Aspen
An opera house and a hotel from the silver boom of 1889, four ski mountains a short drive apart, and a mountain runway with rules of its own.
- Arrival
- Aspen/Pitkin County · ASE
- To the town
- About 5 minutes to downtown by car
- Private jets
- At ASE within its limits, or Eagle County
- Best time
- December to March
The city
Silver, snow and summer light.
Aspen made its first fortune in silver. Jerome Wheeler opened his opera house and his hotel in 1889, four years before the silver price collapsed, and both still stand on the grid of the old town. Skiing came later and stayed: Aspen Mountain rises straight from the streets, with Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Snowmass a short drive down the valley.
For the 2026/27 season the lifts on Aspen Mountain turn from 26 November to 18 April, and all four mountains run from mid-December to the end of March. Summer is the other season, with warm days in the high valleys, the Food & Wine Classic, and the road to the Maroon Bells open again from the end of May.
Arriving
A short runway with firm rules.
The airport lies three miles from town, so close that the drive is over in minutes. It is also small and high, and it closes completely from April to November 2027 while the runway is rebuilt.
- Dallas 1 h 50
- Los Angeles 1 h 55
- Toronto 3 h 20
- Milan 11 h 25 long-range jet
- Seoul 13 h 05 long-range jet
When to go
December to March.
Cold, bright winters: highs stay below freezing from December to February, with around seven hours of sun a day in January. All four mountains are open from mid-December to the end of March, so those are the months to plan around. July brings 22 °C days and the best of the summer.
- -3° J 60
- -1° F 50
- 1° M 55
- 6° A 43
- 13° M 38
- 19° J 32
- 22° J 52
- 21° A 53
- 17° S 44
- 12° O 34
- 3° N 44
- -2° D 58
What to see and do
Days in and around Aspen.
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Landmark
Highland Bowl
Two chairlifts, then a hike or a snowcat ride to 12,392 feet, and a long descent back down the bowl.
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Landmark
Wheeler Opera House
Peach-coloured sandstone from 1889 in the middle of town, and still a working stage.
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Landmark
The Maroon Bells
Two peaks of more than 14,000 feet above Maroon Lake, by reserved shuttle or permit from May to October.
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Opera & music
Aspen Music Festival and School
Founded in 1949, the festival stages more than 400 classical events over some eight summer weeks, mostly in its Music Tent and Harris Concert Hall.
Official site -
Culture
Aspen Art Museum
Shigeru Ban's woven wood building of 2014 holds changing contemporary exhibitions and a rooftop sculpture garden, with free admission.
Official site -
Culture
Anderson Ranch Arts Center
Visitors may wander the five-acre campus of this 1966 art school, with working studios, outdoor sculptures and the Patton-Malott Gallery.
Official site -
Snow
Snowmass
Across 3,342 acres and 98 trails, the mountain drops 4,406 vertical feet from its 12,510-foot summit.
Official site -
Nature
Independence Pass
Highway 82 climbs east of town to the 12,095-foot summit of the pass, a road open only in the warmer months.
Official site -
Nature
Hallam Lake
Elizabeth Paepcke gave this 25-acre preserve in 1968; a half-mile trail with observation decks leads through wetland and aspen to the ACES nature centre and its raptors.
Official site -
Golf
Aspen Golf Club
Frank Hummel laid out this public par 71 course of 18 holes in 1970 at the western edge of town.
Where to stay
At the gondola and on Main Street.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- The Little Nell Ski-in and ski-out at the foot of the Silver Queen Gondola, with some 20,000 bottles in the cellar.
- Hotel Jerome, Auberge Collection Opened by Jerome Wheeler in 1889, with the Prospect restaurant and the long-serving J-Bar.
- Mollie Aspen Sixty-eight rooms at Main and Garmisch, and a rooftop pool and bar looking up at Aspen Mountain.
Where to dine
The best tables in town.
From the MICHELIN Guide Colorado 2026: one star and two hotel restaurants in the selection.
- Bosq One Michelin star Contemporary $$$$ 312 S. Mill St.
- Element 47 MICHELIN Guide Contemporary $$$$ The Little Nell
- Prospect MICHELIN Guide Contemporary $$$$ Hotel Jerome
Elsewhere in United States
More reasons to come.
- New York Manhattan, with Teterboro and Westchester for private aircraft.
- Los Angeles Bel Air, Malibu and the canyons between them.
- Miami South Beach, the art fairs, and the gateway to Latin America.
- Palm Beach An island of winter residences, a bridge away from its airport.
- East Hampton Summer houses on the South Fork of Long Island.
- Napa Wine country, an hour north of San Francisco.
- Las Vegas The Strip, the residencies and the title fights.
Flying to Aspen?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.