Colorado trails · Maroon Snowmass Trail

Maroon Snowmass Trail

A 15.3-mile out-and-back in Colorado, with 4,050 ft of climbing, topping out at 12,461 ft. Reaches Buckskin Pass and other lake/pass/viewpoint destinations. Managed by USFS Aspen-Sopris Ranger District.

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Length

15.3 mi

Elevation gain

4,050 ft

Highest point

12,461 ft

Difficulty

Expert

Max grade

37%

Steepest mile

+964 ft

Tread at ≥10% grade

7.5 mi

Shape

out-and-back

Surface

dirt

Dogs

yes

Bikes

Horses

yes

Managed by

USFS Aspen-Sopris Ranger District

Elevation profile

The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 3,341 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Buckskin Pass (pass)
Maroon Lake (lake)
Crater Lake (lake)
Beaver Dam (viewpoint)
bridge and rapids (viewpoint)

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.

Terrain graded T3 (SAC scale) — exposed or hands-on hiking reported on part of this route.

Getting there

Snowmass Trailhead — parking nearby. 39.19919, -107.00136 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:07 a.m., the sun rises at 6:35 a.m. and sets at 7:40 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:07 p.m. (MDT) — 13 h 05 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 30.7-mile round trip works out to roughly 15 h 24 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.