Colorado · Hiking

Lower Maroon Creek

6.0 mi
round trip
397 ft
climb
8,743 ft
high point
Out and back
route
May–Sep
best months

Is Lower Maroon Creek open right now?

Alert in the area

The Forest Service lists 6 alerts for White River National Forest.

As of · Source: USFS · White River National Forest. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.

Lower Maroon Creek is a 6-mile out-and-back hike in Colorado's White River National Forest, within the Aspen Ranger District. The trail rises from about 8,300 feet to roughly 8,740 feet, a climb of about 400 feet, and is rated hard. The Forest Service manages the land, and the trailhead is at the East Maroon Wilderness Portal Trailhead. The trail is natural-surface and allows horses, but bikes are not permitted. Summer is the most comfortable time to go. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Aspen, about 3 miles away, put July highs around 76°F with lows near 48°F, while winter months bring highs near freezing. Maroon Creek, a canoeing spot, sits just 0.1 mile away. Silver Bar Campground and Maroon Creek Road are each about a mile off, and the Sugarbowl hike is about 1.8 miles away.

Go with a guide

  • Best time to go · May–Sep

    Best time to visit Lower Maroon Creek

    Best months: May–September. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.

    1. Jan

      32° / 10°

      13 wet

    2. Feb

      35° / 13°

      12 wet

    3. Mar

      43° / 20°

      12 wet

    4. Apr

      50° / 27°

      12 wet

    5. May

      60° / 35°

      11 wet

    6. Jun

      71° / 42°

      8 wet

    7. Jul

      76° / 48°

      11 wet

    8. Aug

      73° / 47°

      12 wet

    9. Sep

      67° / 40°

      10 wet

    10. Oct

      55° / 30°

      9 wet

    11. Nov

      42° / 19°

      10 wet

    12. Dec

      32° / 10°

      12 wet

    Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Aspen 1sw, CO, 3 mi away at 8,175 ft. The station sits about 600 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Keep exploring — more trails worth the drive

Congo TrailPhoto: randomduck, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

Congo Trail

~3 min drive

2.56-mile out-and-back hike in Colorado with 1,978 ft elevation gain.

Thunderbowl TrailPhoto: Cloudforest, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Thunderbowl Trail

~4 min drive

0.37-mile out-and-back hike in Colorado with 194 ft of elevation gain.

Ajax TrailPhoto: Frans-Banja Mulder, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Ajax Trail

~6 min drive

2.98-mile out-and-back hike in Colorado with 2,655 ft gain/loss.

SummitPhoto: NHV, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Summit

~4 min drive

1.76-mile out-and-back trail in Colorado with 945 ft elevation gain.

Maroon Gorge TrailPhoto: Cloudforest, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Maroon Gorge Trail

~4 min drive

0.27-mile out-and-back hike in Maroon Gorge, Colorado with 113 ft elevation gain.

East MaroonPhoto: Cal Wolfe, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

East Maroon

~7 min drive

14.59-mile out-and-back trail in Colorado's White River National Forest with 2,189 ft gain.

Maroon CreekPhoto: Tony Webster, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Maroon Creek

~5 min drive

6.30-mile out-and-back trail in Colorado's White River National Forest with 1,158 ft gain

Maroon Gorge TrailPhoto: Peter Alfred Hess, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)

Maroon Gorge Trail

~5 min drive

2.24-mile out-and-back hike in Colorado with 652 ft gain/loss

GovernmentPhoto: Nabeel H, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

Government

~5 min drive

10.31-mile out-and-back trail in Colorado with 501 ft elevation gain.

Ute TrailPhoto: Baker Pics and Whatnot, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)

Ute Trail

~6 min drive

2.68-mile out-and-back hike in Colorado with 1,044 ft gain.

Also worth it near here

BED

Silver Bar Campground

~2 min drive

RIDE

Sugarbowl

~3 min drive

Highland PeakPhoto: This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message. This image is not in the public domain. Please respect the copyright protection. It may only be used according to the rules mentioned here. This specifically excludes use in social media, if applicable terms of the licenses listed here not appropriate. Please do not upload an updated image here without consultation with the Author. The author would like to make corrections only at his own source. This ensures that the changes are preserved.Please if you think that any changes should be required, please inform the author.Otherwise you can upload a new image with a new name. Please use one of the templates derivative or extract., CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Highland Peak

~4 min drive

ButtermilkPhoto: Werdna, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Buttermilk

~4 min drive