Maroon Lake Trailhead

Elk Mountains

Road Difficulty

0 Paved Road

Driving Directions

Drive to Aspen and locate the start of the Maroon Creek road at a roundabout just west of town. Measuring mileage from there, drive 3.2 miles where you'll pass a ranch. At 4.7 miles, reach the U.S. Forest Service entrance station. Reach the trailhead at 9.5 miles. During summer, the road past the entrance station is closed to cars between 8am and 5pm so if you have a parking permit or getting dropped off, make sure it's outside these hours.

PARKING RESERVATION REQUIRED
You must book in-advance to get an overnight parking permit at the Maroon Lake trailhead and there are a limited number available. They do have a "Midnight-to-Midnight" permit which allows you to drive to the trailhead between midnight and 8am and hike the same day, leaving by midnight. Please visit this page for more information. And don't forget to place your printed reservation on your dashboard when you park.

CAMPING RESERVATION REQUIRED
A reservation is required to pack in and camp near Crater Lake and permits are small in number. If you are lucky enough to get a wilderness camp permit, you still have to reserve overnight parking, or ride the shuttle between 8am-5pm, or get dropped off outside of the 8am-5pm window. If you are unable to get a camp permit, you'll have to day-hike and still deal with parking or get dropped off early in the morning. Check for wilderness camping permits at recreation.gov. For reference, check out the Overnight Permit Zone Map

Trailhead Status Updates

Most Recent Update 7/5/2026:

No reservation needed if you park in the West Portal parking lot, which is about 1/2 mile below the main Maroon Lake parking lot. It adds about 1 extra mile of easy road walking (round trip), but you avoid all the hassles of getting a reservation. I parked there (early) this morning (7/05/26) and there was only one other car parked there. The same car was parked there 9 hours later when I finished...

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Winter Access

Closed at the ranch, many miles below the TH, but the road is usually packed down by snowmobiles.

Trailhead Facilities & Fees

Parking: It's a pain.
Camping: No camping at the trailhead. Packing in to camp at Crater Lake requires a permit. There are a couple of campgrounds along the road, above the entrance station, but they are first come, first serve and you'll have to ask as the entrance station if a site is available.
Restrooms: Yes
Fees: Yes

More Photos

Kiosk at the start of the trail.

2023-08-09

By: BillMiddlebrook

The trailhead parking area

2008-09-08

By: BillMiddlebrook

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Trailhead added by BillMiddlebrook

Maroon Lake Trailhead

Elk Mountains

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