Maroon Bells - Aspen, CO - Sep 2007

One of the "must see" places in Colorado are the Maroon Bells. I had heard about this beautiful park years ago and so it had long been on our list of places to visit. This national park is so heavily visited in the fall that shuttle buses are used on the weekends to reduce the traffic congestion. We opted to visit on a weekday so we could enjoy the park without the crowds.

We wanted to time our arrival near the peak of the fall color change, but we ended up being there just a bit too early for the best color. We did get to see a few aspens in their golden glory, but most were still green. This was the most colorful aspen grove in the park and it was set off nicely against the red rock walls.

Several trails exist in the park, but the most popular one is the path that follows the lake, then goes up through the trees, crossing several creeks along the way and finally winds its way up to the foot of "the Bells".

We hiked the trail over six bridge crossings and then decided it was time to make our way back. This is looking back towards the lake from the base of "the Bells."