Serious question, has anyone else done the full 32 mile loop in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness lately?

I did it over four days last September, starting from the Maroon Lake trailhead. The route itself is stunning, but the thing that really got me was how crowded the first 6 miles were. I counted over 80 day hikers before I got past Crater Lake. Once I got past that point, I saw maybe three other backpacking groups the whole rest of the trip. It felt like two totally different worlds on the same trail. The permit system seems to push everyone into the same starting zones. I'm curious if other long loops have this same 'front door traffic jam' issue, or if it's just a Maroon Bells thing. What's a good alternative for a 3-4 day loop in Colorado that gets you into the quiet stuff faster?

2 comments

2 Comments

anderson.sandra16d ago

Try the Four Pass Loop out of Aspen instead. It gets you away from the day hiker crowd after the first pass.

jordan_walker16d ago

Totally agree about getting past the day hiker crowd. That first pass is always a traffic jam of people in jeans. Once you push over into the next basin, it feels like a different world. I always pack for sudden weather shifts up there, the afternoon storms can roll in scary fast.