Colorado · Cross-country skiing

Buttermilk Access Road

Buttermilk Access RoadPhoto: Viktor Lapinskii, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)
0.9 mi
distance
314 ft
climb
8,358 ft
high point
Moderate
difficulty
May–Sep
best months

Buttermilk Access Road is a cross-country skiing route in Colorado, about 2 miles from the town of Aspen. The road is a short, moderate outing, roughly a mile long, with a one-way climb of about 314 feet from a low point of 8,028 feet to a high of 8,358 feet. The steepest stretch comes at about half a mile in, with a grade of around 14 percent. Winter is the natural season for skiing here. Typical averages from a nearby weather station in Aspen show January highs around 32°F with lows near 10°F, while June is the warmest month, with highs around 71°F and lows near 42°F. Terral Wade Bridge and the Maroon Gorge Trail both sit about 0.1 mile away. Climbers can head to East Face, about 1.7 miles off, and paddlers to Maroon Creek, about 2.6 miles away.

Local outfitters

Not on Roamze yet. Their page has how to reach them.

  • Best time to go · May–Sep

    Best time to visit Buttermilk Access Road

    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, 1 mi away at 8,175 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.

Keep exploring — more snow worth the drive

Terral Wade BridgePhoto: Viktor Lapinskii, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Terral Wade Bridge

Next door

0.11-mile ski trail with 32 ft gain in Colorado.

Maroon Gorge TrailPhoto: Viktor Lapinskii, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Maroon Gorge Trail

Next door

0.78-mile trail in Colorado with 234 ft of elevation gain.

High School Trail;MaroltPhoto: Denverjeffrey, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

High School Trail;Marolt

~1 min drive

Short beginner-friendly Colorado ski trail ideal for families and warm-up runs.

Jaffe ParkPhoto: redlegsfan21 from Vandalia, OH, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Jaffe Park

~7 min drive

0.46-mile ski trail in Jaffe Park, Colorado with 6 feet of elevation gain.

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

Buttermilk

~1 min drive

Buttermilk has 44 runs, 8 lifts, and 2,008 ft of vertical in Colorado.

Maroon Creek RoadPhoto: 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)

Maroon Creek Road

~6 min drive

Short, beginner-friendly road-based ski tour in Colorado's mountain terrain.

IselinPhoto: Viktor Lapinskii, CC BY-SA 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Iselin

Next door

0.24-mile cross-country ski trail in Colorado with 100 ft of elevation gain.

Tom Blake Equestrian TrailPhoto: Hunter Bryant hunterbryant, CC0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Tom Blake Equestrian Trail

~6 min drive

Tom Blake Equestrian Trail is a 0.71-mile route in Colorado with 273 feet of elevation gain.

Bernese BoulevardPhoto: Liam Vo, CC BY 3.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)

Bernese Boulevard

~1 min drive

1.34-mile route in Colorado with 71 ft of elevation gain.

SEE

Aspen Mountain

~4 min drive

Aspen Mountain in Colorado has 5 lifts and 124 downhill runs.

Map and trail data © OpenStreetMap contributors