Creek Trail tracks alongside the West Maroon Creek before it diverts here, and begins it’s gradual ascent towards the West Maroon Pass. 

Once we reached the top of the pass, we headed down the other side and after about a mile of switchbacks and wildflower meadows we turned right following the signs for Frigid Air Pass. 

After a short rest at the top we began our descent into the Fravert Basin along trail number 1974 also known as the North Fork Trail from which the Maroon Bells can be seen on the right.  The trail descends through a grassy meadow in which we met a few of the locals.

It then snakes through some pretty thick bushes, over a couple creeks and into this evergreen forest where we planned to camp for the night. 

After two passes and nearly fourteen miles of hiking, we finally found an empty camp site.

The mosquitoes were out in force, so we lit a small fire to keep them at bay while we made dinner and set up camp.

The next morning we continued our descent into the basin and crossed the North Fork before turning right onto Trail Number 1976 also known as the North Fork Cutoff Trail where we began our ascent towards the Trail Rider Pass. After several steep switchbacks that give you a great view of the valley below, we crossed a small stream before turning right onto Trail number 1973 also known as the Geneva Lake Trail.

The trail then crosses back over the stream and after a short ascent, reveals an epic view of the pass.

After the long trudge to the top, we were rewarded with a view of the beautiful Snowmass Lake on the other side were we camped for the night.

The next morning we took trail number 1975 also known as the Maroon Snowmass Trail all the way up and over Buckskin pass.

This section of the loop barely had any signs or trail markers, and more than once we had to pull out the GPS to make sure we were going the right way.

Once we made it back down to crater lake, we hiked out to the car, grabbed some beers and burgers in Aspen before heading back to Denver and flying home. 

Now I know that this was a very basic recap so I want to let you know that I WILL be releasing a few more videos about this trip that get into more detail, but the plan is to focus those around more specific, individual topics that I felt were too big to cram into this quick recap, as well as a longer video of the full three day hike, that will show you wayyyy more footage of the different environments and wildlife that we saw along the way and serve as a way for you to see how we experienced things first hand compared to this video where I kind of just glossed over the main points.

Now that you know some of the basics I want to highlight some other important details that you should know before hiking the four pass loop. 

First, campfires are only permitted at designated sites. If you get caught making a fire in the wrong place, you can be fined over three hundred dollars so make sure that you print out the maps provided in the USDA links below that show you which sites have restrictions.

Second, you are required by law to keep all food in approved certified bear-proof canisters details of which are also listed in the USDA resources linked below. I personally went with the larger of the two canister options because it's twice the size for way less than twice the price. It’s also a better camp stool compared to the small one.

If you don't want to carry around a canister, there is one approved brand that makes a kevlar bear bag but it costs almost twice as much as the canister and can't be used as camp stool or for things like carrying extra water to your campsite.

So there you have it folks!

I want to wish a very warm welcome to those of you who are new to the site. If this is the first post of mine that you’ve read, I just want to let you know that I also write gear reviews in addition to the travel guide post like this one.

If you’re curious about some of the gear I used on this trip, be sure to check out the YouTube channel and feel free to subscribe to be notified of new content.

If you have any questions about our hike or suggestions for where we should go next or if you’ve already been to the Maroon Bells. Hit me up on the contact page. I’d love to hear your thoughts, especially if you think your insight can help me disprove something that I think I already know ;-).

But before you do I just want to, thank you OHHHHH-so-much for reading my post. I really do appreciate it.

If you’re planning your next trip or looking for new gear, don't let the small details stress you out. Remember that life’s an adventure, so relax, breathe in the outdoors, and don't forget to appreciate the finer things in life.

See you out there, people.

Peace.